Ichtegems Oud Bruin

Brewed by Brouwerij Strubbe
Style: Sour Ale
Ichtegem, Belgium

12 oz bottle courtesy of an extra from Beerlando. Thanks, as always, Bryan. Pours a rusty hue, dark but still able to see through, some floaties, with big brownish red head that cakes, laces some, is pretty nice. Aromas push some subtle oak, sour cherries, a touch of caramel, and a touch of funk. Fruity and sweet, but also tart. Initial is light and quencing off the bat, light sour cherries, sweet malts, and oaky dryness combine. The flavors in this beer are light, preaching a little more sweetness in body, with a little tartness coming out on the backend and in the finish. A touch of dryness, under carbonated. A bit too smooth, even creamy, for a beer I want in this style. Sour with some big training wheels. A little bland, boring.

Dark brown with a medium but sturdy head. Sweetish aroma with chocolate, caramel, dark fruits, and a little something sour and funky underneath. Rich malts for sure, no hop presence. Flavor is sweet, malty and rich, with some cherries and other dark fruits. It is slightly sour, but just a touch, not quite enough for the style. Very little hopping, but also not too cloying. A touch of chocolate, a bit of caramel, and lots of fruit. Interesting. Finish is sweet-and-sour and fruity. Decent stuff, though too sweet.

This beer is okay. It’s another example of an oud bruin which does not stack up in the sour department. The aroma is a bit sour, juicy, and with a hint of raspberries. The flavor is malty, not sour enough, and has some notes of dry fruit with some minerality in there. This would be a good starter oud bruin, but I would prefer something more sour.

(33cl bottle) Slightly hazy, dark reddish brown colour with a big and stable beige foamy head. Moderately sweet and acidic, also slightly toasted malty aroma with a mouldy and woody touch and restrained berry-fruity notes. Sweet and slightly sour flavour, light to medium bodied, slightly fizzy on the tongue. Toasty malty and woody taste with shy fruity and tart notes. Moderately sweet and acidic woody finish with notes of alcohol. Likeable but not a star of its style (01.III.09).

750mL bottle, cap marked 09 2012. Pours dark reddish brown, a bit darker than the Grand Cru, with a tan head. Aroma is faint and fairly sweet, with notes of black cherry and wood. Flavor is sweet as well, with berries, sour cherry, butter, and wood. Medium bodied. Much less impressive than the Grand Cru. More sweet than sour; a bit of a disappointment.

Second time around on this beer, this time just split with another person, 750mL cork&wire poured into a white wine glass. The color is a dark dark red. The head is not impressive, fades quickly, not large. It gets a bit better with the bottom pour makes a better head but it fades a little slower. Aroma is sweet and earthy dark cherry. Taste is similar with a lot more sweetness than the Grand Cru, obviously the young beer coming through. It isn’t sour but fruity sour like flavor. The finish has a bit of a sour cherry skin to it. Its easy drinking but the sweetness grows a bit tiring. Very much in line with a young Flanders sour.

Pours a dark brown-reddish color with small beige head. Quite nutty on the nose, roast malts and a bit of coffee. I caught the sour but felt it was a bit faint for the style. Taste was similar in that it didnt seem quite sour enough to be a sour ale, but my understanding is still growing. Nice taste of sweet malt and roatsed coffee, with a long aftertaste of nuts. Palate was medium and fizzy.

Bottle @ Take One. Dark brown-red colour, beige head. Aroma is sweet-sour, must, red fruits. Flavour is sweet-sour, musty, wood, sour grapes (tannines), rather dry. Didn’t like this at all.