Struise Aardmonnik / Earthmonk

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

Another rare Belgian from... gunhaver? Is he trying to outdo sebletitje? I don’t know. Pours dark brown with an off-white head. Nose is vinegar, acid, fruit, slightly sweet vanilla, malt, and chocolate. There is a strange blend between sweet and sour in this one. Flavor is very similar with fruitiness, vinegar, malt, and acid combining to form a complex beer. Light to medium bodied with lingering vinegar.

0.75 l bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Hazy dark brown color with creamy head. Sour, acetic, nutty and solventy aroma with soya sauce and red wine. Sweet, sour and strongly acetic flavor with licorice, nuts and red wine. Oily yet sharp and solventy palate. Usually I like sour browns, but this one is far too acetic, solventy and sweet.

bottle courtesy of gunhaver. Pours a murky brown. Nose is tart lactic acid, prunes, pungent dark fruits, grapes, over-ripe cherries, vinegar and sweet malt. Flavor is cherry, vinegar, sour grapes, almost cabernet flavors, wood, tart fruits, ripe figs, sour and sweet. Finishes sweet with hints of tart acid.

Pours dark no head, no bubbly. Tart, yet sweet flavor with a dry finish. You can taste some malt and the fruitiness comes out in the finish. Definitely some funkiness going on. ABV undetectable. Nice.

Flemish red-like nose, oak, raspberries, nice and funky. Pours cloudy reddish brown no head. Oaky, tart raspberries, strawberries, hints of milk chocolate, very smooth, hints of heather, a beautiful flavor! Awesome!

750ml bottle (Pikkulintu, Helsinki) - shared with Austone, Mirjukka, and Janne - thanks!
Rich aroma - some sourness, cherry hints, and alas to me a hint of glue. Taste has nice burnt corners, almost ashy, but the main thrust is the sourness. Sharp and tingly, but without being astringent. A good balance between malts, fruits, and sourness, and even burntness. There’s caramel there too. All fairly well integrated. Finish is quite acidic, and has lovely burnt touches. No alcohol at all.

Bottle - Rating #1600!. Big thanks to Santa! Well after some procrastination on my part to enter a year and a half worth of ratings I made plans for #1600. Not sure of the year of the bottle but it is labeled as best by 07/2010. Poured a flat brown/black body with no head. Aroma is sour grapes and some cardboard. Flavor is a hit of sour at first but smooths to a malty vinegar muscat o grapes taste. Slightly dry finish.

11.2oz bottle from Sparky27 - thanks, Eric!!! Man alive, did this one ever live up to the hype. Dark red pour, with dusky brown murk at the edges and some mysterious amber gleams. Very minimal carbonation, but a mouthfeel that’s smooth and silky, quite full. The nose is oak, leather, musky funk, and dried cherry pits. The flavor is amazingly complex, with one of the most superbly subtle uses of oak I’ve ever encountered, giving the funk an oh-so-delicate vanilla complement (absolutely nothing confectionary about it, just earthy and inviting). Dried fruit and vinous characteristics come on in the finish particularly, with a nice tart smack in the chops. Beautiful interplay of sweet and sour, a tremendous, tremendous beer.