Zoetzuur Flemish Ale - De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.24/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Like mu shu pork dishes, De Proef's rendition of sweet Kriek and and sour Lambic brings the intertwine of sweet and spice together in harmonious fashion.

And with the cherry fruits front and center, the beer's hue takes on the color of cherry in a deep honey-amber tone. A creamy blanket of cottony froth coats the ale and laces with intricate patterns while trailing with sturdy retention.

And again in aroma, the scent of cherries are prevalent- both sour and sweet versions show with the intensity found in fresh baked cherry pies. Complex earthen notes waft over the nose with sea air, wet hay, and a mild wood spice twang.

Once again, its fruit-forward taste is reminiscent of "Sour Patch" candies and reduced cherries- both tart and black. Saved by the musty underpinnings of brine, dried limes, light leather, weathered cedar and hay all provide a depth of mature tastes that balance the fruit to perfection. Spicy late, the ale is mildly peppery, acidic, and somewhat medicinal for a counter to the tart sweetness that commands the early palate.

Medium-light in body, the sour ale is malty and moderately creamy until the acidic sharpness cuts right through the malts and favor a wine-like finish with a balsamic pang. Its alcohol is hardly detectable while the sourness provides the dryness that's experienced in its conclusion.

The beer isn't as sweet as the more popular cherry sour ales but isn't as dry as the more authentic Kriek Ales. Its medium intensity and medium weight makes it ideally suited for like-minded cuisine- like Mu Shu Pork?

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 05:24:25 | More by BEERchitect

goochpunch

Texas

2.79/5  rDev -29.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours out a hazy rusty red. Cherry smell is pretty big up front. Faint tart smell in the background, but cherry pushes it out. Taste is interesting. Not your typical Flemish red. Has a pretty big hit of brett along with the usual tartness. The cherry is a little much. Kind of sweet too. Fairly heavy body with some stinging carbonation (although low carbonation; weird). I think I'd like this a whole lot more if it weren't for the cherry.

Serving type: bottle

05-12-2013 01:48:21 | More by goochpunch

bobhits

Kentucky

1.89/5  rDev -52.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Avoiding the complex review. This is unique as hell to be a flanders red. I get dark cherries, apples, and cider backed by an over carbonated carbonation burst. It doesn't sounds good, but to be honest it's rather refreshing and fruit in a pretty good way. Just don't expect puckering sour or over the top vinegar notes like some of the better flanders do.

I feel less good at this beer review stuff seeing as how the bottle tells me it was made with cherries. Oh well. Spices are subtle but there.

This is an ok beer, and given the reasonable price I don't knock it, but it doesn't really meet the style expectations and it is ok not great. 13 bucks for this bottle, not awful given it is a sour.

My final score adjust slightly for the style where this is just below average and I had to score it as such. Still I enjoyed it but who doesn't enjoy a beer that isn't awful?
.
Edit

As I drink more the sweetness is over the top and the aroma just doesn't entice me. It has some good flavors and I recommend a SMALL tasting of this one.

Edit 2.

This is going down the drain. It has some nice flavors mixed in with just not good ones. It honestly is impossible to get past 10 oz of this which means a full 16 oz pour is going down the drain. I'd worry about an old bottle but this style shouldn't be hurt by some age. Sorry but apples and cherry a great ideas in a sour, but it has to be sour. This isn't sour. It isn't good.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 00:11:06 | More by bobhits

Beaver13

Colorado

2.83/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

750 ml bottle. Pours hazy reddish amber with a smallish creamy white head that goes to a thin film and leaves some lacing.

The aroma is tart sour cherries and some funky yeast with a little wood.

The flavor is sweet sugary cherries with a little sour tartness. There are some acidic cardboard notes and a bit of an odd finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with smooth carbonation.

Overall, it's almost good. Too sweet with odd off-notes.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 05:30:11 | More by Beaver13

DavidST

Texas

4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a goblet, not quite sure the bottled date, there might be a coded bottle date on the bottle (maybe bottled 5/12?).

