Struise Aardmonnik / Earthmonk

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

Bottled. Cloudy mahogany colour, minimal airy head.Acidic black currant aroma. Sweet rounded malt accompanied my vinegary acidity. Surpisingly light bodied with notes of wood and raspberries. The heavy citric acidity creates a burning sensation in the finish which is somewhat detracting.

Bottled
Very dark ruby-brown color, mostly vanishing beige head. Vinegar, soya sauce, birch wood and dark fruits in the nose. Flemish sour ale it is: sour with salted licorice, Jägermeister and vanilla flavors in the very wineous palate and with sticky mouthfeel. Very complex beer - for slow drinking.

(Bottled, 0.75l) Very dark ruby-brown with a smallish, beige and big-bubbly head when poured as instructed. Very strong, clean and roasted-malty aroma with oak, sweet port-winous notes, dried fruit and cherries. Tart but sweetish, very malty flavor with oak clearly but smoothly present. Wine stone and oaky tannins in the aftertaste. Medium to full-bodied, very balancedly tart palate. Extremely smooth, complex and balanced Flemish sour.

Deep deep ruby. Thin slick of a head, nearly still. Nose is balsamic & caramel at first. Gives way to spice & slight alcohol, some cocoa. Flavor is sweet sweet balsamic, caramel, vinous with subtle spicing. Finish is slightly tart with lots of malt.

Thanks again to WeeHeavySD for this one. I loves me some Flemish sour ales and this was one of the more unique ale’s I’ve tried in the category. The smell is very much like wine and the bouquet of tastes is hard to pin down. Starts sour, gets sweet and ends bitter. Baffling, yet delicious. They know what they’re in Flemishland. Do not dispute.

750ml bottle sent to me from Tever for my birthday, thanks Tom. Shared with Bartzilla on his birthday. Beer 3 birthday bash de Bartzilla. Aroma is vinegary sour sweet and very complex. The pour is very very dark brown with a thinnish foamy ring of head. Very dark for a sour. The taste is all over the place. It is sour, sweet, bitter, malty and vinous. This is an intense but highly tasty sour. Fantastically yum.

750 ml bottle at pre-RBSG tasting

Thanks to sliffy for cracking this open. I had just traded for a smaller bottle which I now look forward to sharing with some non-Ratebeerians to expose them to just how awesome beer can be. If only this were available in the midwest (specifically Wisconsin) the world would be a much better place. It might even give Dan Carey a run for his money. As it is, do whatever you have to get ahold of this beer and any other Struise release. While I was initially a bit skeptical I am now convinced it is one of the best breweries around.

Aroma / Appearance - Sourness mingles with cinnamon, brett, black cherries and chocolate brownies. Underneath it all is the smell of fresh figs. The deep red body is borderline black; not even a trace of light was able to escape unscathed. A tan head decorates the top to create a perfect looking beer which could be admired for a long time.

Flavor / Palate - A sour and tart feeling washes over the mouth from the first sip. Dry chocolate, cherry cough syrup, coffee and finally peat work their way across the tongue and throat. The finish, while sour, is not quite as intense as expected. This is an excellently made Flemish sour that gives the Rodenbach Grand Cru a run for its money. The nod only goes to Rodenbach because I can get it locally. If this were available I’d be buying it all the time.

Bottle thanks to sliffy! Poured a deep chocolatey brown with a loose caramel-beige head on it. The aroma found ridiculously deep cherry skins and semi-sweet toffee (great balance gave deference to the tart side), and some darker caramel sugars.. slightly oxidized feel with increasing cherry skin tartness as the drink went on. The flavor added a very complimentary oaky accent to the tart cherry skins.. some vanilla and even more faint chocolate notes across the middle. Expertly sour on the palate with a long, memorable finish. Great brew!