Two Brothers Fathom

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 375ml/12.7oz bottle (corked & caged) bought at Andersonville Wine & Spirits in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2014 vintage)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale, 6.5%
Reported IBUs: 50.3

After the super disappointing Tangent, I promised sweet, sweet (and much needed) redemption. Well redemption is here, craft crazies. About Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get. For more information, check out their about page/website.

Like the Tangent, the Fathom is part of Two Brothers "Project Opus." The Fathom is a golden-color sour ale that has been aged in oak foudres for two years. Punching in at 6.5% and 50.3 IBUs, this bottle comes corked and caged, and would be impressive from the onset if not for the extremely disappointing Tangent that preceded it. I promise nothing but good things, so let's glass this one up. 

Two Brothers Fathom

The Fathom has a simple and sexy bottle. The cork was wedged in tightly, but came out without much of a pop. I do have concerns about aging these Two Brothers sours, but c'est la vie. This one pours into a hazy, light amber/copper color in lower light. The beer produces a finger or two of sizzling, crackling, off-white head. Surprisingly, there's some sea foam head retention. In bright light, this beer takes on a golden-amber/bronze appearance. There's A LOT of active carbonation, which is great to see. And the head retention is still impressive.

Much like the Tangent, this has a banging aroma. Right away I'm getting a lot of oak, woody barrel, lactic funk, and HUGE lemon character. The lemon character veers into the land of apple cider vinegar, tart apples, vinegar, pickled foods, and aggressive sourness. This doesn't even play around, with just the lightest hints of candy sweetness. I'm getting glimpses of Black Cherry Warheads, but this has aggressive sourness on the aroma. The wood and oak really comes out though, and I like that a lot.

And...unlike the Tangent...this actually tastes good. This actually tastes substantial, and sour. This is kind of what you should expect when you crack into a Flanders Red-type beer. Now, this still isn't at the punishing levels of sourness...this is kind of in that Duchesse De Bourgogne range. I'm getting really nice oak and woody tartness, lots of lactic character, some lemon, big apple cider vinegar, pickled vegetables, and some bready sweetness towards the back end. The bready sweetness hints at biscuit and honey, and then takes a turn towards super dry as the oaky wood and tart sour character dries your mouth out. There's some interesting fruit character in this beer, coming from the interplay between the malts and the lactic notes. I'm getting hints of tart peaches, citrus, and mild berry character. This is actually fairly complex, and has good depth.

The real question is: what the hell happened with the Tangent? Why is that beer so bad? It's a very underwhelming beer. Thankfully, there's sweet redemption. The Fathom is really enjoyable. This is my second bottle of this beer, and I am smitten. This has a medium-full mouthfeel, with plenty of carbonation, acidity, and lactic funk. Palate depth is phenomenal; really, divine stuff. This one lingers on your palate for quite a while, and goes from sweet to sour to malty sweet to dry. Two things hold this back from being world-class: the slightly subdued sourness, and the moderate complexity for the style. I think this one has room to mature in the bottle...I'd like to get my hands on a few more bottles of this to age. I'm not sure if this is pasteurized though...the pour was fairly clean with no dregs. Up front: a wave of malty sweetness, followed by immense lactic funk, lemon tartness, red cider vinegar, oaky wood, and barrel; the mids roll into buttery lactic character, big oak, more barrel, suggestive fruits (peach, berries, etc.); the back end hits some nice malty notes with bread and honey, and then the beer finishes dry with barrel in your face. Super nice stuff. 

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average here. This is a fantastic sour/wild ale. You'd never expect this after drinking the Tangent. What's even more exciting is that the rest of the Two Brothers sours seem to be on point...their Hoodwink and Askew are both great. I'm gonna track another bottle of this down to age, and see if this continues to funk up in the bottle. Food pairings here include sweet cheeses, fruit salads, fruit slaw, fatty/oily foods, poutine, and mussels in white wine sauce.

Random Thought: I think the Askew is even better than the Fathom...I had it on tap and I'm pretty impressed. If Two Brothers continues to release sour beers on the regular, they are going to reassert themselves as one of Illinois' most important breweries. Illinois has a lot of beer these days, but is really lacking in terms of sour/wild ales. 