This pours a hazy, slighty yeast dregs tea brown with a small short lived tan head which doesn't leave a lacing. The smells are slighly funky, a nice mixture of sweet cherries and barnyard funk from brett, a slight vinegar smell. The feel is medium, okay carbonination. The taste is slightly sweet up front followed by a very strong earthy funky brett taste, with a little bit of sourness, more of a sweet and funk than a sweet and sour, nice though.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 04:35:11 | More by DavidST

draheim

Washington

3.23/5  rDev -18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

750mL into a tulip. Pours a clear amber w/ a 2-finger head that leaves behind a thin web of lace, moderate carb.

Aroma is tart and fruity. Sour cherries, dry oak.

Taste leads off with a disagreeable grainy quality. Ruh-roh. Crushed aspirin, copper penny. Not nearly as much tartness as the nose implied. Vague sour cherry tempered by sweet fruity malt, but that metallic taste mutes everything else.

Mouthfeel is light, crisp, dry. Soft on the palate, good carbonation.

Overall I just didn't enjoy this very much. The flat medicinal grainy taste ruined it for me.

Serving type: bottle

10-29-2012 05:57:23 | More by draheim

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours medium brown with reddish hues and a foamy white head. Some spotty lacing.

Nice sour cherry and tart malt notes.

Sour fruit in the mouth, with some stone fruit pit bitterness coming up from the rear. Nice malt and fruit balance, with a little malty/bitter give and take at the end. Nice beer.

Medium bodied, nice mouthfeel.

Overall, solid version f the style. A welcoming volume with the bomber providing plenty to appreciate. Try this.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2012 22:51:01 | More by OtherShoe2

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

4.1/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Dark burgundy with a large of white head. Great retention, lasts longer than most of this style.

Smells primarily of cherry juice with a dessert-like cinnamon brown sugar edge. Hints of MaCintosh apple peel.

Tastes like cherry juice up front with a hint of darker fruit in back. Grape? Black cherry? Something like that. "Fluffy mouthfeel." Brown sugar and bruised apple.

Not as funky as I'd like in a red. The malt possesses great depth and character but needs more funky foil.

Serving type: bottle

07-12-2012 23:09:32 | More by donkeyrunner

imasloth

Texas

4.23/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Bright red with a large, quickly dissipating white head. Barely a peep when we pulled the cork but carbonation was certainly there. fine, but quickly disappearing lacing.

S- Tart, with even a Sweet-Tart characteristic, and cherries, the tart kind. A bit vinous.

T- Cherries (sweet) and alcohol to start. Then the sour kicks in a rules the day. Maybe a hint of green apple. Dry. Very interesting flavor profiles, with perhaps even a milky aftertaste. I'm into it.

M- Smooth and medium-bodied, with a wine-like taste on swallow. Some dryness in afterfeel.

O- I really like this one. I'm new to the style so maybe that's part of it, but I'm pleased.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2012 20:52:39 | More by imasloth

StonedTrippin

Colorado

4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

totally different than any other flemish red ive had. pours a little redder than copper, with a touch of haze and a one inch tan head that has nice patchy retention. smells smokey, familiar but i dont know how. also lots of tart cherries in the nose. yeasty too. flavor is so weird, earthy, but its got a beef jerkey sort of flavor that comes from the aroma. hard to describe really, any cherry or brett flavors take a back seat to that beefy meaty smoke flavor. i dont dislike it, but its really different. feel is good, well carbonated with a medium body at the most. a 750ml is a lot of this beer, but it works for me i guess. worth a try for its distinct aromatic and flavor profile, but dont come in expecting a traditional flemish sour.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2012 18:19:37 | More by StonedTrippin

chugalug06

Colorado

3.73/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Huge fluffy tan/pinkish head. Brew is wonderful clear red color. Mild lacing.

Awesome huge sour cherry nose. Mild sulfur scent on the back end.

Obviously cherry, but on the lighter side. Not nearly as tart as the nose would lead you to believe... Kinda disappointing. Wet and nicely carbonated.

