Mestreechs Aajt (5% ABV, unsweetened)

Formerly brewed at Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Style: Sour Ale
Gulpen, Netherlands

Bottled, rated “live.” Sitting up with the Oscars; seems to be the occasion for a more offbeat beer. Woof! Very sour whiff when I flip the top. Pours red-brown, with a nice foamy head. But with my first sip, the sourness has gone pretty much away. Nicely tart cherry taste with overtones of a sweet red wine. Pleasant wild yeast taste and impressions of wood come through midway. Then that horse blanket people sometimes talk about (dang! now I’m all melancholy cause they’re doing the montage of dead Hollywood folks, and there goes Chris Reeve... hey Superman and his father passed on!). So I get a beer that combines my favorite bits of brown ale and an unfiltered asti. And finally, a beer from the Netherlands that I can like!

Pours brown with a very small head. Kind of reminded me of a kreik, but more tarte with a nice lingering taste as its drank down. Recommended.

Brown colour with a big baige head. Acid sour aroma and a sour appel taste. Medium body and a sweet sour dry finish.

Bottle 330ml: Deep brown with ruby highlights that had an initial frothy head before fading to a ring that produced surprisingly excellent lace. The aroma is that of sour cherries, currant, plum, toffee malts, pipe tobacco and earthy yeast esters. Yowzer, what a balance of fruity sourness and sweet malt basics that leads to a sublime spice and woody finish. The bretta character adds some nice depth of palate, well done indeed! The feel could use some heft but isn’t all that bad either. I found this to be quite enjoyable and underrated. If you like New Glarus fruit beers you should like this. Thanks Matta for the bottle many moons ago (it has aged wonderfully for just 5% ABV).

Brown colour with beige head. Sour aroma with a vinegar touch. Quite acidic taste with some apple and vinegar.

A red-brown beer with no head. The aroma is lovely sour with a clear presence of vinegar. The flavor is also lovely sour - the sourness draw out the mouthwater toward a very dry end. Unfortunately the body is a little thin.

Deep amber color with a beige head. The taste is a nice balanced body with a nice balanced and sour palate.

Bottle: Dark brown with some ruby tints, very light tan head that quickly dies. This nose is right in your face with notes of sour cherries, almonds, vinegar, yeast, old wood, and pepper. The sourness hits your tongue early, followed by hints of wood, sour grains, yeast, cherries, sour apple, pear, nutmeg, smoke & honey. Very dry all the way through but seems just a little too thin and watery in the mouth - not by much, but enough to throw me off from the aroma and initial taste.