Rodenbach Alexander

Huge thanks to Puddintane shared w/John Adam!! Big things to come in small packages. Holy sh*t this beer rocks! I did not like sour ales before drinking this, but I have to admit this one really changed my mind. Pours maroon color with small amounts of white head. Aroma is cherries and wood, but mostly cherries. Taste is a 15/10 on this one. Loads of cherries and other minor flavors like wood and brown sugar. This beer is one of the best I’ve had so far, will be tough to beat it. Very highly recommended especially to those who bash sours and lambic beers. I did, but now I can’t because this beer was amazing.

33 ml bottle, thanks to moejuck for this ’extra’ in a trade. Pours deep, mostly clear mahogany color with a small off-white head. Aroma of dark and fruity malts, a bit of sourness and tannins, pie cherries, caramel and toastiness all delightfully mixed together, heavy with fruits. Sweet, tart flavors, pie cherry and wood, somewhat vinuous, with a hint of umami. Medium to full body, gently tingly carbonation. Slightly oxidized after all these years, but still deep, complex and very enjoyable.

bottle thanks amorphiss for this awesome treat!..... appearance of dark garnet and pomegranate red with no head to be seen but some smaller bubbles on the edges of the glass...the nose on this was fantastic. maple, brown sugar, sweet candied cherries, a nice woody component that added some tofee, vanilla, and sour oak....flavors of tart and sweet cherries, sweet at first and then transitions nicely to the more tart side of things. a very nice balance between the two. this aged really nicely with many of the woodiness and vanilla flavors coming through in the end....i wasn’t too hot on it at first but def. grew on me as i took my time with it while sitting in a car out in the parking lot.

Wow, I never expected to be able to try this. Pantanap cracked it open in the parking lot right before the winter beer fest. Happy 400th! Big aroma arose out of the glass. Great sweet and sour going on. Tart cherries at the front. Taste is big and delicous. Definitely sour, but doesn’t overwhelm. As I continued it somehow got more drinkable. I don’t know how time has effected it, but the taste really filled the mouth and heightened toward a perfect and lasting finish. Overall, a masterpiece of a beer.

Courtesy of wetherel who opened this gem at the fordest tasting sharing it with fordest, toncatcher, padrefan98 and of course wetherel. Pours amber-ish with tan head. It has a big old aroma with lots of tasty cherries that begin sweet and become more sour as the aromatic draw continues. Wow, lots of cherries. The flavor is also Wow. The taste begins balanced with sweet cherries and cherry tartness that is smooth and becomes even smoother toward the finish with mildly growing tartness. Smooth with hidden yeast spiciness (I ended up with some of dregs of this amazing beer) and more cherry sweetness. It is a little tough to describe due to how well it has aged and how the notes have melded and blended.

1996 vintage courtesy of dpflanzer, wow, thanks again David. Pours deep dark brown with amber edges and white head. It has a big inviting aroma of sweet cherries, mild caramel, notes of nuts, port wine notes, mild tart cherry fruit flesh and sugar sweet tartness. With more than a decade of age the nose of this beer is blended and smooth leaving other aromatic notes impossible for me to describe. Just like the nose the taste is smooth blended smoothness with sweet cherries, mild cherry fruit flesh vegetal and tartness. There’s also a sugar sweet tart candy note mixed with faint caramel and moves to the finish with increasing dryness without becoming too dry.

Bottle shared at fordest’s tasting. Holy cow what a great sour ale. I could smell and taste this one all day. But due to the rarity I may never get another chance. Awesome!

Huge thanks to wetherel for sharing this one. Nice reddish brown color with decent head. Aromas of tart cherry and vinous notes of grapes. Flavor was not as sour. Cherry Pie came to mind. Very very tasty. Thanks as well to Tom for letting this one come to us.

Bottle from CaptainCougar. Huge Thanks Tom! I think Tom said he bought this in 2003 or so. I found with some research that it wasn’t produced since 1999 when the brewery was bought by Palm in 1998. I think it was brewed in these huge 5000 gallon wooden barrels with extremely low oxygen absorption rates: http://www.babblebelt.com/newboard/brew resource/RRsour beer presentation.ppt. These large wooden barrels are increasing rare, but still used for great beers, such as La Folie, which is rumored to made by one of Rodenbach’s past brewers.
http://www.brewery.org/brewery/library/Rodnbch.html
The Alexander is supposed to be a blend of Grand Cru and Cherry juice. http://www.sallys-place.com/beverages/beer/red beer.htm
Very nice lactic sweet cherry aroma. Great mouthfeel. Thick, a bit syrupy, with a little bit of a slick mouthfeel, possibly from lactic acid? Amber color. Very easy to drink. Kind of caramel sweetness I associate with aged barleywines, which makes me wonder if the high quality of this beer is partly due to the aging. Clings and coats the glass as I swirl. Some carbonation, but a beer of this magnitude needs none. Heavenly. I could drink this everyday. I’m tempted to give it a perfect 5. Tried at fordest’s tasting with ibrew2or3, fordest, padrefan98, toncatcher, and others.