Not as sour as I hoped... Recommended, but don't go in expecting too much.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 00:09:01 | More by chugalug06

superspak

Michigan

4.38/5  rDev +10.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours hazy reddish brown color with a nice 1-2 finger dense khaki head with great retention that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Some nice soapy lacing on the glass as well. Aromas of big tart cherry, cherry skin, apple, cranberry, earthiness, funk, grass, oak, light acidity, and yeast spices. Nice and well balanced aromas with good complexity. Taste of tart cherry, cherry skin, apple, cranberry, pepper, earth, grass, light vinegar, oak, and yeast spices. Light tartness on the finish; with lingering notes of tart cherry, apple, cranberry, pepper, and yeast spices on the finish for a bit. Nice tart and sweet flavor balance and complexity; with cherry sweetness being more prominent. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly slick and syrupy mouthfeel as expected. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming after the finish. Very smooth to drink but is a bit of a sipper. Overall this is a fantastic, very pleasant, and enjoyable Flanders red ale. Nice complexity and balance; and very smooth to drink. I had no trouble finishing the 750.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2012 03:37:06 | More by superspak

kojevergas

California

3.5/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750ml brown glass bottle with hood and wire cap over a cork served into a Guinness goblet in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are high given the style and to an extent the brewery. I know Mikkeller brews at De Proef a lot, and I'm quite fond of his work, but I do think that this brewery might be a bit too scientific and clinical to pull off a proper sour.

Served refrigerator cold and allowed to warm over the course of consumption. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

A: Pours a 1.5 finger head of some limited cream, pretty good thickness, and great retention for the above average ABV. Colour is nontransparent non-opaque caramel-red. Generally appealing, but far from ideal for the style. No floating yeast particles are visible - perhaps due to the nontransparency.

Sm: Brett yeast - lending it some complex funkiness, other yeast, some cream, hints of bacteria, and tart fruit. A moderate strength aroma. Both complex and subtle. I'm excited to try it; it's certainly alive. I'm hoping the taste lives up to the promise of the aroma.

T: Pleasant cream opens it up to the nicely brett-laden flavour profile, complete with bacteria, tart cherry, and yeasty notes that manage to add complexity and a light spicy character without feeling overly biscuity. Cream resurges on the climax. The cherry juice might mute the profile a bit; it feels a bit timid. No alcohol comes through - not a bad feat given the 7.00% ABV. Balanced nicely. I'd like it to trust its flavours more and really bring the boldness, but it's pretty mellow - to its detriment. Complex, layered, and subtle. The malts don't come through hardly at all even as an aspect of the foundation, which I think is to its benefit but also lends it a certain emptiness that detracts from the body; consequently it comes off a bit weak and not nearly as full-bodied as I'd like.

Mf: Light on the palate, delicate, and silky smooth, with some cream throughout as an undertone. Perfectly carbonated. It's thin, but this strangely works for the beer. That said, it just doesn't have a strong impact on the palate, a characteristic amplified by its weak body.

Dr: Very drinkable, especially for the relatively high ABV. I could easily drink this all night - and would want to, if not for the somewhat limited quality and high price. I had high hopes for this beer and while it didn't meet them, I wouldn't call it a disappointment. I wouldn't purchase it again without some age on it, but I might recommend it to fans of this specific style. As sours go, it's far from exemplary.

Drank fine out of me goblet.

Would pair well with a vinaigrette black olive salad.

High B-

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2012 07:15:52 | More by kojevergas

UCLABrewN84

California

3.98/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a murky brown with a 3 inch foamy beige head that settles to a craggy cap on top of the beer. A foamy latticework of lace coats the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt/grain, earthy yeast, funk, and some sour cherry aromas. Taste is of sour cherry and mild Brett funk up front with some earthy grain flavors on the finish. This beer lives up to its name and is indeed sweet and sour at the same time. There is a lower level of carbonation with only a slight crispness. Overall, this is a good beer that is quite tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2012 02:10:52 | More by UCLABrewN84

mlazzaro

Massachusetts

3.55/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazed rose hued body with fluffy white head. Decent head retention. Somewhat larger sized bubbles here and there and very bizarre looking lacing. Yeast at bottom of bottle. Light on carbonation. Smells like cherries (sweet). Slight lactic yeast/bacteria to the smell. Mild aroma.