Two Brothers Tangent

Brewed By: Two Brothers Brewing Company in Warrenville, Illinois

Purchased: 375ml bottle (corked & caged) bought at Sheridan 'L' Longue in Chicago, IL; 2014 (2013 vintage)

Style/ABV: American Wild Ale, 5.5%
Reported IBUs: 10

Two Brothers have been doing interesting things with barrels for a while now, and recently they have been cranking out some pretty good sour and wild ales. The Tangent has not been well received, and I'm curious to see how it stacks up. Fear not though, even if this beer sucks I have a bottle of Fathom in the shoot...and that one is delicious. About Two Brothers:

Two Brothers are based out of Warrenville, Illinois, a town not far from Chicago. Two brothers was founded in 1996 by brother Jason and Jim Ebel. Their brewery and Tap House Restaurant are both located in Warrenville. Their distribution and production seems to be increasing with each year, and along with their beer you can buy home brewing equipment and supplies at the Tap House Restaurant. If you get the chance, swing by and check out their Roundhouse. It's an awesome joint, and needs all the love it can get. For more information, check out their about page/website.

The Tangent is part of Two Brothers "Project Opus." The Project Opus is a collection of aged, sour beers. Tangent is described as a "Dark Sour Ale" that is light and sweet, but not over the top. The bottle reads, "foudre aged dark sour ale with brett." 

Two Brothers Tangent

This one pours into a cola-colored body that is swampy and ugly, like Mickey Rourke circa today. I had some serious concerns pouring this one too. First, I worried that this would be a gusher; then I worried that this was not carbed as the cork slid right out with no pop. Thankfully, the Brett and whatever else is growing in the bottle have done their job. Did I mention this is an ugly, swampy beer? Even the head reluctantly gives you a finger of cola-tinged "meh." Shining a bright light through this beer betrays it a bit, as you see the beer's true color. This looks like a Belgian Dubbel, with those rich reddish/orange tones. This has active carbonation too. 

On the aroma: Brett funk, gentle barrel character, oak, and big lactic character. I'm getting a lot of lemon here, some nice red cider vinegar, sour cherry candies, Warheads, green apples, and some malty cola backing. There's kind of a cherry cola thing lurking beneath and around the lactic sourness and musty Brett funk. 

Ah...while the aroma is spot on in terms of what I'm looking for in a wild ale/flanders red, this one kind of falls way short in the taste. It just isn't funky and lactic enough, with flat malt backings. I'm getting sweet malts here, with cherry, mild barnyard, and absolutely no substantial lactic character or Brett funk in the taste. Damn...this beer is a clinic in disappointment. What went wrong here? This kind of reminds me of the Petrus Oud Bruin, only not as oxidized and cardboard-y. There are flashes of tingly apple cider vinegar in here, but mostly you get wort juice. There's mild apple, berry character, and flashes of that lactic-lemon-funk....but it's all dialed back to one or two, or hidden between the lines. I guess this is like malty, brown sugar seltzer water, with hints of apple cider vinegar. Bad. 

They can't all be winners. I commend Two Brothers for making this beer, and for having the balls to experiment with this style. This is basically a malty Flanders Red, without any of the lactic overkill or Brett funk. It's too bad...look, this is a poorly executed beer. And I'd be mad about it but Two Brothers has followed this beer up with some really good sours, including their Fathom. The Tangent flatlines with a malty, medium-bodied mouthfeel. Seltzer water carbonation keeps this drinkable, but the palate depth and complexity are so off you really have no reason to go through the motions. You get brown sugar malts and hints of apple cider vinegar up front, with more apple cider vinegar and subtle lactic hints in the mids, and then it fades into malty nothingness. It's just...not good.

Rating: Below-Average (2.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Below-Average. It's entirely possible that this will improve in the bottle over the next few years, but I kind of doubt it. Save your money and skip this beer, buy the Fathom instead. I can't recommend this beer in good faith, so I can't recommend any food pairings. I mean...sours go well with chocolates and mussels and fruity desserts, but yeah.

Random Thought: I know this review is harsh but I seriously appreciate that Two Brothers continued to experiment with sours after this beer. Their Fathom, Hoodwink, and Askew are all really really good. You gotta start somewhere, and I feel like this beer was a foundation beer to try out the oak barrels and mess with some wild yeast. Live and learn, as they say...

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. 

Petrus Aged Pale

Brewed By: Bavik-De Brabandere in Harelbeke, Belgium

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2013 (2012 bottle?)

Style/ABV: Sour/Wild Ale/Flanders Red or Oud Bruin, 7.3%

Reported IBUs: ?

