On tap at Draught Industries, Flemish red ale (a style originating in Flanders, Belgium) aged in oak wine foeders leaves vinous green grape tannins, puckered green apple bittering and oaken cherry tartness upon raspy lactobacillus acidity above musty barnyard leathering. A bustling wild ale for heady sour heads.
On tap at Ambulance, appealing oaken whiskey barrel-aged Flanders Red Ale brings clover-honeyed red cherry souring to the fore as vinous green grape acidity lowers spicy raisin-prune conflux and charcoaled mocha snip.
On tap at Ambulance, halfway convincing Merlot-barreled Flanders Red Ale saddles tart dark cherries and acidic citric sourness with dry oaken leathering, but dry Merlot tannins almost escape the senses. Lightly vinous balsamic acidity spreads to citric-soured cherry finish.
Vintage oak-aged Flanders Red Ale (2012 – Barrel #170) flaunts leathery cherry-raspberry tartness at the fore as vinous green grape souring, oaken vanilla tannins and fungi-like saccharomyces yeast sugaring merge alongside dry sherry licks. At the complex finish, sour cherry abundance gains acidic balsamic vinegaring to contrast less prominent caramelized red malting.
On tap at Ambulance, mildly pungent, yet effervescently sparkling, ‘sour red ale’ (also labeled a salt-watered Berliner Weiss) uses spontaneous yeast to propel oaken cherry tartness, vinous green grape pucker, dried apricot musk and bitter lemon sway above leathery barnyard acridity, gradually heightening its sharp acidity.
On tap at The Oath, elite sour ale with wild brettanomyces-affected yeast acidity and dry oak-barreled raspberry adjunct produces mild Flanders Red Ale pleasantries and delicate Merlot-like eccentricites. Tannic red grape, vinous dark cherry and sour crab apple tartly coalesce beside mild raspberry vinaigrette pucker (above musky cellar funk). Sour heads may find Lilith uncompromisingly splendid.
On tap at Doherty’s, enchanting rum-barreled Flanders Red hybrid adds subtle blueberry, blackberry and raspberry adjuncts to oaken cherry souring and acrid barnyard musk. Though light rum influence flags, soft-toned green grape pucker, unripe peach snip and musky cologne waft add complexity to ‘berry’ good sour ale.
On tap at Ambulance, approachable oak-aged Flanders Red Ale brings oaken cherry tartness to vinegary green grape tannins, sharp cider bite and sweet red apple goodness. Leathery bacterial lactose acidity and mild barnyard acridity coat casual oats-dried base.
Inimitable “happy accident fruit ale” retains awesome sweet-tart cherry pucker, tangy green apple spritz and ripe cranberry piquancy for indelible eye-squinting Flanders red-derived perfection. Wild oak-aged fermentation brings sour cherry rasp to the complex fruit salad finish. Tannic red grape, pureed raspberry, hard cider, lemon candy and glazed pineapple illusions pick up musty earthen leathering and light acidity beneath sugary soda-like carbonation. The most perfect fruit dessert imaginable.
Stylishly nebulous Flanders Red brings muddled green grape and red cherry souring plus plum-wined champagne yeast to coarse lactic acidity. Olfactory waft seems peculiar. Lemon-rotted mango piquancy outlasts tannic apple-skinned nuances.
On tap at Julian’s, lovely Flanders Red Ale (fermented fully in oak vats) loads silken cherry-soured tartness atop vinous green grape tannins and dry champagne wining. Rose-watered lactic acidity gains musty leathering as soothing cider-like crabapple whimsy, lemony balsamic vinegaring and seedy raspberry musk settle below pleasant oaken cherry theme.