Flavor is very fruity. Cherry juice is still a touch sweet. Tastes very young. It does have a sourness to it, distinctly Brett. flavors. Super mild though. Malt character is light, what is there is caramelized malts. Bitterness is suiting to the rest of the beer. As advertized sweet and sour flavor. Mouthfeel is mild on acidity and light-medium bodied.

I was a little disappointed at first because I like outrageously sour beers. This is way drinkable, just very tame for my palate. Might be a good beer for folks gettin' their toes wet with sour beers.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 01:18:35 | More by mlazzaro

vobr0002

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A- reddish brown with good head that fades quickly.

S- sour cherry, Brett funkyness, some sweetness.

T- cherry fruit flavor, little bit of sourness, getting a slight amount of sweet.

M- lighter feel with a medium amount of carbonation.

O- its a decent beer but I like a bit more sour.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2012 02:51:12 | More by vobr0002

TVolt1

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: reddish brown with small amount of white head.

S: Great cherry wine smell. Very sweet and sour and excited to try it.

T: OK taste. Little funky tasting with a cherry flavor. Wanted it a little crisper and sour.

M: OK medium mouth feel but not as bubbly/crisp as I would like

O: overall, I have had better but not terrible.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2012 02:48:23 | More by TVolt1

DavoleBomb

Ohio

3.65/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a tulip. 2012 vintage. Lovin' the classy synthetic cork.

4.5 A: Hazed plum color. Three fingers of pillowy pinkish tinted white head. Retention is very good and tons of lacing is left.

4.0 S: Holy shit! This is now the second beer I've had that smells just like Pez candy. The other one was a winter warmer. There's some funk underneath, but this is dominated by the Pez. No need to describe this any further.

3.5 T: While the nose was straigh up Pez, the taste is like Pez flavored beeer. Pez dominates giving a pleasant fruity, sugary sweetness. There's much more funk than in the nose. Barnyard notes with apple and apple orchard funk. Definitely more sweet than sour. There's just a touch of acetic with more lactic acid presenting. In any case, not bad.

3.5 M: Lighter to lighter medium body. Carbonation level is fine, but it's not as spritzy or as creamy as I'd like.

3.5 D: Decent beer. Nothing to write home about though. It costs about as much as Rodenbach, though, so I don't see a reason to buy this one again.

Serving type: bottle

02-27-2012 22:21:39 | More by DavoleBomb

cocoapuph

California

3.48/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had a hard time uncorking this one... poured a rich ruby red-copper color with a thick head. Smelled of tart cherries and grapes. A hint of raisin and sugar sweetness comes through. Almost sunblock smelling too.

Tasted of tart cherries and a bit of metallic flavors. A little nit of coconut and vinegar come through as well. Mouth feel was tangy and smooth.

Decent but definitely had better. May drink again if given a bottle.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2012 03:04:07 | More by cocoapuph

BeerForMuscle

New Jersey

4.45/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A - A murky brown body with a ruby tint. The head fades quickly, leaving a bubbly ring of lace and a weather forecast hurricane pattern in the middle of the beer.

S - Tangy, sweet and acidic. Some cherry cough syrup nuances and a good bit of fruit skin and yeast aromas. A mild waft of sweet fall spices.

T - Very tart and tangy up front, with a sturdy metallic bite. Deep yeast complexity and sour cherry/tart fruit skin. Sweet on the lips after the sip. Woody dry flavors and earth notes. Dry biscuity alcohol in the backend.

M - Medium bodied with an intriguing feel. Yeasty beer, champagne like effervescence and wine like dryness. The yeast profile makes this one, drying and cleansing.