I've been meaning to get to this beer for a while, so here we go. 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 Aged Pale is a "dry hopped, oak aged, sour ale." Aged in one of the fifteen 25,000L oak vessels in the Petrus Aging Cellar, this beer is brewed and then aged in the aforementioned vessels for between 20 to 30 months. This beer was originally used as a base beer for other blends, but apparently, the late Michael Jackson (beer writer) visited the brewery and suggested they sell this commercially. The rest is beer history. 

Petrus Aged Pale

The beer pours a hazy orange color, with two fingers of lightly off-white head. In bright light the beer looks less hazy, and takes on a vibrant gold/orange vibe that glows like radioactive water. There's some lazy carbonation, and a centimeter of sustaining, funky white head. You get lacing and all that.

Like the body, the aroma is kind of average. There's some musty oak funk, old attic, woody tannins and assertive vinegar, red wine vinegar, subtle white wine, and ghostly notes of chocolate/grape/apples that are vague and hard to place.

You get a lot of malt body in this, and this is surprisingly smooth. This isn't overly sour, with mild tartness. On the other hand, this beer isn't very sweet either. I appreciate that, a lot. It seems like this style veers towards overly sour or overly sweet. You get a lot of oaky tannin and subtle malt kisses up front, which eventually turns into that red apple cider vinegar punch. There's some hops in the mix as well, and the back end lays big citrus and apples on you. The finish is slightly bitter of all things, with lingering malt and a hint of...grain? The sourness comes in two waves: up front with the oak and tannin, and towards the mid to back palate with some citrus.

This hides the 7.3% very well, and is drinkable. It's not too sour, or too sweet, and is smoothed out by nice carbonation. I'd call it light-to-medium bodied. Palate depth is good, complexity is low. This is a very standard Flanders Red-esque beer, and doesn't really run away with anything. Tart, warhead sour up front, with big oak tannin, cherries, apple cider vinegar, and malt kisses; that roles into some hops, apples, pineapple, citrus, orange, more vinegar and sour; the back end is lingering sour, lingering malt, hint of bitter/grain. I can feel this one crushing my teeth.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Above-Average...practically average, if not for the restrained levels of sweetness. This has an incredible balance, with pronounced oak, wood tannin, malt presence, sour kick, and sugars that are held in check. This has a some subtle nuances as well, and seems to hold up to short-term aging. I can easily recommend this, especially as an entry-level sour. This beer is cheap, it's available, and it's pretty damn tasty. You owe it to yourself to pair this beer with strong cheeses, grilled meats, fondue, or anything along those lines. This beer is much better than the standard Petrus offerings.  

Random Thought: My goal this week is to decompress a bit...we'll see how that goes. 

Rodenbach Grand Cru

Brewed By: Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm) in Roeselare, Belgium   

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in IL; 2012? 

Style/ABV: Flanders Red Ale, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

I'm finally getting around to review Rodenbach's Grand Cru. About Rodenbach: 

Rodenbach is a brewery based out of Roeselare, Belgium, founded by the four Rodenbach brothers (Pedro, Alexander, Ferdinand, and Constantijn) in 1821. You can read about the brothers and family on Palm's website, or get the tl;dr version on Wikipedia. After 15 years, Pedro and his wife, Regina Wauters, bought the brewery. In 1864, their son Edward took over, until his son, Eugene, took over in 1878. Eugene was the owner that traveled to England and saw how they aged beers in oak barrels and blended old and young beers. This method of brewing is what Rodenbach has become famous for. In 1998, Palm took over the brewery. To read more, definitely check out the Palm or Rodenbach website.

Tonight's beer, the Grand Cru, is a Flanders Red Ale that is a blend of 33% young beer, and 67% old beer that is aged in oak vats for 2 years. This is classic stuff, and there's no point in me reviewing this beer except to circlejerk about it, so let's do that.

DAE shitty lighting? This one is deceptively dark in low light, bordering on dark brown or black. In reality, this is a ruby red, semi-transparent, moderately carbonated beer. I kicked up a thin pinky's worth of soda-brown head that quickly dissolved. I would have fears that this is flaccid, but it won't be.

Rodenbach Grand Cru

I want to say my bottle is a 2012, but I'm not sure. Either way, this has a nice developed tartness, with noticeable vinegar, red apple cider vinegar, cherries, and apples. There's also big woody oak on the nose, aggressive fruit skins, and malt sweetness. There's a hint of cherry cola-vanilla sweetness. When you look at this like a wine, it definitely has a vinous, red wine-like character, with hints of grapes. It is reminiscent of a red wine with big tannins.

