Rodenbach Alexander

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

Scored this at Bierodrome in London.Cloudy reddish rust colored.Nose is big sour cherry like some kind of sour ball candy.Taste like a funky Cherry Champagne.I enjoyed this brew as there was a little malt and the oak flavor was detectable thru’ the cherry.

Smells like unsweetened black cherries, apricots, chewing tobacco, and worchestire sauce. light reddish brown in color with white foamy head. tastes like sucking on cherry pits rolled in sugar. (am i the only one who did this as a kid??) sour finish that left me only wanting more. awesome find and thanks to wunder for sharing.

Bottle from the excellent tetrik.

I’ve wanted to try this beauty ever since the day that I joined the site. I started it out at refrigerator temperature. It pours a gorgeous red that flashes ruby as the sun shines through it, no head but the sunlight illuminates each of a thousand tiny bubbles rising in the liquid and all glowing yellow from within the crimson heart of the beer. From an oblique angle the orange-brown caramel tones emerge along the surface; complex and beautiful.

Big complex woody nose: tons of oak, sweet cherry juice, balsamic, hints of warm caramel, sherry, just a faint and very pleasant hint of musty stone-lined cellar. With the flavor, there’s so much going on in every sip. Of course the sourness, lemon juice over green apple, but it’s very restrained, one immediately picks up the sweet cherry juice again, all natural cherries, not syrup, but surprisingly sweet with caramels coming through to join the fruit. Funky Flemish sour flavors, recalling Duchess, but ever so much better integrated into the whole of the beer. Splendid dry/tart turn of tannic wood and cherry pits on the late end balances out the lingers sweet and sour leaving the palate overwhelmewd with breadth of flavor. The mouthfeel is really nice, not too sticky but plenty full, not bubbling but with enough micro-bubble carbonation to keep it lively.

I’m incredibly lucky to have tried this beer. Thanks, tetrik. I owe you one.

Big thanks to Jeannie for breaking out this gem. Amber with small head. Beautiful apple & cherry aroma and taste. Very nice, mellow sourness. Some oak sticks out in the taste. Wonderful balance of sweet/sour.

I have waited so long to try this beer, and I can say that I am definitely not dissapointed. The pour was a very dark brown with red hues. I got brown sediment specks falling into the bottle. The head was tan. Aroma was great--cherries, of course, sourness, and some earthiness as well. The flavor is simply amazing. The taste is definitely sour cherries, but you get a shot of a sort of smoked flavor in the finish. The mouthfeel is very creamy and not too thin which is nice. Amazing beer.

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!

Sampled at hellbilly’s hellraiser 3 gathering. 1996 bottle courtesy of psprings. Deep amber pour with a small light head. Citrus, cherries, grapes and light vinegar in the aroma. Flavor is both sweet and tart at the same time, with lots of the fruits and a bit of wood and vinegar. Absolutely delicious! Thanks Paul!

Thanks to eaglefan538 for the once in a lifetime opportunity! Pour was clear dark copper with minimal head/lacing. The aroma was tart cherry, vinegar. The flavor was smooth velvety sour cherries with hints of oak, ash and vanilla. Super sweet, but didn’t strike me as overly so. Fine, fine example of the style.