Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale - De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

foXXtail

Ohio

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Given my online moniker, how couldn’t I like this beer?

I guess it’s good that I do!

The good:

The beer has a lovely, fruity nose filled with tons of flower and fruit scents. Strawberry is most apparent, but lots of other candy-like scents linger. The beer is also highly effervescent and smooth-textured. The flavor is hinted at by the nose – very sweet with a hit of orange, apple, and strawberry fruit tastes. A very strong champagne-like dryness balances out the fruity esters nicely. The finish is more dry than sweet, but the fruity sweetness curbs it nicely.

The bad:

The only thing I wanted more from this beer is head. Despite lively effervescence, there wasn’t a lot of fluff on top – though the thin coating that WAS there was well-retained. Granted, it could have been a pouring error. I’ll try again later.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2005 23:44:22 | More by foXXtail

RBorsato

Virginia

2.25/5  rDev -42.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1

Apricot colored with a decent off-white head, good carbonation, and a touch of lace. Intense sour Brett aroma with big barnyard smells and a touch of fruitiness. More intense sour Brett flavors akin to chewing on raw rhubarb (very sour). Light-medium bodied and airy with an intense dry finish...

NOT what I consider a Belgian Strong Pale Ale ... could this be a Straight (unblended) Lambic-style Ale ?? Not sure since I've never had one of those...

Whew ! every beer has it's place and unfortunately the place for the last part of this one was down the drain ... too intense for me to finish.

Per label: "Triple fermented using two yeast strains" & "Saccharomyces - Brettanomyces" & "Bottle Conditioned"

Per MJ notes: 2 row pilsner and pale malts. Hallertau (bittering) and Styrian Goldings (aromatic). 16P (1064).

(11.2 oz. short fat brown bottle)

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2005 18:25:42 | More by RBorsato

DogFood11

California

4.43/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

11.2 oz stubie poured into a snifter.

Fundamentally sound appearance although this is one of the beers weaker areas for the style. Head falls to islands with little lacing but it indeed holds its own and with each drink reproduces itself. I found the smell to be alot of work to figure out what the hell was going on!! lots of sour at first, but after a few drinks this settled down and there was a flowery/fruity backbone. Same thing with the taste, first drink seemed shockingly abrubdt but settles on the palate from 2nd drink on into this magnificent spicey clove and Ohhh so smooth. No alcohol taste w/ perfect warming...how that is accomplished I'll leave to De Proefbrouwerij...finishes dry. this is excellent night capper material and to me it improves slightly when it warmed a bit when the fruity flavors were revealed.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2005 05:27:58 | More by DogFood11

GClarkage

California

4.72/5  rDev +20.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

06/03/05- Purchased at Plumpjack Wines in San Francisco, CA

Presentation- 750ml caged and corked bottle with no dating. Poured into my Duvel tulip.

Appearance- Golden in color with a nice 2 fingered creamy head and average lacing.

Smell- Had to think about this one for a while, but between two BA's, we came to the conclusion of apple pie or apple crisp. Maybe some cinnimon and nutmeg as well.

Taste- Sweet and sour elixer galore. Lots of different spices as well. Too much stuff going on here.

Mouthfeel- Medium carbonation, fuller mouthfeel. Leaves mouth puckered at times.

Drinkability- Should have gotten more than one bottle while I had the chance. This beer is excellent. ABV is extremely well hidden as well.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2005 20:17:17 | More by GClarkage

putnam

Michigan

5/5  rDev +27.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

At first glance, it looks and smells like Orval. Pale orange liquid, noisy, explosive foam on top (it depleted very quickly in contrast to marburg's report -- should I be using a better rinse?), aromas of candied sawgrass, apricot pits, lemon oils, cherries, cranberries. I hope its not simply the fact that this roast beef sandwich is making me thirsty, but I can't tear my senses away from this pour.
On the palate comes the load of bitterness that the aromas were preparation for. I grasp for comparisons: Popering Hommel, Orval, de Ranke XX... this is thoroughly infused with hops. It's primarily a bitterness, rather than an aromatic.
And how perfectly balanced it is. Bold, fleshy stone fruits and basementy earthiness triangulate with floral bitterness to open an outburst of marmelade, quince, sappy budlets, chalk and grass flavors. The fizz is unforgiving too. And where's the alcohol flavor?
This beer careens about unleashing flavors hedonistic, then earthy, then spicy, then... it's gone. I feel I haven't begun to understand it. Light, yet powerful. Dry, yet packed with fruit. And of course, the boldly included "brettanomyces" on the label is backed up in the glass: its a warm horse blanket of mother-earthly goodness. Wow!

inebrius, you may have under rated this one. Thanks for the bottle. Now, to try and obtain it. I'm in for a 7-case layer.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2005 17:49:32 | More by putnam

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

Reidrover

Oregon

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Bought in the 11.2 oz odd shaped brown bottle.
Poured into the glass this is a quite hazy golden beer with a large creamy/foamy white head, great lashings of lacing!.
The aroma is quite fantastic, very fruity,sourapple,green gooseberry,hay,candied sugars and spice wow.
mmm this is delicious in taste but it is quite "weird", hard to describe in anyother way than many have before :"barnyard"! strange yet very pleasing..spicy itter sour aftertaste..some medicinal tones..this reminds me a little of very dry cider.
Good mouthfeel ,carbonation is just right.
Wow I did not know what to expect from this but i found this fabulous and very drinkable..will buy again.

