Rodenbach Alexander

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

1994 Vintage
Consumed at Heeren van Lindekerke in June 2006 (12 years cellared)
Clear medium-dark ruby and burgundy colored body. Nose consists of smooth creamy cherries, slightly sweet candy-like scent. Flavor is crisp, lightly sour, has a good frothyness, somewhat peppy as well. Light sharpness in the nose, syrupy cherry fruit and red grapes (wine) flavors, sum this one up fairly well. Perhaps my bottle was a little oxidized, because I found some alcohol or acetone scents. Has soda-like carbonation. I tried pretty hard to find something remarkable in this one, but I did not find it. Overall it’s good, but I did not feel it was worthy of the 100th percentile. As a footnote: I truly love flemish sours.
Photograph of Bottle & Glass:
http://www.youforgotpoland.org/beer/RodenbachA /> 8/4/7/3/15 = 3.7

1996/7(?) Vintage
Bottle shared by ryan, consumed June 2008 (11-12 years cellared)

Pours clear dark rusty brown in color, leaving a huge cement yeast cake on the bottom of the bottle. Pungent, acidic, big and thick on the palate, sticky bread crust and vinegar and brown sugar everywhere. Extremely deep and complex, but the richness and huge body is the real draw here. Thick, sharp, acidic, wine-like at times, vinegar-like other times... excellent stuff. Much better than the 1994 bottle I had in 2006.
8/4/9/5/17 = 4.3

Deep amber with a touch of ruby. Tall head that rapidly retreats. Cherries, oak and basalmic vinegar aromas. Flavors of fresh yogurt, kiwi/passion fruit and iron backed by a fresh cherry sweetness. My favorite in the Rodenbach line.

Pretty dark red colour. Nice head. Great sweet and sour flavor with oak.

Sampled at Oakes’ ’05 Xmas Party
94: Amber ruby color, light head, light lacing. Nose of sweet complex rasp/straw berry. The flavor is equally tart and sweet. My god, this is good and fresh AND it’s 11 years old?! Wow, awesome. The Belgian characteristics are still robust and fresh. How much longer could this go?

Reddish amber colour with a big off-white head. Sweet sour aroma with hints of wood. Sweet malty and sour flavor with hints of fruit and wood. Long sour aaftertaste with some hints of cherries.

1992. I was worried about the age, but it had aged very gracefully. Clear red chestnut, with a lasting off-white head. Aroma is vineous with with a little port, cherries and notes of lactobacillus. Sweet cherry and caramel flavour with tartness and wood giving it an outstanding balance and drinkability.

Big thanks to TChrome for this. I didn’t know this was retired. Pours turbid ruby/amber with medium off-white head. Aroma of big sour cherries, figs, oak, malt. Tastes krieky, with some figs, oak, and malty sweetness at the finish. It is sour, don’t misunderstand, but it is balanced by a malty sweetness. Wonderfully balanced, with a solid complexity. Many lambics taste like melted Jolly Rancher candy to me. This one is the real deal....complex, balanced, and ass-kicking. In my opinion, this one is up there with the New Glarus Red and Tart. A wonderful beer. Why did they retire this bad boy?

Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium reddish-amber, dense tiny particles, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of cherry, cask wood, brown sugar. Flavor is moderately sweet, heavily acidic. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic. Medium body, watery (almost syrupy) texture, lively carbonation. More cherry character than the Grand Cru of course, but just as sour (if not slightly more so) and perhaps a bit less cloying. Great stuff.