O - Superb, a yeast lovers beer. Balanced, sweet and sour as the name says.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2012 21:35:13 | More by BeerForMuscle

kzoobrew

Michigan

3.03/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Cherry stained amber colored body. A one finger white head sits atop momentarily. The head recedes rather quickly. There is a somewhat surprising amount of lacing left with such a modest head.

Sweet cherry juice overpowering upfront. A sour fruit aroma attempts to temper the sweetness just behind. The aroma is very candy like. Warmth brings forward more brett characteristics which were very subtle when cold. The bit of funk still does little to improve the candied aroma upfront.

Sweet cherry juice upfront becomes a bit more tart as it moves towards the back of the palate. The upfront flavor is again far too candylike. The flavor is most intense on the back of the palate. A combination of leathery, dusty funk and cranberry lingers.

Light bodied, moderate carbonation. The sweetness lingers and keeps the finish from becoming dry.

A rather underwhelming beer. The sweetness is a bit too much, very artificial flavor. Small servings are suggested with this beer. A little goes a long way.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2011 22:49:25 | More by kzoobrew

WynnO

Florida

3.35/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

All in all, a good Flemish Red.

The color is beautiful, yet the head seemed a bit weak.

On the down side, I detected a slight disagreeable component in the smell, almost certainly caused by the cherry juice. This beer's flavor is a bit weaker than other personal favorites (Duchesse and Rodenbach), but there is no doubt of it being a straight-ahead Flemish Red.

I would have no hesitation with buying another bottle.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2011 19:27:52 | More by WynnO

dcook11

California

5/5  rDev +26.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

A- Cranberry hue with ample carbonation and a gorgoues white head.

S- Apple, cranberry, cherry. Very juice like.

T- Cranberry and cherry dominant. Very pleasent.

M- Light bodied.

O- This is one of my favorite beers of all time. Perfection in a glass. This is a 5 for me. I was suprised though at the lack of sourness this beer had. Note: This cork is very difficult to get off!

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2011 04:30:57 | More by dcook11

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

De Proef Zoetzuur Flemish Ale
(according to the bottle, brewed with Kriek juice)

Pours a nice ruby color, off white head and nice lacing. Aroma of berries, so quite fruity and slight hint of funk. In the taste, a nice tart sourness, mild acidity, sugary malt, and a hint of cherry juice. Very well balanced with a perfect mix of sweet, sour, malt, and fruit. Ever so slight touch of red wine vinegar. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied and drying. Overall, one of the best examples of the Flanders style, and the fruit is downplayed and left in the background where it belongs. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2011 00:33:45 | More by Stinkypuss

BrauKilR

Michigan

4/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aroma: The funk of lambic complexity, with its notes of rhubarb and oak, leaning in this case toward vinegar/acetic. Dark cherry and malt sweetness. Vanilla. Oak. Spiciness which dissipates relatively quickly with time. No diacetyl. No hops.

Appearance: Clear, medium amber with an off-white, creamy head that persists as a creamy film and laces the glass – a Mort Subite goblet for this tasting. I expect this head may last till morning if I left it.

Flavor: Prominent – though short of bold -- fruit flavors of plum and cherry, toasty-bready malt sweetness, all accompanied by a complimentary sourness/tartness. Hints of vanilla which I presume to echo its time in oak. Bitterness is low and there is no hop flavor. Yeast character is expressed in the spicy, “Belgian” –type phenolics and dark fruit character. The long finish is sweet and tart with a red wine-like character, yet less astringent.

Mouthfeel: Medium leaning toward medium-full bodied. Chewy, creamy texture with a mild, tingly astringency. Mild carbonation to lift it, followed by a noticeable but unobtrusive alcohol warming on the way down.


Overall: A slightly fuller bodied, less spritzy-assertive version of Flanders Red than Duchesse De Bourgogne, which I consider the cranberry soda of the beer world. Very drinkable, but not quite as sour as I anticipated, which is not a knock; this is well within style. I do live very close to the Jolly Pumpkin, however, and anticipate more than a complimentary sourness in sour ales as a result. This might be a good launching point for anyone wanting to be introduced to the sour ale category.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2011 22:18:38 | More by BrauKilR