Serving type: bottle

11-21-2004 07:44:16 | More by Reidrover

Crosling

Colorado

3.7/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Light Gold.

Gentle aroma of apple cider, lemon, vanilla, honey and pure yeasty funk.

Strange, unassertive brett character. A funky brew, almost Fantomesque in its yeast taste. Nice, tart, coating flavor, quite fruity, with notes of pineapple, apples, orange and lemon. Fizzy carbonation. A flavorful brew.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2004 22:45:41 | More by Crosling

Hex92

Virginia

1.95/5  rDev -50.3%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Wow, this is not a good beer. It has the color of a cloudy urine sample. The smell is horribly sour. The taste might be better, but when you catch the whiff of the smell it almost turned my stomach. The mouthfeel is alright, but nothing to write home about. There is no way I would ever buy this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2004 04:09:12 | More by Hex92

drewbage

California

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Sampled from a fresh bottle provided courtesy of the fine folks at Lucky Baldwin's Sampled in a Piraat glass.

Pale gold deep haze and large fluffy head that sticks

Aroma is buttery with large horsey notes from brett

Flavor is golden raisin malt that is slighty sour to start and increasing with the co2.

Interesting golden brew with some of the notes of the bacterias that make Rodenbach and the like so complex, but this example is lacking something that takes it beyond the curiously sour beer that it exists as now.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2004 07:49:31 | More by drewbage

Dogbrick

Ohio

4.08/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sampled at From The Vine beer tasting Jul 9th, 2004: I saw the word Flemish on the label and assumed Flemish Sour, but after trying the beer it doesn’t really seem to fit in that category very well (although I am not well-versed in the style). Pours a bright yellow color with a thin white head the dissipated quickly. Very thin lacing. The aroma is almost exactly like a dry, peppery champagne. Light-bodied and crisp with yeast, pepper and yes a little sourness. There are also some fruit and coriander undertones. The finish is very dry and a little vinous. This is a rather unique beer all in all and I liked it.

Serving type: bottle

07-11-2004 03:28:58 | More by Dogbrick

faernt

Illinois

4.53/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

This time I'm drinking from a 750 ml corked and capped bottle. I'm in Chicago now. The last time I had this I was in Seattle. I'd purchased an 11.2 oz bottle from Bottleworks and it was really funky/good. My concern is that this 750 is way different than the 11.2oz I had before. The last bottle tasted like its own thing. This new 750 tastes like Orval.

It pours bright gold with a thin, slightly rocky head which subsides into a smaller, thinner head leaving an irregular lace on the sides of the glass. The bubbles are small and the smell is Orval... and I mean that from 18" away.

Maybe this beer is "wild" and the other one I tried was "amber". The other one said it was wild. So, this is good beer. It's really like Orval and I will buy another bottle and probably several more. It is an aperitif beer or an ultimate first beer. you can choose which way you want to go but, this is the real thing and I suggest you buy some. It's tasty.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2004 02:58:35 | More by faernt

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a lightly hazy straw gold color. Topped by a white head that is held up by a solid spritzy carbonation. The aroma is dusty, musty, grassy, with hints of tropical fruit, lemony, peach, and banana. The smell is definitely quite complex. The taste is quite dry at first, and then the Brett hits; it is like sucking on an old shoe. The unmistakably leathery, horse blanket dominates the finish. Similar in some respects to an aged Orval, but with out the hop presence. There is a bit of lemon up front before the Brett. Ignoring the Brett funk, this is a nice light straight forward zippy Belgian golden ale. With the Brett it gains immensely in complexity and funk, I happen to like this, but then again I am a Lambic junky.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2004 18:42:26 | More by Gueuzedude

