Petrus Oud Bruin

Brewed By: Bavik-De Brabandere in Harelbeke, Belgium

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Oud Bruin, 5.5%

Reported IBUs: ?

Continuing with Sunday Funday....About Petrus: 

The Brewery Bavik (Brouwerij Bavik) was founded in 1894 by Adolphe De Brabandere. One of his sons, Joseph De Brabandere, brewed his first beer the same year the brewery was founded. Before 1950 the brewery's beer was sold primarily to cafes and individuals, but post-1950 the beer has been sold to merchants. The Bavik Brewery is a family run business, and is one of the largest independent breweries in Belgium. For more info, check out Bavik's history page.

The Petrus Oud Bruin/Old Brown/Old Dark is an Oud Bruin aged for 24 months in oak barrels. Punching in at 5.5%, this beer is both readily available and relatively cheap.

Petrus Oud Bruin

The cork came out cleanly, and the beer pours into a nice dark, ruby red body, with three fingers of khaki/tan head. The head is soapy and foamy. When you shine a bright light onto this beer, you can see that the body is swampy brown, hazy, and murky. It looks like chocolate milk. The lacing is good, and head retention is also good.

The aroma features tons of vanilla, cherry coke, cherry, oak, and wood. I'm also getting apples, pears, apple slaw salad, grape and apple juice, and a hint of spice.

Unfortunately, the taste doesn't follow through with the aroma...I'm mostly getting wheat and apples, one-dimensional apple/raisin/wheat sweetness, some hints of cola, and very little tartness if any. A touch of wood no real oak.

There's some oxidation here...with the wheat-apple punch being the dominant and only force driving this cola-esque beer. This is super disappointing for a Belgian Ale. It's very drinkable at 5.5%, but where is the flavor? The light to medium-light body is driven by lively carbonation, with one-dimensional palate depth and complexity. You get carbonated wheat/apples up front; apples, wheat and raisins in the middle; apples and wheat in the back with a hint of wood and some faded oak and oxidation. Very little sour, very little tart, very little flavor or character. Booo.

Rating: Below-Average (2.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Below-Average. This beer is below average for the style. Unlike the Petrus Aged Pale Ale which featured delicious and gripping tartness, this beer just falls flat in delivering that cherry-cola-oak goodness. The oxidation contributes some paper/cardboard, which doesn't work against the flavorless backdrop. I would not pick this up again, even at the price of 10 dollars a 750ml. There are much better Oud Bruins out there. I bought this to pair with leftover pulled pork sandwiches, but I'll probably butt chug the rest and switch to a more flavorful beer.

Random Thought: The Bears ain't got no run defense.