Liefmans Goudenband

Brewed by Liefmans (Moortgat)
Style: Sour Ale
Oudenaarde, Belgium

375ml Bottle: Sweet, slightly astringent aroma of raisins, figs, dark ripe fruits, slight alcohol, malts, caramel and nuts. Poured brown/amber/ruby in color with no head. Very cloudy. Not sparkling. Full of many large particles throughout. Flavor is heavily sweet and slightly tart. Tastes of malts, raisins, dark ripe fruits, nuts, caramel, light maple syrup, slight tart fruit, and a hint of wood. Medium body. Syrupy, coating texture. Soft carbonation. Sweet, syrupy, coating, malt and dark ripe fruit finish. Called a "sour ale," but there is nothing really sour about it.

Sampled at Backus’ Backyard Bash. Oh damn this was good. Brownish reddish with a small tan head. Sweet and tart berry nose. Sweet, lightly tart flavors, berries and sweet malt. So mellow and well integrated. Delish!

Bottle from Forest City. Pours dark amber-brown with a wispy head and floating yeast. Winey nose of pinot noir, stewed apples, and toffee. Palate is surprisingly clean, with soft carbonation. Initial flavors feature sweet apple, cinnamon, and pear. Well-flavored, with good balance. Finish has back-of-the-tongue acidity, as well as some alcohol burn. This is very drinkable and refreshing, quite a feat for a beer with this kind of depth and full flavor.

From a 355mL Bottle, Vintage 2005. Somewhat transparent, honey amber colored pour with a thick finger of fluffy off-white head. A pleasing, light cherry tartness compliments a supple malt base nicely, one brimming with notes of caramel, toffee, apricots, and plum. Fruity and malty with just a thin small touch of acidity to balance the sweetness of the malt character. Brown sugar and caramelized cherry fruitcake. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel with a soft, supple texture. Lots of malt depth comes out right away, revealing flavors of prune, raisin, and black cherry. Lots of toffee malt sugars, along with a light, sherry sweetness. A mild level of acidity rounds out the finish, helping to lighten the load of the malt driven Christmas fruits. Very mild acetic character with a funky, cheese rind quality. Delicious. Opened a second bottle a couple of days later and while good, that one exhibited a moderate amount of oxidation that made it significantly less delicious, but still quite good.

Hardly any head. Brownish in color, cloudy sort of muddy look. Sweet smell is fruity and the flavor is complex, slightly sour but pleasing.

37,5cl bottle from dranken Geerts. very sourish, a mixer of sweet and sour, i don’t like the beer style but next time i will try an aged bottle.

Courtesy of Retorp. 2004 bottle. Pours a dark brown cola color with a thin tan head. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of honey, caramel, ripe dark fruit, raisins, prunes, molasses and some booziness. Flavor is malty and sweet with notes of caramel and honey, ripe dark fruit, ripe cherries, yeast, bread, and hints of grass. Generally medium body with a pleasing sweet and sour finish.

courtesy of Retorp, ’04 bottle. Pours copper with beige head. Taste is malty with light hops and some very good addition of fruits, dark cherries. God dose of yeast. Amazing balance with the sour and tartness being excellent, almost velvety.