Rodenbach Alexander

As I sit here writing this, I am wondering if my house is going to be swept away by the crazy wind storm occurring outside. Hours before the wind storm began, I went out to get a few last minute essentials. The most important being, beer. To be honest though, I did not need to make a beer run. There was more than enough beer in my refrigerator to ride out the storm. However, I went looking for a specific beer. I went looking for Rodenbach Alexander.

Like last week's blog, I wanted to write about another classic beer. Rodenbach Alexander is a Flanders red ale macerated with juice from sour cherries from the legendary Brouwerij(Brewery) Rodenbach in Roieselare, Belgium. Brouwerij Rodenbach are masters of the Flanders red ales which requires the blending of oak aged ales. The composition of Alexander is two-thirds two year old oak aged ale and one-third young oak aged ale. The amount of craftsmanship behind Alexander is immediately noticeable from the moment you first take in the aroma to the very last sip.

The aroma is full of cherry, along with a touch of raisin, funk, leather, oak tannins, a slight mustiness, vinegar and an earthy spice. From the nose, the cherry is very clearly the star of the show here and that is even more clear on the first sip.

As I took my first sip, I was immediately greeted with huge amount of tart cherry, along with the perfect amount of acidity, a touch of funk, a touch of mustiness before a spicy, tannic finish with a lasting amount of cherry. From my first sip, to my last, I was blown away. There is so much to love about this vinous beer.

What makes Rodenbach Alexander even better is that it is a beer that can cater to a wide audience. Its fruit forward flavor is very accessible, but its more subtle notes will offer enough complexity to a seasoned beer or wine enthusiast. If you have yet to give this beer a try, I highly recommend picking it up on your next beer run, whether there is catastrophic weather coming or not. I assure you, you will not be disappointed.



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Thanks for reading. Sláinte!