Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Cuvée Freddy Framboos-Raspberry

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Dark Fruit Sour Ale. Sweet 3/5, Sour 3/5 & Bitter 1/5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Foeder aged dark sour ale with raspberries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle, with a best before date of August 2023. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a two finger beige head that had decent retention while leaving only some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, raspberry, oak, and a touch of acetone.
Taste: Sour, tart, raspberry, oak, with light acidity and balsamic.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice raspberry aroma and flavours. I could drink this again and again.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Lambic - Gueuze, Lambiek Fabriek

Lambiek Fabriek Oude Geuze Brett-Elle

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Brewery: Lambiek Fabriek
Country: Belgium
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Oude Geuze, traditionele blend van zelf gebrouwen lambieken van spontane gisting. Ongefilterde blend van verschillende jaargangen, niet gepasteuriseerd.

(translated from Dutch to English) Oude Geuze, traditional blend of home-brewed lambics from spontaneous fermentation. Unfiltered blend of different volumes, not pasteurized.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.17
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml capped and corked bottle, bottled on 4th April 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a thin half finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Musty, damp wood, earthy, funky, barnyard, oak, wood, with notes of stone fruit, peach, and lemon.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, barnyard, peach, green apple, lemon, oak, wood, with notes of vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable with surprising stone fruit notes, and strong oak in a good way.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Oud Beersel, Lambic - Gueuze

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille Vandervelden 135 Years

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Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Vandervelden 135 Oude Geuze is a blend of 1 year old lambic aged on foeders that were previously used for mainly red Brunello di Montalcino wine and of 3 year old Lambic aged on an old Oud Beersel foeder.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.35
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 14th February 2037. Poured into a Cantillon gueuze glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Funky, barnyard, musty, green apple, straw, oak, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Taste: Lightly sour, funky, earthy, straw, hay, oak, green apple, lemon, with hints of sweetness, pineapple, grape, and vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable. One of my favourites from Oud Beersel with good aromas and flavours, matched with a good balance between sour and sweet.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Oud Bruin Oak Leaf

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Harvest 2015

Brewer Description: (from neck tag in Dutch) Oud Bruin Oak Leaf ontstaat door eikenbladeren toe te voegen aan bier dat reeds één jaar rijpte op eiken vaten. Aan de rand van een pittoreske, Meulebeekse vijver werden deze bladeren zorgvuldig met de hand geplukt. De nazomerbladeren geven het bier een houterige smaak en een drogend gevoel in de mond. De wilde gisten die van nature op de bladeren aanwezig zijn, fermenteren de restsuikers in het bier tot een brede waaier aan complexe en vooral organische aroma’s. Geniet van dit unieke bier en laat je door je zintuigen meenemen op een zonnige herfstwandeling in het bos.

(translated from Dutch to English) Oud Bruin Oak Leaf is created by adding oak leaves to beer that has matured in oak barrels for one year. At the edge of a picturesque Meulebeek pond, these leaves were carefully picked by hand. The late summer leaves give the beer a woody taste and a drying feeling in the mouth. The wild yeasts naturally present on the leaves ferment the residual sugars in the beer into a wide range of complex and especially organic aromas. Enjoy this unique beer and let your senses take you on a sunny autumn walk in the forest.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle, harvest 2015, and with a best before date of April 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange brown colour with a one finger beige head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin replenishing cap, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry skin, blackberry, mixed berries, oak, woody, dried grass, grape skin, light herbal medicine, and a touch vinous.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry skin, grape skin, woody oak, dried grass, with a splash of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Dry, lightly acidic, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Refreshing and enjoyable with good aroma and flavours. Acidity is more balanced here than in some of the other varieties.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Oud Bruin Cherry

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Harvest 2015

Brewer Description: (from neck tag in Dutch) Oud Bruin Cherry ontstaat door krieken toe te voegen aan bier dat reed één jaar rijpte op eiken vaten. De rijpe vruchten worden in volle zomer, bij het krieken van de dag, geplukt in Poolse boomgaarden door lokale schonen. De manden, die uitpuilen van blozende vruchten, steken het Germaanse Rijk over om zo uitgepit neer te strijken in Anzegem waar ze aan het bier worden toegevoegd. De suikers uit de zure kersen worden door de wilde gisten omgezet naar complexe aroma’s van onder meer rode wijn, verse kers en amandel. De krieken en het bier tillen elkaar naar een hoger niveau, dat wisten brouwers honderden jaren geleden al. Ervaar zelf dit prachthuwelijk en klink met je vrienden op dit kersverse bruidspaar.

(translated from Dutch to English) Oud Bruin Cherry is created by adding cherries to beer that ripened for one year in oak barrels. The ripe fruits are picked in full summer, at the crack of the day, in local orchards in Polish orchards. The baskets, protruding from blushing fruits, cross the Germanic Empire to settle down in Anzegem where they are added to the beer. The sugars from the sour cherries are converted by the wild yeast into complex aromas of, among other things, red wine, fresh cherry and almond. The cherries and the beer lift each other to a higher level, brewers knew that hundreds of years ago. Experience this marvelous marriage yourself and sound with your friends on this brand new bridal couple.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A corked and caged 750ml bottle, harvest 2015, and with a best before date of April 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear amber orange brown colour with a half finger beige head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, cherry skin, oak, with hints of almond and vanilla.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, oak, lightly vinous, with a dash of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Acidic but not overly so, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable. The cherry and oak comes through nicely, and there is not as much vinegar as in some of the other variations that I’ve tried.