Beerometric

A malty fruit sour, aged, reddish brown ale from East Flanders in northern Belgium, and a sort of cousin to West Flanders’ Red Ales.  Typically made with a pils malt base with some dark crystal malts and maize additions, and small amounts of colour malts, and low alpha acid German, Czech or Belgian hops.  Fermentation is from a combination of Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus and Pediococcus.  

This beer pours a dark reddish brown to brown colour, fairly clear and with a decent light tan head that can stick around for a bit.  On the nose you should find a rich caramel, toffee or chocolate malt, along with fruity esters reminiscent of raisin, plums, dates, oranges, figs, black cherries or prunes, and some low peppery phenols.  This is a sour beer but is not particularly acetic, and the sour aromas along with some nutty sherry like notes will develop with age.  Hop aroma is absent. Look for a malty, fruity, sour flavour. Dark caramel or burnt sugar, chocolate, toffee, prunes, plums, orange, black cherries, raisins, figs, dates, a bit of pepper are all common. A slight sourness, restrained bitterness and no hop flavour, maybe a bit of sherry character should be expected.  This beer is balanced towards the malt but the fruitiness and sour notes are ever present, A medium to medium-full body, with no astringency, slight alcohol warming in stronger examples, and low to moderate carbonation.  

Note: This beer is hard to find.  The posterchild is Leifmans Goudenband, and a few local producers ( Ontario) have tried their hand.