Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale - De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

inebrius

Michigan

4.97/5  rDev +26.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

When liquid hits glass immediate aromas begin to fill a room like funky incense cones or grade ten biology class. A stew of elderly tree fruit, cobblestone paths alongside Autumn tannic rivers, mushroom sorbet, wet hockey bags and a hint of lime leaf penetrates your skull. The smell will have you expecting this powerful wallop of sour to tear into your buds like tiny chainsaws but surprise! try some fig jelly on a washed rind double cream and wheat toast chased with olives Provençal. Yup, a retronasal blast of stinky aged cheese escorts the tripel-like flavors all the way through the pipes. Charged and lively and hinting alcohol only by way of spice I'm beginning to depress as my glass and bottle are drained. Seekers of experience need more beer like this.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2005 04:28:26 | More by inebrius

JamesMN

Minnesota

3.08/5  rDev -21.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Bright orange/yellow and opaque. Fizzy four finger white head.

Aroma: Lots of belgian yeast esters. A hint of tart vinegar.

Taste: Pretty much comes off as a bit of a bland Belgian Pale Ale. The hint of tartness that comes at first that would suggest the Flemish/Wild Ale style is no where near strong enough to warrant that classification. What's left is a semi-sweet apple and pear flavor with very moderate bitterness. Lingering aftertaste of tartness and club soda. Hard to detect that 9% ABV.

Mouthfeel: Just below medium in body with tons of effervescence. Average drinkability.

Final Thoughts: Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale is not what I expected it to be and as a result a let-down. It seems stuck between styles with no specific flavors. Would I drink it again? No.

Serving type: bottle

06-09-2013 00:49:38 | More by JamesMN

InspectorBob

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2%

05-23-2013 20:41:21 | More by InspectorBob

mikeincharleston

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

05-23-2013 01:42:18 | More by mikeincharleston

draheim

Washington

3.96/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750mL into an Ommegang glass. Pours a hazy glowing orange w/ a big fluffy white whipped-cream head, gravity-defying clumps of lace clinging to the glass. Classic Brett head.

Aroma is big on the funky, vinous notes. Vaguely sour, some green apple skin and white grape.

Taste is roughly grainy and coarse. Pale biscuity malt and less of the funk. Some more of the white grape/wine notes, some pear and apple too.

Mouthfeel is a little prickly, medium-bodied. About right.

Overall a good beer w/ potential, might need to let the Brett do its thing for a while. Reminds me a bit of Fremont's The Lamb, which also had that coarse, grainy crushed-aspirin taste when fresh but improved considerably over time. I'd drink it again.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 00:47:15 | More by draheim

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.06/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

When I think of Flemish ales, I think of the Flanders Red Ales or Oude Bruins- but what happns to these ales if no cherries are employed, or if the taste is centered around crisp pilsner malt instead of toasted brown malt? De Proef shows us the way with Reinaert.

This "Wild Ale" starts with a deep golden pour that's lightly hazy with its yeasty veil. Even as the carbonation fuels a long-lasting white froth, the ale exhibits strong champagne-like zesty quality even as the beer remains firmly grounded in malty pilsner roots.

Strongly aromatic, the scent is lightly pungent with straw, dried limes, musty cellar-like woods, light sea air, day-old bread, and an overall grainy scent wafts over the nose as the initial taste is dry and minerally. Cracker-like early, its taste then is lead by cider, white wine, musty attics, peat moss, and an overall floral bit that resembles honey suckle at first but finishes like bitter rose peels- equipped with stern stemmy bitterness and a strong echo of wheat to close.

Mid-light in body, the ale is dry, crisp, and clean overall. But its the pleasant astringency of vegetal bite that gives the ale a grassy, bitter close that lingers deeply on the tongue. Impressive is the ales strength, very little of that warmth or power is ever felt- preferring softer undertones in its story...

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 07:08:14 | More by BEERchitect

PatGreer

Massachusetts

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

05-19-2013 03:47:12 | More by PatGreer

JDavidRice

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

05-17-2013 22:48:13 | More by JDavidRice

sjccmd

Minnesota

3.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

Pours golden orange, slightly murky with an uneven white head that collects in chunks of large and small bubbles. A little weird. Good lacing. Fairly carbonated

Really fascinating smell. Overripe tropical fruits, specifically guava and papaya. I've never had a beer with quite this smell. Bready, graham cracker malts in the background. Earthy and funky.

The taste follows along with the smell, but with even more graham cracker toasty malts. A nice touch of tartness. Very earthy. But then I get umami flavors perhaps from dead yeast. This aspect makes it a bit less drinkable. Some hop bitterness to round things out, but not much.

Pretty high carbonation. Full mouthfeel, somewhat silky. That umami flavor sticks in the mouth for a while. Not easy to finish

The smell was so fascinating that I had high hopes for this one, but I think there is a bit of dead yeast flavor issue.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2013 00:15:08 | More by sjccmd

JamesQuaff

California

4.43/5  rDev +13%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

Thanks to Kyle at Pangaea for sharing this with me.

Poured into a tasting snifter. A beautiful hazy golden with a generous, clingy head that almost looked like krausen at first.

At first the three of us who split this thought perhaps we got a bad bottle. It had been in stock for quite some time. At first whiff it smelled like a diaper full of dill pickles. One guy recoiled from his glass. But as someone who regularly eats cheese that smells like a stable full of dirty socks, I pressed on. Beneath the extreme funk was a hugely complex array of fruity, yeasty and malty notes that insisted that I take a sip.

