Rodenbach Alexander

Formerly brewed at Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Style: Sour Ale
Roeselare, Belgium

(3/8/08) Bottle at De Heeren van Liedekercke in Denderleeuw. 1992 vintage. Best before 1994. Dark red with a quickly-collapsing beige head. Aroma of a lot of oak and cherries. Sweetish-sourish flavor with lots of real cherry flavor, some malt and some wood. Nice body, slightly sticky but rather smooth. Great.

Bottle, thanks to Styles!! 1996, I believe. Poured crystal clear medium garnet with just a few loose bubbles of head sticking around. The aroma was sublime.. sweet, softer cherries and berries pair with light vinegary skins, some oak, and dusty funk.. everything blended perfectly. The flavor had a seductive moderate cherry and berry skin sourness running through it.. the oak presence was well-integrated.. mild deep cherry meat and oxidation on the back-end.. slowly rolled off the finish and left a long impression. Lower carbonation on the palate with ideal balance.. I can’t believe how well this held up!

Bottle generously shared by Wetherel at the Fordest tasting. From notes. Pours golden amber with a quickly deminishing tan head. A very trat aroma, predominately sour cherries. A very harmonious sour ale, I believe John found out it was brewed in 1999, 8 years of mother nature have done wonders with this. Very nice mouth feel, wonderful.

2008-03-06. 1992 Vintage. Ruby tinged brown body with a decent bubbly beige head that fades a bit (3+). Aroma of increasingly sweet cherries, brief tart cherries, evolves into a musty fruit character accented by malt. (7+) Flavour is largely cherries, sweet with fluctuating degrees of sour accents ranging from light to medium. (7+) Average palate feels lighter but also smoother because of the light carbonation - it floats across the tongue delicately. (3+) Very nice. I enjoyed this much better than the Rodenbach Grand Cru, I found it much smoother and well rounded. +1 or 2 overall simply for the experience of a 16 year old beer that has held up remarkably well.
Bottle at De Heeren van Liedekercke, Liedekercke

Rating #1500. Bottle from Styles. Muddy brown body with a reddish tint and a tiny beige head. Sweet and tart nose with pie cherries, rich caramel, light acetic acid and figs. Flavor is moderately sweet and lightly sour with lots of cherries, plenty of caramels and toffee, light black berries, some almond, vanilla and balsamic vinegar as well. Medium body is very soft and smooth with light carbonation. Finish is long with a lasting acidity. Definitely a classic for a reason, though a touch sweeter than I would have liked.

Bottle from a very generous and old-school Styles. Pour was clear brown in color, no head and no lacing (shocker). The aroma was musty tart cherries and then sweet cherries. Flavor followed suit, smooth sweet cherries with a light lemon tartness following, only a saw-dusty oak presence, very faint, and then a touch of vanilla beans. Mouthfeel is moderate, smooth. A super soft and gentle Duchesse (my cheap thrill). Wow, not sure I was worthy of this rarity, thanks so much, Chris!

#500. Shared with therealbastard. Poured hazy amber with a small white head. Aroma of sour cherries, sweet malt, and caramel. Beautiful. Complex flavor of all of the above. Thanks Brenton for this one.

25cl bottle at HVDL BBE 94 made in 1992. Beautiful blood red colour. Stunning aroma. Flemish sour with great tart fruit. Little musty on aroma. Flavour is stunning. The cherries are so intense, but wonderfully balanaced. Sour/sweet blond. Flavour is so juicy/tart/sweet. Musty aroma just lets it down. Bit of candy sugar toffee to in mouth.