Sour Beer 2 - Petrus Aged Pale

Much overdue posting...

Bavik Brewery's Aged Pale is described as an uncut old beer.  From speaking with the distributor this beer was used in other beers at the brewery for blending, but it wasn't until Famous beer Guru Michael Jackson visited the brewery and tried the unblended version (and highly recommened) that it was released for consumption by itself.

Aroma: musty fruit, like a sweet champagne with slight grain smell behind

Appearance: Deep straw color, thick white head with tiny bubbles rising to the top from the sides of the glass

Flavor: Very sour and tart up front, with a fruity character in the middle

Mouthfeel: More sour than the Oud Bruin, but also less dry.  Strong carbonation compliments and helps balance things out

Overall: Great sour beer! The sour taste lingers throughout.  There is some sweet malt character in the middle mixed with some yeast esters likened to "sweet fruit."  This beer will definitely make you pucker, but more so it will creep up on you in a hurry.  I could NOT tell at all this beer was 7.3% ABV

Sour Beer 1 - Petrus Oud Bruin

Bavik Brewery's Oud Bruin is a Flanders style brown ale.  It is aged for 2 years in oak barrels and comes out about 5.5%.  Unfortunately, I didn't have an appropriate chalice/bowl type glassware, so I went with the snifter.

Aroma: A musty and champagne like smell, with a slight malt character in the background.  Possibly some spicy aroma as well

Appearance: A mahogany brown color with a light tan head which quickly dissipates.  Good Lacing on glass

Flavor:  Sourness up front, dark malt notes of chocolate and toffee are briefly detected in the middle, and a tart finish

Mouthfeel: Prickly carbonation and sourness lead to a crisp and dry finish

Overall: Overall this beer was tart, refreshing and thirst quenching.  As the beer warmed up the malt character started to come through a bit more.  This is very well balanced sour beer and one that I would recommend as a starter for someone looking to try sours.

Goose Island - Matilda

This is my first official beer review on my blog.  Hopefully the first of many more to come!  A friend of mine had brought back a sixer of Goose Island's Matilda and was gracious enough to give me a bottle, thanks Tim!  I guess my beer palate is developing nicely as after writing my tasting notes down, I checked the website and a lot of it sync'd up!

Appearance:  Poured with a thick very slightly off-white head.  Deep golden orange, not clear (bottle conditioned)


Aroma:  Sweet Fruit character, like apricots, smell of fresh cloves

Flavor:  Sweet fruit character transitioning to a spicy bitterness.

Mouthfeel:  Moderate - High prickly carbonation leading to a dry finish

Overall:  Belgian beers are not the first beer on the shelf I navigate towards.  But I could see this beer drawing me in again in the future.  For a 7% abv beer, this is a dangerous one.  The beer is really balanced between the sweet fruity notes and a spicey clove.  The beer starts out on the sweet side, but the carbonation and bitterness impart a lingering dryness which requests demands you take another sip.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this beer to anyone.