Struise Aardmonnik / Earthmonk

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

Bottle @ Delirium Cafe, Brussels. This is an intriguing Sour Ale. The aroma is of cherry juice with a slight acidic punch at the end, and the beer pours reddish-brown with a small white to slightly off-white head. The taste is very interesting, as the juicy notes appear in the front of the taste and the acidic bite hits you in the end. The beer may be slightly TOO acidic, since every sip seemed to burn the back of my mouth a bit, but that’s largely indicative of the style. This beer is a winner and the best sour ale I’ve ever tasted.

Ok, well, the 100th rating of this beer goes to me. But, alas, I was not intrigued by this beer as much as others. Thanks Sliffy for sharing. The beer pours to a clean mahogany body with a thin white head. The aroma is cherry juice, sour earthy malt and hops, and tart lactic acid. The flavor is earthy brown ale and slight metallic sweet cherries. Chocolate up front. The palate is tart and slightly metallic. I like this beer but don’t feel it is worthy of the hype.

Huge thanks to Sliffy. This is really incredible. Dark brown color, almost no head. Aroma is huge sour, not just a one dimensional sour but an amazing balanced and interesting sour. This is awesome.

33cl, thanks to ygtbsm94 for this one. pours dark muddy reddish brown with no head. nose has nutmeg, wood, sweet and sour cherries, port wine notes, and cocoa powder. flavor is tart cherries, oak, nutmeg, blueberries, and chocolate. a real nice balance between sour and sweet cherries with a hint of chocolate. alcohol is well hidden. mouthfeel is full. carbonation is really low. very tasty indeed.

At Struise farm, Tasted this gem next to its sister brew Aardnon. Aardmonnik served by Urbain from a 75cl bottle. Pours a very dark brown almost black beer. Fine bubbles are formed afther a pour by Urbain from a hight of 30 cm . Aroma is exploding out of the glass. Wow very vinous beer, Porto, spices Pannepot like, wood, Modena vinegar, tart cherries and many other complex aroma’s. Taste is like the smell, The beer has a great oily and soft mouthfeeling. There are lots of malts, pepercake, Port wine, wood, Toasted wood, Sour berries, cherries, chocolate and some caramelized apples. An unforgetable and unique beer. Thanks so much Urbain for this great Oud Vlaams Bruin

2005 bottle, 75 cl, courtesy boboski. I’ve been on a good run of Flemish sours lately, and it’s style I like due to the variety in each offering. And this one was interesting, and one I had been waiting a while to try. It poured a dark brown with ruby tints. There at first appeared to no head, but a latent carbonation made itself known after a few seconds. Fascinating aroma - sharply sour, the initial whiff has some real vingear-like qualities, but after that there’s some real herb-and-spice aromas along with cloves. Taste begins with a sharp, concentrated stab of sour, but strangely the aggressive tartness backs off a bit for the duration. This allows appreciation of the herbal qualtiies present. Something about the brew reminded a bit of Ricola cough drops, so perhaps whatever herbs and stuff are on the front of the Ricola bag are in this brew. Drinking this also, not surprisingly, reminded me of Pannepot. Overall, not insanely sour, but remarkable for its complexity.

2005 bottle. Courtesy boboski. You sir, are a baller. Pours a deep red maroon with a very small to almost no head. Definitely has some time on it. Light white bubbles swirl around the top of the beer. Smells of the funk, some acidity, fruitiness, cherries, lemons, and more funk. Taste has some tartness to it, but not overpowering sourness. Kind of drinks like a fine wine. Nice full body to it, very fruity with much of the funk as well. Some cherry or raspberry are there but not too sweet. Nice tartness in the finish but leaves a warming coat on the palate that just tingles the taste buds. Awesome!

Courtesy boboski. 2005. Dark ruby/brown with a layer of tan/light brown foam. Gorgeous color. Aroma of tart cherries/dark berries, vinegar, airy yeast, stale earth, apples/pears. Flavor adds sourness, strong malt support, and light dose of earthy, floral perfume. Body is a bit thin with very light carbonation which is easily tolerated because the flavor profile provides enough sharpness on its own. Still would like a little more weight to the body, have to get a fresh bottle. Excellent brew.