SeanChouffe

New Mexico

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

Pours a light straw color with a creamy white head and copious fine carbonation. Good head retention. Aroma is light and fresh with citrus notes. Flavor has a light fruit start with a delicate dry middle and a tart finish. A lingering tart/hoppy finish remains. Mouthfeel is light and dry. A well-balanced brew except for the lingering prevalence of the finish.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2004 03:02:46 | More by SeanChouffe

mickeymac

California

4.13/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Tried the amber ale and liked it all right so gave a chance to the wild ale. It comes from a tall corked and caged 750 ml. It pours a hazy gold with a white head that leaves an archipelago of bubbly formations across the top of the beer. Tart smells dominate with just a hint of citrus and funky barnyard smells. It's certainly reminiscent of a lambic. The taste is something that takes time to become a friend. It's tartness and apparent lack of balance is a bit off-putting at first, but the flavor starts to make sense after half a glass or so. The name may come from the wild yeast, but wild describes the flavor well. It's not refined or elegant but enjoyable nonetheless. The alcohol is not over the top in the smell or taste, but this is resolutely not a session beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2004 05:10:44 | More by mickeymac

lou91

California

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

750ml bottle. This is a good looking beautiful yellow golden glowing beer with a thick bright white head. It let off a powerful tart and honey scent once poured. The taste is crisp clean tart creamy and refreshing. Warming the beer did not really improve the flavors since it was already a tasty beer. A good introduction to the sourness of Belgian beers since it is not overpowering and so crisp and clean that the flavors rapidly grow on you. Not outstanding but a solid product.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2004 03:30:13 | More by lou91

Boilermaker88

California

3.68/5  rDev -6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had this over Easter weekend and just found my notes. Presented in a stubby little brown bottle and had an opaque golden tone on which sat a good-sized bubbly white head.
Well, the name sure fits! Flemish Wild Ale - yeah, with the tell-tale funky wild yeast aroma interlaced with the aromas of earthy malt, green apples, and tropical fruits it's easy to come up with the name. The trademark Brettanomyces barnyard funk and biting sourness is clearly evident in each taste. There is a puckery sweet-tart apple flavor along with notes of barely ripe pineapples, hints of banana, and a wonky spiciness that, for me, seemed a bit off track. The feel was creamy and had a drying finish.
Overall, not a bad beer, especially if you like lambics. This is styled as a Belgian Strong Pale Ale but the mix of Brett and spices in this beer didn't make it one of my favorites.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2004 16:07:34 | More by Boilermaker88

ark57

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This cloudy, pale golden beer is quite funky smelling. I like that. I imagine that if you do not like traditional lambics, this beer will not appeal to you because they use two yeats strains that are commonly found in lambics (Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces). The aroma is quite complex smelling musty, flowery, and of horse blanket. It is smooth drinking, with a fruitiness reminiscent of apples and honey. It finishes dry with some spiciness, probably from the high alcohol. There is a slight hint of sourness, that could just be an effect from the dry finish.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2004 15:29:41 | More by ark57

Rastacouere

Quebec (Canada)

4.3/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Light murky blonde with a garden smell, hay, funk, apple-tart. Taste confirms the bottle's Brett promises. Dry like hell with salt hints. Medium bodied, fresh, eminently refreshing. Delicious brew. A poet that no one understands. Piece of art, cheers John.

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2004 20:37:32 | More by Rastacouere

StevieW

Florida

1.68/5  rDev -57.1%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

The evening starting innocently enough, the remants of tropical storm Nicholas were crashing ashore. Winds were whipping about 20-30mps out of the NW. Raining like a cow pissing on a flat rock. The Bengals lost....again. My lovely little wife was out having dinner with a girlfriend in town. I tried tieing a bimini twist knot for the upteenth time with no luck and only minor injuries to my hands. Let's have a beer I say to myself, how about this little stubby 11.5 oz brown belgian with the beige label. The BelgianBum gave it to me, I have been saving it. Sounds interesting...Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale. Hmmmm Luxembourg sounds interesting too, but I have never been there. Oh well here we go.
Bottled popped with an audible Phhffffttt ! Medium golden in color. Big creamy white head, more dense than your average Denny's Dishwasher. I mean that in a good way.
The smell was odd to say the least, "wild" is a misnomer. In 1991 as a 20 year old college student, I went to the Kentucky Derby, spent 10 long hours in the infield of Churchill Downs, met several future ex-wives, never saw a horse and woke up in the parking lot the next morning, shoeless, with a smell of stale beer, fresh cut grass, horse urine, and wet dog overcoming me. This beer smelled exactly like that May morning 12 years ago. Ugghhh. Wild, vulgar, and nasty all at once. Unbelievable. Odd tasting tart, spritzy, bubbly sweet champagne like taste. I thought this would be like a spicy belgian dubbel. Instead it's the bastard son of a sun skunked Duvel and Andre Brut Champagne. Sweetness fades, dryness in the body, then a chalky, metallic lingering finish. Sour puckering aftertaste. I drank it all, and seriously regret it. Highly charged, bubbly carbonation, but very hard to drink. Sorry Bum, I couldn't get into this one.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2003 02:52:13 | More by StevieW

beerguy101

California

3.8/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Medium gold color, cloudy. Large foamy head. Aroma is tart and sour with a hint of orange peel. A medium bodied Ale. It not very sour for a Flemish sour ale. Yeasts are fairly bright, yet the malts aren’t very sweet and fruity as I was expecting. OK, so it neither sweet enough nor sour enough. Yet, it an interesting beer. It does balance what sweet and sour characteristics are available. And the “wild yeast flavors are interesting. It also a very refreshing beer. Hides the 9.0% alcohol very well. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2003 03:53:36 | More by beerguy101

