Petrus Aged Pale

Brewed by Bavik-De Brabandere
Style: Sour Ale
Harelbeke, Belgium

Finally, the ’Aged Petrus Pale’ has arrived, although I have sampled to date 3947 different beers over the last 40 plus years, I want the 1000th on ’Ratebeer’ to be special, and it is. The Pour A some what dark gold color, moderate to generous white head. The Nose That of a fine wine, malt tones are noticeable, and a tartness, and as would be assumed a certain ’oakyness’. The taste The front is tart/sour with traces of a underlying maltiness, the middle a bit of sweetness amongst the sour, light to medium in body, highly acidic and tingly, little carbonation, the finish is moderately dry, some hops noticed. My Opinion One damn fine beer, I’ve not sampled a great number of ’Red/Sour’ beers, but I do like this beer. Trust me it was worth the wait.

Big head cloudy golden colour. Floar nose, fruity tatse almost tropical. unusal beer almost like a Lambic lager. Thaks to Gusler drinking this has set new standard.

Very unique beer. I am glad to be the Belgian beer of the month club to receive this suprise. Aged in oak barrels. Pistachio like palate. Pleasantly sour end.

Excellent. Tastes almost like a gueuze or lambic beer. Very vinous and sour, with a coppery aftertaste. Very nice creamy head on this too.

AT LAST!! This beer, made by Bavik to blend with younger dark beer, for obtaining the "P. oud bruin", or "P. Oak aged dark" in the USA, is as such only obtainable in the USA. In Belgium the brewery refuses to recognise its existence; breweries' representants not knowing about it, or claiming not to... Thanks to a friendly American visitor, here I go. Colour: dark golden-yellow, dusty-hazy. Slight, but seen the acids quite stable white head. Nose: vineous, woody, lactic & acetic acid. Then lemony, green apples. Taste: Beautifully aged. The wood is very discernible. Mellow acids - acetic acid kept below recognition treshold. Hints of sweetness from malt or unfermentables. WOW - this epitomizes the 'Oud bruin' style. Mouthfeel : there is acid-burn, no mistake. The beer is far from empty, a firm underbuild by malt presents itself. Aftertaste: long wood notes. The sweet underbuild gains strenght given some time. Overall: HELL! I couldn't get enough of this beer, were it available here. As it stands, it is a crying shame. It's like making Romanée-Conti unavailable in France!

33cL bottle. Nice head, clear golden color. What an aroma! It smells sour (in a good way) yet fruity and funky. The taste is that wonderful mixture of sweet & sour that flemish sour ales have, if they are sour enough. It also has a bit of a peppery flavor along with some acetic. This beer rivals, if not surpasses, many of the Fantome beers, even La Folie. And although it is not a lambic, if you enjoy those beers you will love this beer due to the blending and oak-aging that lead to its complexity.

This beer very similar to the Old Brunes and Flemish Reds of Belgium, except this beer is brewed exclusively with pale malts. It is then aged for two years or more in oak barrels, where it picks up intense, sour aromas and flavors of oak. Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter, compares this beer to Rodenbach Grand Cru, and it is an apt comparison. This beer is as tart, sour, and refreshing, and every bit as world class as that beer. MJ also states that this is an "adult" beer, for adult tastes, and that you will either love it, or hate it. I loved it the first time I tried it. Petrus Aged Pale pours to a slightly hazy, very pale golden color with a white head that quickly fades, and a soft carbonation. The nose on this beer hits you as soon as you pop the cap. Very pungent, intense sour and oaky aromas pierce the nostrils. The palate is wonderfully tart, sharp, sour, and refreshing, with some pale malt flavors, big notes of oak flavor, and vinous undertones. Petrus Aged Pale finishes with more sour and oaky flavors in a very sharp, very refreshing, acidic, and tangy mouth puckering edge that linger for quite sometime. This is a shocking beer. I was even a bit taken back by it, like one would be after tasting a strong and sharp blue veined cheese. This beer is indeed one for adult tastes and really could be called a pale version of grand cru. The sour and oaky character in this beer dominates from nose to finish, but in a very, very good way if you like that in a beer. Petrus Aged Pale would make the perfect beer to any number of rich dishes. The sharp acid like edge of this beer would cut right through the richest tureen or pate like a hot knife through butter. I enjoy matching Petrus Pale Ale when ever I do a roasted turkey with all the trimmings.

Bottled, thanks to mwsf. This was so good, just amazingly sour and tart, really wild oaky character, so well balanced, juicy and refreshing, lemony and some funky earthy barnyard stuff going on, i justed wanted to drink more and more and more. great beer.