de Proef “Reinaert” Flemish Wild Ale
I haven’t had myself a nice Flemish Ale in a while. These beers are usually characterized by a lot of sourness, some wild crazy flavors, and a party in your mouth that you either love or hate – this is mostly due to some crazy yeast like Brettanomyces and, in this case, some Saccharomyces to boot. Brett is notoriously finicky and unpredictable, so you always get something interesting with these beers. De Proef makes some good stuff most of the time, so I’m anxious to see how well they can harness the power of the Brett.
This beer pours a light and wispy golden color with a medium cloudiness. There is a very thin white head that separates from the sides of the glass and floats around the surface of the beer in one large island. The aroma of this beer is, on the surface, a relatively light one. However, when you really get a noseful of this, you sense a spicy burn in the nose along with some serious lemon zest citrus tints. I really like this scent – it’s much lighter than some Flemish ales, but it really has a nice complexity once you get into it. In the mouth, this is a very accessible beer, for a Flemish wild ale – that means it’s not THAT accessible, but it’s a nice place to start for someone new to the genre. In the mouth, there is initially a light citrus acidity on the tongue. This light burn becomes sour and musty very quickly, but then moves on to a lemon drop sweetness. This flavor then moves to another, more pungent sourness that is truly ‘wild’. It’s abrasive and sharp and is no doubt the Brettanomyces rearing its head. This sourness sticks through the finish of the beer and is the predominant presence in the aftertaste, along with a light soapiness – a knockout punch, indeed! It’s a pretty big aftertaste for a non-hoppy beer, and it might be a bit much if it weren’t for the flurry of flavors that preceded it. However, under the circumstances, it’s more of a grand finale at the state fair fireworks show after a number of less impressive explosions. This is overall a rather complex beer, but it’s subtle enough in all of the flavors to not throw you too far off. I’m going to stick with my previous statement that, while this is a big beer, it’s a rather subtle Flemish ale. While this is tasty to a fan of the genre, I think this would be a great place to begin for anyone new and curious about this variety of beer.
Categories: Beer Reviews, Flemish Ale, de Proef
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