TheLongBeachBum

California

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

Presentation: 750ml Tall long neck brown glass bottle. One obverse label that has a picture of a fox in silhouette, with the words ‘The Legendary Collection’ above and “Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale, 9% Alc.Vol. I Pt 9.4 fl.oz” underneath. From the relatively new De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Anderlot) based in Lochristi. I have wanted to try some of these beers for a while.

Appearance: Very light, pale straw color with some lemon hints from its clear body. Humungous liveliness dictated that only a small amount of fluid was in the first pour as the heads grow exponentially with time. The huge expansive white head that hangs around for quite a while leaves an uneven surface full of rock-pools that hints strongly at its Belgium heritage. Nice levels of dissolved carbon dioxide throughout the beer add just the right levels of carbonation. Classic Belgium lacing and Flemish good looks.

Nose: Tart, sharp & a musty sour odor, slightly vinous at times. Malts laced with citric hints. Some hops, spices and yeast – quite the smell.

Taste: A musty dry hop pellet barn yard hue mixed with a fine citric twang. Wow, this has quite the beginning. Bitter hops with some lightly toasted malts in the middle and a very sour spicy ending. Sourness runs riot in the finish.

Mouthfeel: The high levels of carbonation add a spritzy feel at first, like a thousand needles, but it soon rescinds and finishes with a smooth sour tang.

Drinkability: The 9% alcohol is extremely well-hidden. It has all the Drinkability of a dominant Blonde ale mixed with the punch of a Belgium Tripel. Still, given its sour farmyard twang, it was still quite drinkable for me.

Overall: Quite strange, a mix between a Blonde and a Tripel with some lambic Duvel-ian character, the triple-fermentation with two yeasts makes for a tasty unique style beer. The feint of heart may not take to it. Well worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2003 01:57:04 | More by TheLongBeachBum

RoyalT

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance – Light, cloudy body with a decent head that held well but pulled away from the glass.

Smell – Nice yeasty malt aroma with good spices and hops to boot. Very balanced aroma. The yeast is like nothing I’ve ever smelled before. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it’s almost like a musty cabernet. Maybe eucalyptus?

Taste – The yeast stands out the most to me, which is strange for a pale ale. There are a lot of hops in there, though. There’s a predominant musty character to this brew, like mint or (again) eucalyptus. Although the yeast and hops are strange, they’re balanced. A bit of sweetness comes in at the end, but mostly it’s a sour finish.

Mouthfeel – Nice carbonation, but it’s not smooth by any stretch.

Drinkability – Definitely a topic of conversation. I don’t know that I’d want to suck down another one, though.

Comments – This is a very interesting brew. I was disheartened to see only four other reviews. I’d like to see what other experienced BAs have to say about this one.

Serving type: bottle

08-14-2003 02:13:04 | More by RoyalT

packetknife

Idaho

4.1/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Very hazy yellow-orange with dense off-white head that held. Heavy yeast and citrus on the nose, some mustiness. Spicy on the tip of the tongue, the carbonation stings the tongue, distinctive yeasty citrus across the tongue, and it somehow becomes slightly sweet at the back of the throat. Feels thick and very drinkable for a 9%. Trying to think of a food that will go well with this and somehow a lemmon-dill cream sauce over salmon comes up but I'm not normal.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2003 12:23:06 | More by packetknife

BeerAngel

Texas

3.83/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a hazed pale yellow with a massive fluffy white long lasting head. The smell consists of a musty yeast smell with a light fruity background that isn’t bad, but quite different in an odd way. This is one beer that is out there in it’s execution of a beer! I taste again the musty yeast with cinnamon spicing, hops, and alcohol. The taste is all over the place but is extremely interesting. This is a light to medium bodied brew and it finishes uh…sweet…uh…dry. There is not anything smooth about this beer and I don’t believe it is what the brewer’s intended either. It is bold in it’s own unique way. Not with hops, not with an overwhelming alcohol taste, but with a bouncing transition of flavors. Whoah! I’m labeling this a “must try”. Not that it’s great, but that it’s oh so interesting! Thanks BelgianBum! Op uw gezonheid!

Serving type: bottle

05-29-2003 20:11:07 | More by BeerAngel