The taste is initially sour, with big sweet tart candies, cherry skins, and sour granny smith-esque apples. There's some plums and grapes as well. There's big vinegar in this, with apple cider vinegar, and pickled fruits/vegetables. There's also an underlying oak/wood/vanilla profile, with some hints of cherry cola sweetness. This is more sour than the Duchesse De Bourgogne, but not as sour as the Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge. It's also a million times better than the very average Bourgogne des Flandres. 

This is tart, with just enough pucker to make things interesting. This is light-bodied, refreshing, and drinkable. There's some big acidity in this, but it doesn't deter drinkability. The carbonation is soft, but moves things along. Palate depth is good, complexity is okay. You get candy sweetness, grapes/plums, and then tart cherry/granny smith apple up front; that rolls into some sweeter malts, vanilla/oak/wood, light cherry cola; back end is acidic, maybe flirts with raspberry, and finishes with some sour/dry. Nice stuff.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average. This is a lovely beer in just about every respect. One unique thing about this beer is that much of the funk is subdued. There's a hint of earthy Brett in this, but you get much more oak/wood, and vinegar tartness. The funk really plays off the sour. This beer is a classic, is available at many stores, and ages well. It's also reasonably priced. So stock up on a few bottles of these. This beer pairs well with steaks, grilled red meats, grilled meats in general, aggressive cheeses, fruity desserts, maybe even dry chocolate desserts...anything that goes well with a tart, fruity, acidic character.

Random Thought: I'm a big fan of Lou Malnati's, but tonight I had one of their vegetarian deep dish pizzas. It was made with two cheeses, had big tomatoes on top, and had too much garlic or seasoning. It just wasn't that great, for whatever reason. Also, the tomatoes were a bit watery, which detracted from the richness of the cheese. Then again, the other pizza we ordered (thin crust) was fantastic. So there's that. 

Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge

Brewed By: Brouwerij Bockor N.V. in Bellegem, Belgium, Belgium

Purchased: 11.2oz bottle from Binny's in Chicago, IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Flanders Red Ale, 5.5% 

Reported IBUs: ?

I love theme posts, and tonight I'm knocking out two beers. Ladies, gentleman, bimbos and hicks, I present: Two Sours, One Cup. Awww yeah that's some classy shit. (dis be part II).

Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge hails from the brewery/brouwerij Bockor N.V. Brouwerij Bockor N.V. was founded back in May 1892, in Bellegem, West Flanders, Belgium, near the French border. The brewery is family run, and pays homage with various beers including the Jacobins Gueuze, the Jacobins Kriek, and the Jacobins Framboise. The brewery is known for its use of natural ingredients and old school brewing techniques. 

The Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge is a Flanders Red/red Felmish Sour Ale, with big malt sweetness and acidic sharpness. This beer is made from a blend of spontaneously fermented and barrel-aged beer that is at least 18 months in age. This one ages in large oak foudres, and clocks in at 5.5%. Let's see how she stacks up.

Bockor Cuvee des Jacobins Rouge

This one pours a ruby red color that looks deceptively darker in low light, and I kicked up about a finger's worth of lightly tan head. The head on this one is not as pillowy as the Duchesse. In fact, the head on this quicky fades into a Saison-y, infected looking, cauldron effect. When held to a bright light, this beer takes on a vibrant ruby red color. This has some sediment floating around in it, and lazy mid-sized carbonation. As with the Duchesse, there's some nice lacing.

The aroma on this beer is awesome, with bright sour/tart fruitiness, raspberry, strawberry, and various berries, granny smith apples, acidic vinegar, leather, and some nice oak/wood. You get hints of cherry cola and vanilla on the aroma, but it's balanced out nicely by the fruit and sourness.

Wowza. My impression upon the first sip is that this beer is about twice as sour as the Duchesse De Bourgogne, but a tad behind the 2013 La Folie. I'm picking up Sour Patch Kids, sour watermelon, sour raspberry, and sour black cherry. This definitely has that fruity Warhead thing going on, and it's fucking awesome. There's some cherry and apple fruit skin in the taste, along with some woody/oak tannins, and a hint of of oak/cherry cola to kind of round out the huge sour fruits.

