Rodenbach Redbach

Formerly brewed at Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Style: Fruit Beer
Roeselare, Belgium

Pours a murky cherry red with a thin frothy head that hung around quite a while. Good sourness in the aroma, with a good dose of cherry too. Some nougat/marzipan or something nutty and sweet on there too. Not surprisingly thin on tasting, the sourness is quite restrained but there obviously. Not too sweet, either, which seems to happen with some of these fruit beers. A bit of a Clayton’s drink, but in a good way. Not the strongest body, but the cherry does hang around and remains quite pleasant

11.2 oz. bottle. Sparkling clear bright ruby with a distinctive pink frothy head that builds to a medium height leaving sheets of slippery lace. There’s no mistaking the cherry aroma which overshadows anything else that might be there. Medium body, fairly lively carbonation, and a very clean palate. Sweetness from the cherries, but enough tart and sour character to counter. I was expecting something considerably more sour from Rodenbach, so this was a bit of a surprise. Definitely a dessert type beer. I can’t think of any other occasion where I might drink it.

bottle pours bubbly red with a pink head. Nose is very sweet cherry. Taste is full of cherry but clearly juice and not whole cherries. Pretty drinkable but almost like juice with this negligable alc. Overall tasty could be better though.

Reddish mahogany, thin pink head. Tart sourish aroma, maybe some notes of red wine. Sour cherry at first in the aroma, with red wne notes to follow. As it warms, the cherry becomes very pronounced. Drinkable, but not remarkable.

Nose of cherries, melon and sour cider; smells alot like a green jolly rancher. Pours a lovely dark magenta. The tall mostly lasting creamy stiff pink head starts with a nice slow cascade, and leaves very good lace. Sweet and tart, yep...that’s the ticket! Moderate to heavy acidity. Snappy finish. Light, lively and somewhat cloying. Would be a big hit with the teen crowd. Was a little aprehensive about the green bottle, and twist off cap, but this isn’t bad.

I guess I was expecting more from this beer. It’s a well-marketed one, or else I was fooled. This is pretty sweet stuff. It was what I wanted this evening. Hooray beer!

12 oz botttle

I picked up a single of this having liked the other two Rodenbachs. It was actually kind of a letdown even though it was a solid beer. It reminds me more of a lesser Belgian Red. It does make a nice gateway beer for people who don’t like hops or malts though. In fact it struck me more as cherry syrup than beer.

Aroma / Appearance - The light red one finger head was resting on a deep red body with no carbonation evident. The scent was pure sour cherries; not very complex but rather direct and to the point. It was not as tart as a lambic might be (unless you are trying Lindemans). I’d compare it more to a lighter version of New Glarus Belgian Red.

Flavor / Palate - The taste of cherry cough drops was both unappealing and interesting at the same time. I found it unappealing because it would be hard to drink more than a single bottle of this at a time. On the other hand it went down very easily. My best comparison would be a Door County cherry soft drink that I tried on a trip there last winter. Of the three this is the weakest. It does better on its own without the introduction of the kriek.

Bottle. Deep ruby red body, big fluffy pink head. Smells like cherry life savers and candy with a tart hint. (7+) Light tart hint at first sip. Sweet dilute cherries with occasional tart notes, briefly sour finish. Underlying malt foundation is an afterthought and hard to extract. Average palate. Lacks complexity a one trick pony, cooler like.