Kasteel Rouge

Yesterday, while at Bier Markt, (see my description of in my last post here), I picked up this beer kind of because of a friend. While we were perusing the menu, I was called upon to give advice on what beers my compatriots should buy, and since I'd known that one of them had liked Lindemans Kriek, I suggested that she go for a lambic, if they had them.

Fortunately for us, we were in luck and they had six different bottles available for purchase. She settled on the Kasteel Rouge because not only did it sound good, but neither of us had seen it anywhere in our area, so we thought it was worth the splurge. After spending so much time talking about the brew, I just had to pick up a bottle because I was so curious about how it would be.

Name: Kasteel Rouge
Year: 2011
ABV: 8.0%
poured from a 33cl bottle into a glass stein


Colour: A deep brown red, with a red tint in the light
Aroma: Sweet smell of cherries, with slight earthy undertones (initially also smells faintly of cough syrup, but that dissipates over time)
Head: Small head with medium-sized bubbles, slightly pink


Initial Taste: Sweet, yet sour cherry taste (presumably sweet from the juice, and sour from the pits) with a slight earthiness of hops
Mouth-feel: Medium bodied beer, all of the flavours are balanced very well
Aftertaste: Slightly bitter, but diminishes almost immediately


NOTES:
Kasteel Rouge is a lambic (or fruity wheat beer) by the Belgian Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck (no direct link because the site is in flash, but if you click on the bell and chain you should get an English version which is more navigable). Though I initially disliked it because I thought it initially had an artificial, almost cough-syrupy taste, that went completely away after two or three sips and it turned out to be a pretty great beverage. You could definitely taste the sweet/sour of the bing cherries (added late in the brewing process) and their wasn't any competing beer flavour as often befalls cheaper flavoured beers.

Final Verdict: If you don't like beer that much or like lambics, give this beer a try. Even if you don't think much of it the first few sips, I would implore you to give the beer some time, and you may discover you like it after all.