Purchased: 1 Pint, 9.36 Fl. Oz (750ml) bottle at Evolution Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2013
Style/ABV: Flanders Oud Bruin (blended with Lambic?), 5.2%
Reported IBUs: ?
There's not a lot of info out there on tonight's brewery, which is Timmermans brewery/Anthony Martin. According to their website, the brewery was founded in 1909 by British brew master, John Martin. Since then, Timmermans has been making a variety of beers. However, it also appears that the Timmermans Brewery dates back to 1702 (over 300 years), when the Timmermans started brewing Gueuze Lambics under the brewery name of "Brasserie de la Taupe." Whatever.
Tonight's beer is an Oud Bruin. According to the Bourgogne des Flandres Brune page, this beer is blended at the "legendary Timmermans brewery," which is apparently the oldest lambic brewery in the world. This beer is described as going through a process known as "lambic infusion," where the best lambics are blended with a top-fermented brown ale. This beer is matured in oak barrels. So I guess this beer might not be a straight up Oud Bruin, and might be a blend of Oud Bruin with Lambic? Eh?
In low light, this beer pours a dark brown/plum/raisin color, with 2-finger's worth of foamy/soapy tan, soda-colored head. Head retention is surprisingly good on this...with about a pinky's worth of soapy/creamy foam hanging around. In bright light, this beer is a swapy orange color, with a ton of tiny bubbles streaming upwards. This is very effervescent. The head still has a really nice reddish-brown color in bright light.
This almost smells like a Dubbel that crashed into a Bretty brown ale. I'm getting brown sugar, worn leather/band-aid, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices, and some big candied/perfumey dark fruits; raisin, plums, apples, other stone fruits. There is a hint of vinegar and tart/sour, but it's very subtle and mild. It's really fucking sweet...like cherry cola. Maybe a touch of oak/wood?
There is virtually no sour or funk in this, with assertive cherry cola sweetness just blasting your palate. You get cherry cola, sweet sugary caramel, sugary vanilla, and maybe a dash of wood. The finish sort of dries out with some wood, and maybe some elusive spices dance around in this, but this is one-note, and it plays that note hard. This sort of reminds me of the very underwhelming Petrus Dubbel.
Before I pile on the mounds of hatorade, it is worth noting that this beer is likely a blend of an Oud Bruin style ale with a fruity Lambic. I swear I'm getting cherries in here...and they are okay. As I continue to drink this, I'm getting some apples and cherry skins, and hints of tartness. The whole thing has a very rich, chewy mouthfeel, and it's quite thick and smooth. There's some lingering buttery/diacetyl on the finish. Low complexity, good palate depth, lower carbonation and a thicker mouthfeel than I was expecting...this is medium in terms of mouthfeel, and drinks okay for 5.2%. And by "okay," I mean really fucking sweet. Up front is cherry cola, sugary vanilla, sugary caramel; this rolls into a dash of spice, a dash of wood, more sugary stuff; the back end is lingering everything, maybe an elusive flash of hops, more cherry, more wood...not very dry.
Rating: Average Tonight's beer is an Oud Bruin. According to the Bourgogne des Flandres Brune page, this beer is blended at the "legendary Timmermans brewery," which is apparently the oldest lambic brewery in the world. This beer is described as going through a process known as "lambic infusion," where the best lambics are blended with a top-fermented brown ale. This beer is matured in oak barrels. So I guess this beer might not be a straight up Oud Bruin, and might be a blend of Oud Bruin with Lambic? Eh?
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| Bourgogne des Flandres |
In low light, this beer pours a dark brown/plum/raisin color, with 2-finger's worth of foamy/soapy tan, soda-colored head. Head retention is surprisingly good on this...with about a pinky's worth of soapy/creamy foam hanging around. In bright light, this beer is a swapy orange color, with a ton of tiny bubbles streaming upwards. This is very effervescent. The head still has a really nice reddish-brown color in bright light.
This almost smells like a Dubbel that crashed into a Bretty brown ale. I'm getting brown sugar, worn leather/band-aid, clove, nutmeg, cinnamon, and other spices, and some big candied/perfumey dark fruits; raisin, plums, apples, other stone fruits. There is a hint of vinegar and tart/sour, but it's very subtle and mild. It's really fucking sweet...like cherry cola. Maybe a touch of oak/wood?
There is virtually no sour or funk in this, with assertive cherry cola sweetness just blasting your palate. You get cherry cola, sweet sugary caramel, sugary vanilla, and maybe a dash of wood. The finish sort of dries out with some wood, and maybe some elusive spices dance around in this, but this is one-note, and it plays that note hard. This sort of reminds me of the very underwhelming Petrus Dubbel.
Before I pile on the mounds of hatorade, it is worth noting that this beer is likely a blend of an Oud Bruin style ale with a fruity Lambic. I swear I'm getting cherries in here...and they are okay. As I continue to drink this, I'm getting some apples and cherry skins, and hints of tartness. The whole thing has a very rich, chewy mouthfeel, and it's quite thick and smooth. There's some lingering buttery/diacetyl on the finish. Low complexity, good palate depth, lower carbonation and a thicker mouthfeel than I was expecting...this is medium in terms of mouthfeel, and drinks okay for 5.2%. And by "okay," I mean really fucking sweet. Up front is cherry cola, sugary vanilla, sugary caramel; this rolls into a dash of spice, a dash of wood, more sugary stuff; the back end is lingering everything, maybe an elusive flash of hops, more cherry, more wood...not very dry.
I'm feeling a light Average on this. This is a one-trick pony. With that said, I bet this would taste great with a scoop of ice cream in it, or if you blended it with a Stout. Hmm...it's way too pricey to justify purchasing again (imo), at around 13-17 for a 750ml bottle. Fuck that. You could pair this with a red sauce...I'm tasting a meatball sub from Subway, and this would go great with that. But meh. I'd pass on this for now.
Random Thought: I feel a cold coming on. FML. Sleep time.
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