This is an incredibly playful beer, with vibrant, teeth-crushing sourness. Really, this bring the Warheads and Sour Patch kids...and if that's your bag, you're going to feel right at home with this. There's also deep underlying complexity...but more on that in a second. This one has lively carbonation, and a medium-light mouthfeel. This starts out sour, rolls into more sour, and finishes sour and dry. There's no alcohol in this, and aside from the crushing sourness, it drinks incredibly well. Palate depth is great, complexity is great. Lemme expand: Up front is sour fruits, oak, hints of malt sugars, fruit skins; this rolls into more sour fruits, oak, cherry cola, wood; the back end is lignering sour, wood, hints of sweetness...and fade to dry. The dry finish BEGS you to take another sip, which starts a cycle of sour punch, dry finish, sour punch, dry finish....I feel like a 5th grader trading Warheads again.

Rating: Divine Brew (5/5 Untappd)

Yo, I'm feeling a Strong Divine Brew on this. This beer is the tits. I stumbled upon this beer when it was on tap at one of my local watering holes. I enjoyed it to the point that I sought it out...it turns out it's just as great in the bottle. There's so much going on with this beer: intense sourness, fruit skins, sour fruits, candy sugars, oak tannins, wood, vanilla...and it's all cobbled together in a winning way, like tiger blood or something. Really though, huge sour watermelon, black cherry, Warhead, and Sour Patch Kids. Oh, and my teeth. Owe. Food pairings: same as the Duchesse, really. Strong cheeses, raunchy burgers and BBQ, maybe even a Muffaletta...mmm. 

Random Thought: Tomorrow I am going to a Bulls game. With them luck. 

Duchesse De Bourgogne

Brewed By: Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Vichte, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Purchased: 11.2oz bottle at Binny's in IL; 2013 

Style/ABV: Flanders Red/Brown, 6.2% 

Reported IBUs: ?

I love theme posts, and tonight's theme is that I'm knocking out two beers. Ladies, gentleman, bimbos and hicks, I present: Two Sours, One Cup. Awww yeah that's some classy shit. (dis be part I). 

The Duchesse hails from the brewery/brouwerij Verhaeghe. Brouwerij Verhaeghe was founded in 1885 by Paul Verhaeghe in Vichte, West Flanders, Belgium. The brewery would ship beer from Vichte to Brussels, and established a reputation for brewing their Flemish Red/Brown ale, Duchesse De Bourgogne. You can check out more at the brewery's website. 

The Duchesse de Bourgogne is described as a "West-Flemish red brown ale." This sweet-fruity ale is brewed with roasted malts, very few hops, and is matured in oak casks for many months. This one clocks in at 6.2%. Let's see what we got.

Duchesse De Bourgogne

The Duchesse pours a hazy, reddish-brown color, with 3 finger's worth of soapy, thick, tan-colored head. There's a little sediment floating around in this one, but this is mostly a semi-murky ruby red color in bright light. There's a lot of active, visible carbonation, and the head is leaving nice lacing and sustaining nicely. 

The nose is pretty Brett and oak-forward. I'm getting some worn leather, and definitely a fair amount of apple cider vinegar. It actually smells like the dye-soaked vinegar solution that was always leftover after dying eggs for Easter. Fruit skins make an appearance here, notably apple and cherries....and there's some woody oak. 

This is incredibly blissful on the palate, with light sourness, light funk, and tons of oak, wood, cherry cola, and some hidden gems deep in the beer, like raspberry puree, apple skins, and cherries. There's an oaky vanilla thing in here that's really subtle and balanced, and works well. The oak adds just a touch of buttery mouthfeel. 

This beer has an absolutely phenomenal mouthfeel. It's probably not something you want in every situation with respect to sour/wild beers, but for the style, it's incredibly pillowy, rich, smooth, and even slightly buttery (in a good way). It veers towards a Kriek, and there's a lot of rich oak, vanilla, cherry, and cherry cola in this beer. The mouthfeel is medium-full, drinkability is amazing with no alcohol present at 6.2%, and palate depth is great. Complexity is high as well...but you feel like this has some untapped potential. You get lots of cherries and hints of sour/vinegar up front; this rolls into huge oak, wood, cherry cola, light Brett funk/leather; the back end trails off with lingering cola, subtle fruit skins and puree, and cherry sweetness. The finish is fat rather than overly dry and/or attenuated.

