Flanders Red Vertical Tasting - 2020

I have been brewing Flanders Red style beers and aging them for almost six years now.  In that time I've blended three vintages of beer.  Right from the start I've made a plain blend and a cherry blend.  These were done the goal of emulating the great Rodenbach Flanders Red.

My first blend back in 2016 was good but I felt like it fell quite a bit short of matching the quality of Rodenbach.  The main problem seemed to me to be the level of sweetness.  My beers are finishing out at 1.000 while Rodenbach Grand Cru has a slightly sweet finish that really balances the sourness nicely.

I've made two more versions of the beer since which I have backsweetened to try to get that sweet/sour balance.  I feel like the results are very nice so it's time for another comparison.  My recent blends are 100% aged beer while Rodenbach Grand Cru is 75% aged and 25% new - I may have an edge in complexity based on this.

I'll be doing another Tasting session of my beers soon (it has been a year and a half since the last one) and will be putting together some 2020 Flanders Red blends based on it.  This tasting session will hopefully prove some useful data points for my next blending session.

Flanders Red Vertical Tasting:

• 2016 Version:
• Overview:
• Blended using Two 1-3 year old Flanders Red beer
• Both beers chosen used Wyeast Roeselare Culture
• Bottled the blended beer immediately rather than letting the blend set - worked out okay as they were both already very dry
• Added 4 oz of priming sugar at bottling
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Earthy and leathery Brettanomyces character.  A bit of overripe fruit.  Maybe a touch of vinegar.
• Appearance:
• Reddish brown and clear.  Pours with a think wisp of foam that is gone immediately.
• Flavor:
• A bit of fruity flavor up front which then transitions to sourness which then lingers to the finish.  It is a medium level of sourness.  Earthy and funky Brett flavor lingers in the finish as well
• Mouthfeel:
• Light bodied and very dry.  Light prickling acidity.  Very easy drinking and refreshing
• Overall:
• Bold flavor and aroma and fairly complex.  The earthy Brett character is probably the most dominant characteristic.  Pleasing level of acidity makes for nice drinking
• 2017 Version:
• Overview:
• Blended two 2-3 year old Flanders Red for this beer
• Used a batch made from Roeselare yeast and one from Yeast Bay Mélange
• Bottled the blend immediately
• Added 2 lbs of dark invert syrup for this batch to both carbonate and back sweeten.  Pasteurized in a hot water bath once it carbonated.
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fruity character dominates along with a slight bit of vinegar.  Also has a bit of caramel character.  Maybe get a bit of vanilla oak and wine character.  A bit of Brett earthiness kind of rounds things out but it is in the back ground
• Appearance:
• Brownish red and quite clear.  Poured with a thin bit of foam that lingered for maybe 30 s
• Flavor:
• Very fruity flavor up front which is cherry like.  The sourness (medium level) hits next.  It is balanced by a sweet, malty, and caramel character - the finish is a nice mix of the sweet and sour with a hint of vinegar.  A bit of Brett character in the finish as well.  Maybe a bit of chocolate mixed in too.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied and slightly sweet.  A bit of pricking acidity.  Pretty easy drinking.
• Overall:
• Very complex beer with lovely bold fruit flavors.  The balance between sweet and sour flavors is very nice.
• 2018 Version:
•  Overview:
• Blended using 4 Flanders Red aged between 2 to 3 years
• Used beers made with Roeselare, Mélange, and East Coast Yeast's Flemish Ale Blend
• Let this blend sit for 7 months in a secondary before bottling.
• Bottled with 2 lbs of invert syrup #2 and then pasteurized once carbonated to retain some sweetness
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fruity with earthy and leathery Brett character.  May get a bit of vanilla oak character as well.
• Appearance:
• Reddish brown and fairly clear.  Poured with a thin layer of foam that was gone quickly
• Flavor:
• Fruity character up front - cherry.  This smoothly blends into the acidity and carries into the finish nicely.  Has a slight sweetness that balances the acidity into the finish.  Has a bit of caramel mixed in.  A bit of Brett character rounds out the finish as well.  Maybe a bit of bready malt in there too.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied and slightly sweet.  Pretty smooth drinking with only a faint prickling
• Overall:
• Bold flavors and complex.  Has a very nice fruity character and a lovely sweet and sour balance
• Rodenbach Grand Cru:
• Overview:
• Most famous example of the Flanders Red Style - brewed in Roeselare Belgium
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fruity with a bit of earthy Brett character.  Maybe a bit of vinegar and faint oak.  Not sure but may also be getting a bit of noble hop aroma
• Appearance:
• Brownish red.  Fairly clear.  Poured with thin layer of foam that fades quickly
• Flavor:
• A bit of fruit up front along with a bit of bready malt.  Light sourness carries into the finish where it is balanced by a slight sweetness.  A bit of leathery Brett in the finish as well.  Might be picking out a very slight hop bitterness in there as well which I'd never noticed before.
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied and very slight sweetness.  Very smooth, easy drinking, and refreshing
• Overall:
• Fairly boldly flavored and pretty complex.  A bit more mild in flavor and acidity than I remember.  Really easy to drink with the slightly lower acidity

• Comparison Observations:

1. The 2016 example is like a completely different style of beer with the strong focus on Brett.  More like a Geuze than a Flanders Red.  Interesting that it is the one unpasteurized example.  I wonder if the Brett has continued to work on the beer over the years.
2. 2017 and 2018 are very similar.  Both bold and fruity with a lot going on.  The balance and level of sweetness are slightly different between them, as are some of the secondary flavors, but I can't really state a preference for either one over the other - both excellent.
3. Comparing 2017 and 2018 to the Rodenbach I'd say the flavor profiles are fairly similar but mine are significantly bolder in both aroma and flavor.  They are a bit sweeter than the Rodenbach and a fair bit more sour.  Al the beers are complex in their own way.  I definitely prefer my beer
4. I think I'm on the right path with these beers!

