Today, I thought I would share with you my drinking experience of the Bacchus Belgian Ale brewed by Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck (vanhonsebrouck.be) in Ingelmunster, Belgium.
This beer is considered to be a Sour/Wild Ale. Here’s the commercial description.
A typical Flemish beer with a pleasant wine-like taste and a rich past. This dark brown beer, which is matured in oak casks, has a slightly acid aftertaste.
I’ve never had this beer before, so I’m not real sure what to expect.
This beer poured from a 12.7 oz. bottle and had an ABV of 4.5%.
The appearance of this brew was of a clear, mud brown, very deep ruby red color. Brighter red highlights kissed the edges of the glass to add a bit more of an aesthetic appeal. The cap was small, tight, creamy and light tan in color. Although it didn’t stand out by way of retention, it did leave behind a nice trail of lace after each sip and eventually the head settled to a fine film on top.
The smell brought forth a very yeasty and earthy tone. A ripe, sweet, somewhat pungent lemon and cheery note was found along with some graininess and a little bit of “funk.” Floral notes were noticed as well as plenty of fruit and sourness.
At first, with the taste, I noticed a significant sourness. Like a “lemon head” sugar candy. Very tangy and tart. Light cherries were tasted and some bitterness was noted, but it never really became a dominant flavor. A very familiar Belgian grain and yeast pulled through nicely and helped solidify some of those “wine” characteristics. Not bad. One thing of note was that the sourness never really subsided throughout the entire drink. It started to become a bit distracting for me after a while really.
The mouthfeel was medium, dry, crisp and mostly smooth. Plenty of the sweet and sour, tangy flavor was left behind. However, for me, I’m not sure that I welcomed that.
Well….. I’ve come to the conclusion that this may not be my kind of beer. It’s a little too sour for me. I didn’t find myself wanting another one. Actually, I was glad when the experience was over, so I could move on to something else. Some may find this beer very enjoyable and good, so I would suggest trying it for yourself and seeing if your taste buds find it favorable. I would like to sample it again in the future to see if my tastes change, but for right now however, I may look for something else. This was not a badly made beer or anything, but it may have just caught me off guard. I need to experience more “sour” ales to become adjusted to them for future comparison.
Have any of you had the Bacchus Belgian Ale? What did you think of it?
As always, thanks for reading and commenting. Please leave suggestions if you like. I’m always looking for ways to improve the reviews.
Score: 3.2 out of 5
Grade: C+
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