History
Flanders Red is known as the Burgundies of Belgium. This style of beer once ruled West Flanders. This beer is brewed using large amounts of Munich and caramel malts with traditional brewing methods. The beer is then aged in large wooden barrels, vats, and Foeders, then is inoculated with wild yeast and lactic acid-producing bacteria. The most important is the tradition of aging the red ales in huge vats of unlined oak. The wood, which cannot be sterilized, is home to dozens of wild yeast and bacterial strains that consume the residual sugars in the beer. Over the course of it’s aging, which can last as long as two years, the beer takes on its characteristic acidity, along with oak flavor and color. Sherry and passion fruit notes develop and deepen as oxygen slowly seeps in through the wood. The individual barrels are blended together. The resulting blends are light-bodied and zesty, with complex fruity and earthy aromatics, malt caramel and sweetness balanced with refreshing acidity. The result is a wonderful blend of sweet and sour flavors.
Tasting Notes
Bright red, with hints of brown, topped with lacey white foam. Aromas of fresh cherries, orange zest, and tobacco. Flavors of fresh cherries, leather, pinot noir, and sour apple. Finishes tart, round, and beautiful.
Food Pairings
Oily and buttery seafood is a great match for these sweet and tart ales; lobster, shrimp, sautéed monkfish, Dungeness crab, and king salmon. Obvious choices include Flemish style mussels and frites and beef carbonnade flamande. Other heartier items such as rich pork dishes, boar, and duck go great with the acidity and sweetness of the beer. Full flavored cream sauces and sour cherry sauces sing with the beers of Flanders.
