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

sour ale Sour beer is beer which has an intentionally acidic, tart, or sour taste. Sour beer styles include Belgian lambics and Flanders red ale and German Gose and Berliner Weisse. Brewing Unlike modern brewing, which is done in a sanitary environment to ...

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 Fermentation is a type of anaerobic metabolism which harnesses the redox potential of the reactants to make adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and organic end products. Organic compound, Organic molecules, such as glucose or other sugars, are Catabo ...

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 ''Lactobacillus'' is a genus of gram-positive, aerotolerant anaerobes or microaerophilic, rod-shaped, non-spore-forming bacteria. Until 2020, the genus ''Lactobacillus'' comprised over 260 phylogenetically, ecologically, and metabolically div ...

'', which produces a sour character attributable to

lactic acid Lactic acid is an organic acid. It has the molecular formula C3H6O3. It is white in the solid state and it is miscible with water. When in the dissolved state, it forms a colorless solution. Production includes both artificial synthesis as wel ...

. 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 Tannins (or tannoids) are a class of astringent, polyphenolic biomolecules that bind to and precipitate proteins and various other organic compounds including amino acids and alkaloids. The term ''tannin'' is widely applied to any large po ...

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 is a brewery in Roeselare, Belgium, now owned by Palm Breweries. It is noted for its Barrel-aged beer, barrel-aged sour beers in the Flemish red style. Brewery In 1821, the four Rodenbach brothers (Pedro, Alexander, Ferdinand and Const ...

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

Brewery Verhaeghe Brewery Verhaeghe (Dutch - Brouwerij Verhaeghe) established in 1875, is a small brewery located in Vichte, West Flanders, Belgium. They specialise in Flanders red ales including Duchesse de Bourgogne, an internationally renowned{{cn, date=Septemb ...

* Brewery Verhaeghe: Vichtenaar *

Bourgogne des Flandres Bourgogne des Flandres is a Belgian beer brewed by Timmermans Brewery in Itterbeek in the municipality of Dilbeek which is located in Flemish Brabant. History Bourgogne des Flandres has existed since 1911. It was then brewed by Van Houtryve Fa ...

References

External links

Beer styles Beer in Belgium Flanders {{Beer-stub