[BEER REVIEW] A Great Alternative To Champagne For New Year's Eve 🥂

One of the most mythical beers around is Rodenbach Alexander, a sour ale that is flavored with cherries and brewed at the renowned Belgian brewery between 1986 and 1999. Recently brew master Rudi Ghequire decided to revive this legendary beer and released a limited edition earlier this month. Only 7000 bottles reached Sweden. The revival after 17 dead years makes sense in a time where the interest for sour ale is at an all time high and only increasing. As you remember I wasn't happy at all with the Rodenbach Vintage 2014, so let's see how this one does (I've already had it on tap to be honest, but sometimes it can differ a lot). I suggest you read my article on the Vintage to learn more about sour ale.

Alexander Rodenbach was born on September 28, 1786 in Roeselare, Belgium. At eleven he was struck by blindness, but that would not stop his engineering spirit. He founded the Rodenbach brewery in 1821, but also worked as a writer and was a member of the Belgian parliament for 36 years, where he put a lot of effort to defend the rights of blind and deaf-mute people. He even became mayor of the town Rumbeke in West Flanders, a town that today is also known as Rodenbachstad. It was in honor of this unique man that the Rodenbach brewery released a beer under the name Rodenbach Alexander in 1986 on his 200th birthday.

Rodenbach Alexander, 2016

Rodenbach Alexander consists of 2/3 two-year-old beer mixed with 1/3 young beer, which is then  subjected to maceration with sour Morello cherries.

Origin: Roeselare, Belgium
Brewery: Rodenbach
Style: Flanders red ale (oud rood)
ABV: 5.6%
750 ml bottle

Appearance: Ruby-red with a pinkish head. A lot more light and clear than the Vintage.

Nose: Plenty of cherries, almond liqueur, vanilla sweetness and oak. There is a whiff of that same vinegar aroma as in the Vintage, but here it's just an interesting note and not overpowering.

Palate: Really big and sweet-sour cherry notes that dance on the tongue. It's also quite peppery and dry, which brings to mind a good Burgundy wine. The prickly vinegar notes that put me off in the Vintage are here more like balsamic vinegar; smoother and sweeter. I also find notes of juicy blood orange and marzipan. Lovely!

Finish: Chewy, tart and dry.

Conclusion: A beautiful piece of work that is both complex and easy to drink. The cherries don't have that artificial taste that you can find in some cheaper Kriek lambic's. The main difference from the one I had on tap was that the cherries were more pronounced in the tap version, and the acidity a bit higher in the bottle version. This is definitely a beer with aging potential that will gain on resting a few years in the cellar. It's also a beer that easily can replace champagne, if you want an alternative for the toast on New Year's Eve. 4.5 points out of 5.

 @SteemSwede