Rodenbach Alexander

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

Mike hooked me up big-time with a bottle of this stuff. Absolutely phenomenal in every way. Poured a beautiful clear deep amber with great carbonation and a nice fluffy lasting head with good lace. Aroma is a kick in the face- as the cherry pie aromas dominate this beer. Some Pedio and brett in the aroma, some tartness and sour all the way through, but not nearly as sour as many other lambics or flemish sours. The flavor has the sourness lingering around the sides of the beer which come through after you notice the sweetness up front. Sweet caramel, cherry, fruity, some plum, sherry, and red wine. The woodiness of the oak comes through nicely in the middle as the beer mellows for a while. As it warms a bit, the cherry cough syrup like flavors become even more apparent but I never found them to be overwhelming or annoying. Mildly sour and tart finish but stil has that syrupy sweetness going on in the end. Very nice overall. Im very appreciative to have had a chance to drink this beer. Thanks again Mike.

Pours red and muddy with a generous tannish head. Smells vinegary with some tartness and barnyard qualities. From the first sip to the finish, there is an underlying sourness only matched in the greatest ecamples of this style. Some nice woody qualities are also quite pronounced. The oak aging did this one well.

Shortly after my first taste of Rodenbach Grand Cru, I learned about the [former] existence of this beer, believing that I would never get the chance to taste it. I couldn’t be happier to be wrong, thanks to Eyedrinkale. I did my best to supply him with reasonable compensation for this bottle, but I’m afraid I fell far short. Starting with appearance, this is dark red/brown and cloudy. A thick layer of yeast stuck at the bottom of the bottle, refusing to budge. The aroma is fantastically sweet and sour; cherries, oak and perhaps vinegar. The flavor is oak, cherries, strawberries and smooth vanilla. It is fantastically tart and sour. The woody/tannic/vinous quality is the best I have ever experienced. Usually, this has a bad connotation, but here it is entirely enjoyable. It is not sweet, but not entirely dry. Light carbonation gives way to a lush, velvety smooth texture. Perfection. I’m not sure when it will fully sink in that I will probably never get to experience this beer again. Hopefully, I’m proven wrong a second time.

#1000. Bottles provided by JCW and EDA. Disclaimer: I can’t do this beer justice in a review, should have employed one of the great writers on the site. Dirty reddish/brown with a few bubbles here and there. Very oily, coats the glass. Initial aroma has a huge vinegar kick, but in a good way. As it warms, fades into a nice sour cherry, with woodsy tannic notes. Mouth puckering to say the least. Initial flavor sour cherries with lots of wood, light vinegar. Finishes sweet and sour, mouth puckering, leaves you salivating for more. One of the few beers I could drink anytime, anywhere, well if it was available anyway.

This one is really special to me because I bought the last ones at the brewary itself... in 1999 !!!! I still have 4 bottles left and the temperaturelimit for it is 35 degrees Celcius. otherwise there gone in one day. PERFECT. Hope to see that brewary is producing it again.

Bottle at Mr. Pickwicks in Stowe VT. Pours a deep reddish brown with a light white whipped head. Aroma is nutty and vanilla with a huge punch of acidic cherries. Body is med-light with an avg. amount of CO2. The flavors follow the aroma and are perfect with huge amounts of sour cherries, a throat biting lactic sourness, and a beautiful sweet nutty finish. Very nice beer. Glad I paid the $9.75 for it.

Bottled. Reddish brown coloured. Natural cherry aroma with oaky notes. Sweet and acidic flavour. Complex. Smooth. Nice.

The pour reveals a cloudy amber color with a thin white head. Excellent aroma of tart and sweet cherries with mild vinegar. The flavor is excellent with a good balance between tartness and sweetness, the sweetness tends to dominate in the finish though. The body has a light to medium thickness with a superb creamy and dry mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. After so many years the bottle kept really well, the carbonation is not strong but it doesn’t fell oxydated.