Le Baladin Super Baladin Sour Edition 2005

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This came in a big ass bottle and while pretty good, was pretty strong for an 8% beer, and it took me a good 30 minutes to finish it. The textures scents and flav ours were very tripel like, however the beer pours a deeper orange than a typical tripel. Good, but heavy.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2005 edition 750ml bottle -

Consumed while smoking some ribs for the Raiders tailgate party, and enjoyed the bottle w/ my brother. Aroma has a day-old orange rind, golden raisins/pears, cherry kind of aroma with just an ever-so-light touch of vinegar. Flavor had some tart/vinegar/acidicness but off-set by honey-sweet malts/green grapes. Very drikable and the bottle went thru quickly. Very enjoyable.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Bottle at the " Mondial de la Bière 2009 " in Strasbourg. Poured an unfiltered pale amber colored ale with a thin slight beige foamy head that had a short retention. The flavour is aciditic tones,apples, lemon, sourish, yeasty. The aroma is a nice sourness, fruity, apples, pears, citrus. The mouthfeel is crispy. The balance malt/sourness is perfect. This light to medium bodied ale has a lingering smooth sourish end. A very refreshing and tasty ale. Superb !

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Pours with a two-finger thick, light tan colored head that sits atop a hazy, lightly chunky, reddish amber colored brew. The beer has a distinct aroma as I pour it that reminds me of a desert-type, white wine grape varietals; one with a touch of tartness, but a really nice fruity, sweetish character to it reminiscent of apricots, and perhaps a touch of orange zest. A tart backdrop to the aroma certainly does not dominate, but adds a nice level of complexity to the more noticeable fruit notes. I also notice notes of almonds and amaretto up front. As my nose gets used to this brew I start to notice some light, yet serious funkiness here; notes of stinky-farmhouse cheese, limburger, moldy wood, dank mushrooms and really what just seems like old cheese are all faintly noticeable underneath the more dominant aromatics; though I must say the funkiness becomes more apparent the more my nose gets used to the brew; still it is never overwhelming. I also notice aromas of sweet spices like clove, nutmeg and some sort of woody herb like birch or perhaps sarsaparilla. This ends up with a very complex nose, though I could see the funkiness being a bit off-putting to some; for me though, I definitely am enjoying the last 7 minutes I have spent smelling this brew.

The flavor still has a light sweetness to it, plus the apparent tartness, both of which accentuate the fruit character of this beer. There is also a subtle spiciness here that has components of clove, perhaps some cardamom, a touch of mace and again some root spice notes here that I can’t quite pinpoint. Fruity notes of Macintosh apples, raisins, sweet-concentrated plums (though not quite to the point of prunes), hints of fresh fig, a chewy cherry note and a berry-like currant note are all discernable here. There is still some malt character here, one always gets a sense of it without quite picking the individual contributions out, but when I do distinctly taste it I get notes of caramel, toasty malt, and a soda cracker-like note; all of these individual malt flavors are very subdued though. The sourness is noticeable, yet fairly subtle; it really plays a supporting role here and fortunately it is a role that it plays quite well.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable brew; rich and complex, it is certainly a sipping brew. Despite this, it is not heavy, the light sourness really helps to make this that much more drinkable and even enjoyable. I really like how the various flavor / aromatic groupings of this beer come together; fruit, spice & funky tartness all contribute significantly to form a unified drinking experience.