Rodenbach Vin de Céréale

Brewed by Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Style: Sour Ale
Roeselare, Belgium

This reddish copper beer poured with a nice off-white head and a fruity aroma. The flavor is fruity and quite sour and stays on the palate for a while. The taste gives no clue that the abv is 10 percent.

2004 bottle, barrel # 132, bottle # 2658 as per wrapping. pours orange/copper, clear with a very thin and quickly disappearing fizzy white head. Aroma, lots of sourness and apple like nose, vinous fruits with possibly phenolic hints/industrial. Given that description, the beer still retained a highly enjoyable nose. Taste was definitely in my scope of sour beers. tartness and apples with hints of oak/wood, starts off sour/tart while the palate follows by a more mellow mouthfeel that is borderline on the sweet side. Overall palate remains very flat with only specks of light carbonation.

Bottle: Thanks ygtbsm94! Blush color with an orange/pink hue and wispy fading bubbles at the edges. Very acetic aroma with balsamic character all over. Light oxidized notes, but not much sign of the five years. Sweet oak, mildly boozy note with a touch of vanilla. A bit hot and chemicalish aroma all around. Slick body- hardly carbonated. Sharp in the flavor upfront. Some cheese rind followed by a sweetness that is both fruity and reminiscent of the cask (oak and soft vanilla). Then comes the intense acetic character that is prominent throughout. Very vinegary into the finish. Some alcohol burn as well. A bit too acetic and alcoholic, but still an interesting Flemish Red.

Bottle sampled on 10/25/08 courtesy of kramer: Transparent copper amber with a thin wispy-lacing white head. Aroma of sweet oaky caramel and light fruity esters. Body starts with decent fullness and light fruity complexity with a rich assertive oaky complexity. Finishes drier and semi-tart with crisp balance. A very nice Flemish sour.

bottle, no head at all .. maybe a bit white head by pouring the beer, but disapearing immediately. The beer has a nice craft bottle. Colour: light copper, pale yellow. The beer looks a bit like a cognac. Smell: very fruity. Taste: sour apples, melons, raisins. The beer is quit creamy and is very complex. Also notes from lemons, grain, sweetness, oak, vanilla. I think a retaste would give the beer a higher rating. It’s very very complex.

Aroma is sweet with some acidic aspect, some sweet tart fruit. Very nice. Taste is so smooth, sweet and musty with great fruit flavor reminiscent of Grand Cru. Some tartness and prickly wood round it out. Awesome.

Thanks to OSCF for sharing this! Still, clear amber pour. Oak, grape, & apple on the nose. Dry barnyard flavor. Slightly fruity

Tasted side by side with a Rodenbach Grand Cru for comparison. The Vin de Cereale has been aged for three years inside oak barrel #132 at Rodenbach. Much lighter colour than the Rodenbach Grand Cru, it pours a clear orange-red, quite beautiful but no head and no lacing. Aroma is also quite different: peaches and apricots, a light funkyness, musky. Taste is very sour, moreso than the Rodenbach Grand Cru. Dry, tart, acidic. Vinous and white grapes, reminds me very much of a white wine whereas the Rodenbach Grand Cru is more reminiscent of a red. Flat, no carbonation but spicy palate with warming alcohol. Does not have the sweet base of the Grand Cru. Has a bit of a dusty cobweb maltiness.
I love the white wine feel of the Vin de Cereale. Too bad it is such a limited production and thus rare, expensive and possibly soon completely sold out (only 20,000 bottles were made). Simply brilliant!