Rating: Above-Average (4/5 Untappd)

I'm feeling a Strong Above-Average on this beer. This is a great beer, and the fact that it doesn't get too aggressive with the sour or Brett funk means you can probably serve this to your unsuspecting friends and get good results. I'm not dogging this beer at all...I love it, and I buy it regularly when I get the chance...I just feel like the stakes are high with this style. Certainly worth re-reviewing down the road, but don't take my thoughts as a knock. In fact, scores themselves are largely meaningless compared to the words in the review. What you should take from this review is that the Duchesse is an incredibly refined, balanced, and fairly easy-going Flemish Brown/Red ale. It's also available, priced well, and comes in various formats (4-pack and bomber). You could pair this beer with strong cheeses, Poutine, a cheese and meat plate, fondue, a raunchy burger or barbecue sandwich, and even a plate of pickled things. I like this beer a lot, and would put this on a "100 beers to try" list.

Random Thought: I bet this beer would even be great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or chocolate ice cream. In a cup. Because who doesn't love smearing chocolate ice cream in a cup all over someone's face and licking it off. Yum. Part II...coming up...

New Belgium La Folie (Lips of Faith - 2013)

Brewed By: New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins, Colorado

Purchased: 22oz bomber from Binny's in Illinois; 2013

Style/ABV: American Sour Ale/Flanders Red, 6.0%

Reported IBUs: 18

Tonight's beer has been reviewed many times over, and it's a straight up Divine Brew with the exception of its price. But I feel compelled to jot down my thoughts on the 2013 version of La Folie anyway. Hate the playa, I guess.

I haven't really talked much about Flanders Red Ales, though I have talked about the Flanders Brown Ale/Oud Bruin. The most known Flanders Red is probably Rodenbach's Grand Cru, which is straight up sex (and on my to-review list). I've had it before, I'll have it again...it's good.

Rather than waxing on about Flanders Reds, I'm going to link to this solid article: Flanders Red and Brown. In short, the Flanders Red Ale originated has roots in Belgium and England, where old and young beer were blended together to compensate for any sourness/acidity in aged beer. The sourness/acidity came from aging beer in wooden casks, where the beer picked up tannins and flavor from the wood, and was also liable to wild organisms (Brettanomyces, Acetobacter, etc.). 

Nowadays, fermentation is a bit more controlled, as breweries like Rodenbach intentionally introduce organisms and control the stages/duration of fermentation. This style of beer is often aged for anywhere from 18 months to 3 years, and is often blended with part old and part young beer. These beers feature complex aromas, and have intense fruit, sour, and acidic characters. With that said, I digress. About New Belgium:

New Belgium is based out of Fort Collins, and opened in 1991 when founder Jeff Lebesch took his home-brewing into the commercial world. For reference, New Belgium is the thrid-largest craft brewery in the United States. You can read more about New Belgium if you check out their website.

As I mentioned, La Folie is kind of a big deal. This beer dates back to 2004, and was conceived with Peter Bouckaert from the Rodenbach brewery. The La Folie is wood-conditioned, aged in French Oak barrels, and is then blended to perfection. At one point in time, La Folie was corked with live bugs and all (I think 2009 was the last year). As it currently stands, the beer is now pasteurized, bottle-conditioned with house yeast, and capped on a bottling line. A lot of people have complained about this, but Lauren Salazar does a great Q&A explaining why this was done HERE. The long story short is that pasteurizing the beer "locks in" the ideal blend, and capping the beer has allowed New Belgium to increase production for this beer. The La Folie clocks in at 6.0%, packs 18 IBUs, and is brewed with Target hops, and Pale, Munich, Carpils, C-80, and Chocolate malts. Let's glass this up and see how the 2013 La Folie stacks up.

La Folie 2013

This one pours a hazy, cola-brown color, with a finger's worth of rapidly dissolving brown head. When held to bright light, the beer takes on an amazing reddish-brown/auburn color, with a ring of head clinging to the side of the glass. There is visible carbonation in this, and it looks quite effervescent.

Let's talk about the aroma on this. There's a lot of stuff going on here, and it's all fantastic. Up front I'm getting big malty cherries, cherry cola, wood, and vanilla. Behind the soda shop goodness is some serious watermelon, red apple vinegar, apples, fruit skin, and some citrus. There's some must as well, with elusive chocolate and spice. Finally, the soda shop goodness you get up front, mixed with the must, kicks your nose: I'm getting Brett funk, horse blanket, band-aid, and butcher shop. It all comes and goes, and you could just smell this all day.