I was rewarded with a massive and round yeast profile, huge bready, wheaty malts, a medley of sour notes akin to pineapples and pickles in yogurt, and a dry finish that tipped it's hat to the 9% ABV. Immediately after first tasting I smelled it again, and the diaper funk was completely gone from my perception. I had absorbed it, become one with it, and I found myself craving it.

By the time I was done, I was practically licking the bottom of the snifter. Totally unlike any beer I've ever had before. Such a strange jumble of elements I can't fully wrap words around them, but man, they worked together really well. Will brave again.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2013 17:42:22 | More by JamesQuaff

Archemedies

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +2%

05-05-2013 13:07:28 | More by Archemedies

wonothesane42

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -17.1%

04-29-2013 14:22:01 | More by wonothesane42

yamar68

Minnesota

4.03/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beautiful pour... pear gold with hints of green and brown, great beading, a rocky white head that forms loads of lace.

Vanilla, clove, oak maybe (?), pale fruits with a bit of spice, no discernible alcohol profile, semisweet with zero "wild" side.

Smooth on the palate... some bitter apple skins, sweet bread, mellow caramel, the warmth of the alcohol content starts to show itself here, white pepper, a bit of banana... again, not really anything wild about this but it's tasty nevertheless.

Give it a go if you're curious.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 02:50:30 | More by yamar68

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a bottle of this from halftime beverage for 5 bucks. Not bad for a sour pale ale.
A - Well I got a 1/4 inch of head that sticks around for a while atop of a very hazy bright yellow beer. Not as clear as I expected but no sediment.
S - When I first opened it I was greeted by a solid fruit character of peaches or Strawberries with a bit of grain but in the glass the Brett really makes it'self know. Not overly sour smelling but it seems just enough.
T - Hits the tongue with more of a lemon juice and sour Brett funk. Not as sour as you would think as it rolls with some fresh apricot and malty grain bill.
M - Well the ABV is there but to me it's very balanced. Not very profound but just enough to carry the sour and earthy flavors of the beer.

Overall these guys make one kick ass Saison with Brett characters and going into this with the same expectations I was not disappointed. A nice high octane Belgium pale ale with some Brett funk worth trying in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2013 02:03:37 | More by DrDemento456

jkermitj

Mississippi

4.5/5  rDev +14.8%

04-21-2013 16:27:17 | More by jkermitj

grittybrews

Washington

4/5  rDev +2%

04-18-2013 03:11:20 | More by grittybrews

SiccarPoint

Colorado

4.48/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into tulip from 750ml bottle.

A: Burnished copper, very hazy. Lots of particulate stuff in there - unsurprisingly for bottle conditioned beer like this. Head attempts to escape the glass; repeated pourings are necessary. Once in place, head sits nicely, and leaves moderate lacing.
S: Big aroma. Tripel yeasty tones, but very summer-fruity. A bit like a strawberry-banana smoothie? (in a good way!) Some peach. Treacle or caramel underneath. The faintest hint of brett underneath all that fruity goodness - very slightly musty. You can tell it’s boozy.
T: Much less sweet than the aroma would have you believe! Alcohol is right there, carrying along an earthy brett character. Catches the back of the throat immediately; makes you pucker a bit, but not exactly straight-up sour - it’s more bitter. Strawberries are still there, but much tarter. Cranberry? Grapefruit? Lemon? Peach? Leather? Hints of tobacco? Burnt sugar definitely there, but not sweet. This is tough to describe.
M: Fairly boozy, but carbonation balances it perfectly.
O: Very interesting beer, and complex. Aroma is excellent, but for me the flavour profile didn’t quite match my expectations from the smell. Reminiscent of Goose Island Sofie, or Orval.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 02:56:39 | More by SiccarPoint

kkmiller76

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +21.2%

04-07-2013 02:12:47 | More by kkmiller76

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%

04-05-2013 04:10:05 | More by RedneckBeerz

TwelveOunces

Kentucky

3.99/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

11.2 oz beer poured into a tulip

A- Pours incredibly hazy straw yellow. A brilliant three finger of a white fluffy head.

S- A big hay character, a nice sourness. Sour dark fruit. White wine.

T- A pop of carbonation at first. A big barnyeard flavor. There is a nice hay character as well as grass and other herbal notes. A slight bit of soured dark fruit. Very grassy and some onion as well. A very lightly flavored beer. A well rounded flavor. pretty easy drinking.

M- High carbonation, a full body to this beer.

O- My only gripe is that the flavor isnt quite that bold.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 01:17:31 | More by TwelveOunces

ChrisMon02

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev -4.3%

03-06-2013 19:34:58 | More by ChrisMon02

od_sf

California

3.25/5  rDev -17.1%

03-02-2013 02:00:38 | More by od_sf

thedoorthedrain

4.25/5  rDev +8.4%

02-25-2013 03:36:09 | More by thedoorthedrain

avalon07

South Carolina

4.39/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

A: Poured from a bottle to a tulip glass. Had a yellow-orange color and a cloudy consistency. Some sediment. There was an inch of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. OK lacing.

S: A sweet, fruity aroma, with some hints of malt and yeast.

T: Tasted of light malt, brett, Belgian yeast, light, fruity esters, a sugary element, and a slight bubblegum flavor in the finish. A lively and balanced flavor that gets better as you go along.

M: A lot of carbonation with a very dry finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A solidly made beer, and certainly easy to like. Drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2013 22:50:14 | More by avalon07

rhhjr

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +2%

02-06-2013 03:35:13 | More by rhhjr