Flanders red ale or Flemish red-brown, is a style of sour ale brewed in

West Flanders West Flanders is the westernmost province of the Flemish Region, in Belgium. It is the only coastal Belgian province, facing the North Sea to the northwest. It has land borders with the Dutch province of Zeeland to the northeast, the Flemis ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

. Flanders red ale is fermented with organisms other than ''

Saccharomyces cerevisiae ''Saccharomyces cerevisiae'' () (brewer's yeast or baker's yeast) is a species of yeast (single-celled fungal microorganisms). The species has been instrumental in winemaking, baking, and brewing since ancient times. It is believed to have be ...

'', especially '' Lactobacillus'', which produces a sour character attributable to lactic acid. Long periods of aging are employed, a year or more, often in oak barrels, to impart a lactic acid character to the beer.Bouckaert, Peter, "Belgian red ale" in Oliver, Garrett (ed.), ''The Oxford Companion to Beer'' (

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2012), pp. 119 & 120. Red

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

is used to give the beer its colour and the matured beer is often blended with a younger batch before bottling to balance and round the character. Flanders red ales have a strong fruit flavour similar to the aroma, but more intense. Plum, prune, raisin and raspberry are the most common flavours, followed by orange and some spiciness. The sour or acidic taste can range from moderate to strong. There is no hop bitterness, but tannins are common. Consequently, Flanders red ales are often described as the most wine-like of all beers. Notable examples include

Duchesse de Bourgogne Duchesse de Bourgogne (; ) is a Flanders red ale-style beer produced by Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Vichte, Belgium. After a primary and secondary fermentation, this ale is matured in oak barrels for 18 months. The final product is a blend of a younge ...

, Rodenbach and .

Examples

* Rodenbach Brewery: Rodenbach * Rodenbach Brewery: Rodenbach Grand Cru * : VanderGhinste Roodbruin * Omer Vander Ghinste Brewery: Cuvee des Jacobins * Brewery Verhaeghe:

* Brewery Verhaeghe: Vichtenaar * Bourgogne des Flandres

References

External links

Beer styles Beer in Belgium Flanders {{Beer-stub