Cherry Flanders Red Vertical Tasting:

• 2016 Version:
• Overview:
• Made with 2 Flanders Red I'd aged for 1-3 years (same beers as the 2016 plain)
• Beers used Wyeast Roeselare blend
• Aged the beer with 10 lbs of Pitted Sour cherries from Michigan for 4.5 months
• Bottled with 3.5 oz of sugar for priming
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Candy-like cherry aroma followed by earthy and leather Brett character
• Appearance:
• Brownish red and pretty clear.  Pours with very little foam that is gone in a second
• Flavor:
• Mild cherry flavor up front that transitions to a light acidity.  Earthy Brett comes in next and lingers into the finish along with the acidity.  it has a slight nutty character in the background - almond maybe.  Also some mineral flavor in the finish
• Mouthfeel:
• Light bodied and dry.  Fair amount of prickly acidity.  Easy drinking and refreshing
• Overall:
• Flavor and aroma are fairly mild.  Nice complexity - a lot going on.  The cherry is more in the background than I remember
• 2017 Version:
• Overview:
• Made with 2 Flanders Red between 2 and 3 years old
• Both beers were fermented with Roeselare yeast
• Aged with 12 lbs of Montmorency Sour Cherries I picked myself as well as 1 quart of Black Cherry Juice.  Let the beer secondary ferment on the fruit for 6 months\
• Bottled with 1.75 lbs of Invert #3 syrup and pasteurized when it was at a good level of carbonation
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Cherry aroma most prominent followed by some vinegar.  Also get a bit of Brett character.  Some sweet caramel as well
• Appearance:
• Reddish brown and fairly clear.  Pours with a thin layer of foam that settles to a thin ring that lingers for quite a while
• Flavor:
• Rich cherry flavor that lingers into the finish.  Medium acidity kicks in in the middle and melds nicely with the cherry.  Get some leathery Brett in the finish.  A bit of vinegar mixed in as well as a vanilla-like flavor.  The finish also has a nice bit of sweet caramel that balances everything
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium light bodied and a bit of sweetness.  Pretty easy drinking
• Overall:
• Really richly flavored beer.  Cherry is the star of the show but there are quite a few other characteristics that bring a lot of complexity.  Really nice drinking beer with a pleasant balance to the finish
• 2018 Version:
• Overview:
• Used 5 Flanders Red I aged between 2 and 3 years
• Beers were made with Roeselare, Yeast Bay Mélange, and a Culture I'd built up from Rodenbach's Foederbier
• Aged the beer on 14 lbs of self picked Montmorency Sour Cherries and 2 quarts of sour cherry juice.  Let this age for just about 6 months before bottling
• Bottled with 2 lbs of invert #2 to carbonate and backsweeten.
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Fairly bright candy cherry aroma along with earthy and musty Brett.  Some caramel comes through as well.  Some vinegar mixed in too.
• Appearance:
• Poured with thick head which faded down to a think layer over the next minute.  Reddish brown and quite murky as the over carbonated bottle churned up the dregs
• Flavor:
• Rich cherry flavor hits up front and lingers into the finish.  Medium acidity kicks in after the first wave of cherry and compliments it nicely - this also lingers into the finish.  Slight sweetness int eh swallow combats the acidity.  Finish is rich with mineral, earthy Brett, and maybe some malt
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied and pretty dry.  Very smooth drinking
• Overall:
• Rich and flavorful beer.  Cherries are the center of attention here but a bunch of other stuff is going on as well.  The acidity on this one is very nice - really makes you want another sip.
• Rodenbach Alexander:
• Overview:
• Grand Cru aged with Cherries
• Was discontinued for quite a few years as the Palm Brewing Conglomerate, which owns Rodenbach Brewery, didn't want to compete with another Sour Cherry beer made by their breweries.  It is back and fairly easy to find now in SEPA.
• Tasting Notes:
• Aroma:
• Candy cherry along with a bit of earthy Brett.  Some caramel maybe as well
• Appearance:
• Reddish brown and clear.  Pours with a finger of head that settles down to a thin wispy layer that lingers
• Flavor:
• Sweet candy cherry flavor dominates.  Medium level of acidity blends very nicely with the cherry.  A bit of chocolate comes through in the finish as well somehow.  Very faint Brett.  Finish has a sweetness that balances the acidity and rounds out the cherry
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium light bodied and fairly dry.  Smooth drinking
• Overall:
• Really bold cherry flavor.  It dominates such that not a whole lot else comes through.  Refreshing and drinks very nicely

• Comparison Observations:

1. Like with the plain, the character of the unpasteurized 2016 version is completely different than 2017 and 2018.  Very dry and Brett forward.  It is nice to find that the cherry still comes through albeit in a fairly mild way.  It is still nice but doesn't have the enjoyable sweet and sour balance that makes the style appealing
2. The cherry character varies quite a bit between them.  2016 is a bit muted with age.  2017 is kind of bright and candy-like while 2018 is deeper and richer.  Age could explain the difference I suppose.  The Rodenbach cherry is quite a bit more candy-like than with my beers.  No sure I have a preference for any particular one.
3. 2017 and 2018 are very close.  2017 has slightly less cherry and a bit more caramel.  Both are lovely.
4. I think my beers compare very favorably to Rodenbach Alexander