Rodenbach Caractere Rouge

Commercial Beer Reviews
1

As much as I enjoy bold, aggressively tart and funky sours, every time I have something from Rodenbach I am reminded that you can have an amazing sour beer without going full throttle on everything. Caractere Rouge has a perfect balance between tartness and a touch of malt sweetness that makes a fantastic base for the big berry character it has going on.

On one sip I get raspberry preserves, and on the next I get fresh homemade cranberry sauce. The fruit character is powerful, but doesn’t overpower the malt. There is just a bit of Brett character, mostly Orval-like pineapple and cherry pie, but at a background level.

This beer gets it right in every way. The craftsmanship is top notch. If you’re looking for something special, this one is well worth the investment.

2

Interesting.
I remember being particularly underwhelmed by my sample, about two years ago.
To me, it tasted not dissimilar to what Rodenbach has got going in their Rosso: a slightly wimpy fruit character which borders on the synthetic.
If I’m not mistaken, Charactère Rouge is basically their Vintage (which is a single-foeder release of the stale beer which forms the base of Grand Cru and regular Rodenbach) on cherries and cranberries.
I missed the complexity I find in the Vintage, and the fruits were mildly off-putting to me.

3

My mother-in-law loved it when I served it to her, so I love it too!  :wink:

4

Wise man!

5

It’s actually quite good. Luckily she doesn’t want to taste Duvel Tripel Hop.

6

Love it!