I'm starting off a bit cooler, and will see how this fares as it warms. Even on the cool side, this is very sour up front, with sour watermelon, Black Cherry Warheads, apple cider vinegar, a hint of acetone, granny smith apples, and tons of citrus. There's wood on the back, and elusive chocolate/vanilla abound in the aftertaste. As I walked away from this, I was getting big raspberry and jam on the aftertaste. As this warms up, you get more apple vinegar, and more wood. I'm also picking up mild Brett funk.

This beer is as described: mouth puckering. I don't know if it's thirst quenching. This is dry as hell on the finish. You get nice acidity up front, immediately followed by sourness. The sourness maintains until the dry finish. The mouthfeel is medium-full, with light carbonation that is obviously hindered by the sour. Palate depth is great for the style...complexity is high, but you feel like it could go even higher. Sour-acid up front with citrus, lemon, watermelon, Black Cherry Warheads; mid-palate rolls into more sour citrus, apple, wood, vanilla, hints of malt; the back is fading sour, lingering citrus, wood, dry. 

Rating: Divine Brew 

I gotta go with a Light Divine Brew on this. As I feel this destroying my teeth, I can only help but think this is a winner. This is sour, bold, complex, and yada yada yada. You now have herpes. The only downside is a bomber of this is between 15-17 dollars, which is expensive. At least compared to Rodenbach's Grand Cru. This is maybe the best New Belgium beer, and certainly a shining example of mainstream American Sours. Food pairings: aggressive cheeses, meats, and chocolate. Or, just drink solo. This is worth checking out, especially if you're looking for a solid beer that kicks up the sour. The sour is strong, and the flavors follow close behind.

Random Thought: Evidently "La Folie" translates to this is madness or some shit. Cool story, 300. 

Bourgogne des Flandres Brune/Bruin

Brewed By: Timmermans [John Martin (brouwerij)] in Dilbeek-Itterbeek, Belgium

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? 

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.

Rating: Average 

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.

Goose Island Madame Rose

Brewed By: Goose Island Beer Company (owned by AB InBev) in Chicago, Illinois

Purchased: 22oz bomber bought at Jewel-Osco in Chicago, IL; 2012 (bottled 7/31/12)

Style/ABV: Flanders Oud Bruin/American Sour Ale, 7.1% 

Reported IBUs: 25

Tonight I'm looking at Goose Island's Madame Rose. This beer is a "Brown Ale aged in French oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels with the addition of Michigan cherries and heavily inoculated with Brettanomyces." Goose Island suggests giving this beer to Bordeaux enthusiasts, and beer drinkers fond of Belgian Kriek and Flanders Brown Ales. This beer is sort of like a Flanders Brown, but not really. Anyway, about Goose Island:

Goose Island is a Chicago-based brewery that began as a brewpub on Clybourn, which opened on May 1988. The actual brewery opened on 1995, and is located on the Southwest side of Chicago. The second brewpub, located in Wrigleyville by the Chicago Cubs, was opened in 1999. On March 28, 2011, Goose Island sold 58% of the brewery to Anheuser-Busch. The remaining 42% of the brewery is supposed to be acquired by A-B InBev in the future, and there has been much discussion about the brewery's takeover. On November 16th, founder and CEO, John Hall, announced he would be leaving Goose Island. On January 1st, 2012, Anheuser-Busch "veteran" Andy Goeler will take over Goose Island. Additionally, around the same time as John Hall's departure, resident barrel-program leader John Laffler also announced his departure from Goose Island. There have been many changes regarding Goose Island...so we will see what the future has in store for Goose Island. 

Since this beer is sort of Flanders Brown/Oud Bruin-inspired (with that Kriek thing), I'll go ahead and jot down what I've found on Oud Bruins. Flanders Brown Ales/Flemish Brown Ales/Oud Bruin/Old Brown Ales is a Flemish style of beer indigenous to East Flanders, which dates back to the 1600s. The Dutch name, "Oud Bruin/Old Brown," refers to the long brewing/aging process, which can take up to a year, plus additional time spent in secondary fermentation. The beer can also be bottle aged for extended periods of time. The extended brewing/aging allows the beer to pick up natural/wild yeast, which develop the sour characteristics typical to this style. This beer is typically not aged in oak (unlike the Flanders Red Ale); this beer is usually aged in stainless steel vessels. Traditionally/typically, the wild yeasts Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, and Acetobacter all contribute to this style's flavor. This beer can also be brewed with a sour mash to help develop the sour character.

