Struise Aardmonnik / Earthmonk

Formerly brewed at De Struise Brouwers
Style: Sour Ale
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Powerful balsamic aroma. Crisp sourness, with more balsamic in the flavor. Sour cherry and cranberry flavors. Brown beer, and no carbonation. Great palate, full mouthfull. At the top of its style.

Bottle’s shared by Brad, huge thanks! Pours dark brown with a thin beige colred head. Aroma is sour, oaky up front, light roast, cherries, apple, earthy, yeasty, barnyard. Flavor is cherries, light caramel, green apples, earth. Palate medium to lightish, medium carbonation, finsihed dry and earthy. Awesome-O!

Bottle. Pours a murky reddish brown with zero carbonation or head. Nose is sour plums, cherry skin, vinegar and just a touch of funk. Taste is very red wine like with sour acidic grapes, oak, brett, cherries and some vinegar. Medium mouth feel. A tad sweeter than most sours I’ve had. Wow. This is really good!

Big thanks to BDR for sharing. Murky brown color with a very thin head. Excellent aroma of cherries, dates and chocolate. Wow... talk about flavor. Massively thick malt body. Tons of freshly pressed grapes. A bit of bitterness to keep from becoming syrup. Very slight sourness. Some chocolate on the finish.

Bottle: A, 08, 11. I’m really excited about this one... Looks like coffee - no head, except for a few tiny bubbles around the rim of the glass, and I did pour "generously." Pretty nasty looking actually. The aroma is a different situation altogether. Massive overripe fruitiness that balances the sharp tartness. Belgian yeast and sugar are readily apparent. Smooth oak and smoky notes. Spicy in the nose. Earthy and vinous and plummy. Jammy. Flavor is incredibly smooth and balanced. Definitely a flemish sour but lacking in that puckering tartness that can be a put off. Raisiny and a tiny bit hot. Just enough oak and there is some cherry (the fruit) in there too. Gastrique. Really, amazingly, balanced for a sour.

Bottle, shared with NachlamSie. Pours murky brown with no head. Not a very attractive beer, but apparently it is intentional. Aroma is very potent. Lots of sour acidic notes, backed with a very earthy backbone, maybe like standing in a big vineyard. Flavor has a very unique sour profile, I’m getting a lot of grapes, vinegar, a bit of caramel, then it washes away with a very acidic cherry sourness. Very enjoyable.

Bottle, big thanks to Muenster for this one. The pour is completely still, murky, and muddy brown. When I took a sniff, I vocalized my surprise. This stuff is powerfully aromatic in a very good way. Yeah, it’s cleanly sour, but not just that. Very rich, genuine vinous character is all over the place. A gentle floral backdrop highlights the grapey, winey notes and of course, highly tasteful suggestions of malt vinegar are up front. The mouthfeel is nice, the stillness works very well here. Lots of rich grape, oak, cherry, all strung together by beautiful sourness. I simply can’t get over the harmony and strength of everything. This is without a doubt my single most favorite soured beer I’ve ever had.

Interesting beer...ugly as hell...but very complex and flavorful!!! This one pours a murky muddy river water with exactly 5 large bubbles for a head. The glass remains almost as clean as before the brew was poured...not a single spot of lacing is left. Aroma is pungent and exhibits red wine-like qualities. Grape, raisin, cherry skins, brown sugar, oak and balsamic all are evident in the nose. Flavor is sour but has a caramel undertone that makes this palatable. Enjoyed this one!!!