Rodenbach Alexander

Rating #300. 33cl bottle via trade with Goldtwins, Shared by WeeHeavySD. When i first tried the Grand Cru, I loved it, but was dispointed I’d never get to try Alexander. Thank you Jon for the chance. Redish brown with a small tan head. Sweet complex nose with underlying sour notes. Flavor is tart and acidic, not quite ripe plum and cherry with some slightly citric notes.the Vingear flavor is not as strong as in the Grand Cru, but still there. leaves a lingering flavor in the mouth. A spent about 45 mintues with 5 oz of this beer, savor the lovely flavors, but evetually it came to an end, sadly. I’m rating #200 on this brew, and I’m sad more won’t get to try this sublime brew.

33cl bottle via trade with Goldtwins saved for a while to share with Bikesandbeer who gave me the idea to pursue this beer in the first place. Pours reddish brown with a bit of tan ring of a head. The nose is sour, sweet and really pretty complex and interesting. The taste is sweet, sour, a bit vinegary and very interesting. A lot more muted than the more crazy grand cru. Pretty damn tasty. Damn really nice beer.

Rating #1000. Bottle from Styles. I wanted this beer to be mind-blowing, and I wanted to write a review of it likening it to a roller-coaster... where all the beers leading up to this were the endless climb up to the top of the first hill. Where the cap is popped and I am just bridging the hump. The first sniff is taken and it all comes into speed, as I fly along the track and am taken for a wild, intense, amazing ride that is done before I know it. And then that is it. Back to the grind, back to the baby steps in between the adrenaline rushes, the hours of waiting between each 2 minute adventure.

But I am not going to write a review like that. Because this isn’t quite that good. Is it great? Yes. Fantastic? Perhaps. But so good that I could dare write a review calling every other beer I have had up to this point just another step towards the pinnacle that is Rodenbach Alexander? Nope. Oh well!

So here is my review:


Small white head.

Rating #100!!! Sampled many times over the years from Brussels to California...various vintages. Copper color, beige head. Cherry sweet tart and light vinegar aroma and taste, with notes of apricot, green apple candy, balsamic, and rich oak. Sometimes bitter, funky and/or syrupy sweet, but always intriguing and compelling. Most folks want more after one sip, just to reinforce the taste sensation that is unique and fun! A classic that no one has reproduced, though the Duchesse de Bourgogne and others are somewhat similar. Certainly a classic that while may be a tad past it’s prime, is a world class beauty.

12 oz bottle, via Styles I believe. Pours a clear dark copper to amber with a reddish tinge under a one finger fizzy beige head that retained as a foamy covering. The aroma is just mouthwatering. Equal parts Flemish Sour and pure raspberry essence. Reminds me of a raspberry eiswine. Just a slight foreshadow of tartness. Really great tart raspberry flavor. Just like fresh picked off the bush. How is that possible after this many years? Tart slightly acetic bracing finish. Lots of sweetness, but not cloying at all. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with a nice drying acetic finish that kinda sucks the saliva out of your cheeks. A world class beer. A shame that they took it away. Amazing to think that this is "old".

RATING #1000! Almost three years in the making, I have finally achieved the coveted number. And what a beer with which to mark my accomplishment. This comes courtesty of Terry Boyd, and how fitting... the #1 beer guy in Connecticut handing me that which would become the showpiece for my most significant benchmark. Terry got these bottles from a friend down south who didn’t know what it was... luckily for us. Poured an effervescent light brownish red with a white head that started tight and creamy but became somewhat fizzy. Interesting aroma of sundae cherries, cream, a bit of vinegar, some cinnamon. Almost artificial in its sweetness. Flavor is very complex, with both sweet and tart balancing each other well. Sundae and black cherries come through strongly with some cider vinegar, vanilla, a bit of oak, some olive-like character. Almost dessert-like, but with enough unfolding layers to warrant solitary study. Finishes with some ashen dryness and a bit of olive pit. Very easy drinking. This has obviously held up very well. Very tasty. I wonder why they stopped making this.

Also, special thanks to the entire RateBeer community for taking me on an incredible journey through a world of such unfathomable depth that it confounds all except those most familiar with its terrain. I know I still have many miles and glasses to go, and I’m looking forward to every one. Cheers to all you great RateBeerians!

Bottel. tasted with beermouth, Pours with no head. Aroma is sour, just a bit. The beer is just a little too fruity and tart.

Amazing flavor. This is one of the best I’ve had. Bottled. Muddy brown color with a nice medium palate. The first aroma is a sour cherry fruit and the taste is the same. Very good cherry and fruit tartness- perfect tartness, not the pucker up unable to drink kind. Wonderful flavor. It was a pleasure drinking this beer.