According to The Beer Connoisseur, because the Oud Bruin is often aged in stainless steel rather than oak, the brewing process is more controlled (since stainless steel doesn't harbor live bacteria, and the souring yeasts often come from controlled sources). As such, Oud Bruins may be used as base beers for fruit Lambics (like Krieks). You can consult the style guidelines, but overall, the Flanders Brown Ale is less acetic, and maltier than a Flanders Red, and the fruit flavors are balanced with the malt.

All things considered, I don't think the Madame Rose is quite a straight up Flanders Brown. Goose Island mentions Belgian Kriek when they describe this beer. Belgian Kriek is a style of beer where Lambic is fermented with cherries. The Madame Rose is a "Belgian style brown ale," fermented with wild yeast, and aged on cherries in wine barrels. It seems a lot like an Oud Bruin, aged on cherries (like a Kriek), with a bit of an American twist. Clocking in at 7.1% ABV, and packing 25 IBUs, this beer is brewed with Fuggle hops; and 2-row, caramel, wheat, dark chocolate, and victory malts. This beer is bottle conditioned, and will develop in the bottle for up to 5 years (and maybe longer?). Suggested food pairings for this beer include red meats, rich chocolate desserts, and aged cheddar. 

Goose Island Madame Rose

This one pours out a brown/purple color that is very cola-esque. I barely kicked up a pinky's worth of struggling, bubbly, brown head. The head has settled into a funky, murky, cauldron effect...it's like the beer version of the designs on a cappuccino. Bright light highlights the swampy/murky and brown/unfiltered body of this beer. The head is ivory/tan, and you can see a lot of carbonation in the form of tiny bubbles.

The aroma here is really nice, and I'm glad I've been on a bit of a sour/wild/Brett kick lately. This beer has some nice underlying Brett notes, with some band-aid and worn leather. I'm also getting sour cherries, sour, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and a ton of wood/Cabernet, and maybe a dash of woody oak. Other aromas include apples, berries, must, a hint of acetone. The dominant aromas are sour cherries, Brett, and huge Cabernet/wine/wood. This one definitely leans towards sour on the aroma (at this point in time).

Even in the eight months since I've last had this, this has changed towards more sour, with just a hint of sour candy ala Warhead/Sour Patch Kids. Overall though, it's more tart, with some apple cider vinegar, acetic Cabernet, and nice malt and sweet cherries to smooth things out. This is finishing uber dry. I'm getting wood, wine, and cherry skin/tart up front. There's some must, and worn leather in here, along with a ton of cherries. Cherry skin, meaty cherries, and a flash of cherry pie filling. You get some caramel/toffee/bread malt sugars in here balancing everything out, but after the hint of sweet cherries, this veers towards tart again and finishes dry.

This is very drinkable, even refreshing, and the 7.1% is absolutely non-existent in this. The mouthfeel is medium to medium-full, and this has lots of tartness, with flashes of sour, and big acetic Cabernet/oak/wood. There is some sweetness abound as well, but it all finishes super dry. Palate depth is good, and complexity is good. This has some nice potential to age. Up front is fruity cherries, cherry skin, hints of sour candy; this rolls into malts and leather; the back end is trailing malt and sweetness with a fade to dry finish.

Rating: Above-Average

I gotta go with a Strong Above-Average on this. This would be a great Cabernet substitute, and the oak/wood/cherry thing would go great with red meats. I would love to pair this with some flank steak, filet mignon, or even a medium-rare burger with some aggressive cheese. The only caveat to this beer is the availability. I won't even complain about the price, which ranges from 18 to 25 bucks a bottle, depending on if you hit up Binny's vs. the mom and pop shops. I stumbled upon this at Jewel...and paid around 20 dollars a bottle. For something aged in wine barrels on cherries, the price seems about right. I'd trade for this or seek it out. I reserve the right to revisit this and re-rate this. 8 months ago, this was a light Above-Average. In a year or two? Who knows.

Random Thought: Another week, another snow storm. We are supposed to get pounded with 4 to 8+ inches of snow tomorrow! Woo! During rush hour too. That's good and bad...it's good in that I will likely open a wintery beer. I do want to move forward to Spring, however.