Winter 2010/11.
My review on RateBeer:
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
AHTOH (25) - San Diego, California, USA - JAN 9, 2011
650 mL bottle. Poured into Duvel tulip.
APPEARANCE: Pours a deep burnt orange color, which has a trace of ruby hue to the color. Translucent. Frothy white had with medium duration retention. Minimal amount of lace remains stuck on some of glass after head settles initially. Noticeably quick effervescence from center of glass bottom, almost champagne-like.
AROMA: Big sour aroma. Slight dry chalkiness. Hibiscus is faint and seems floral and fragrant in an artificially perfumey way instead of a more natural sense. Subtle honey-ish/floral malt sweetness hidden under predominantly sour nose. Some vinous funk. Trace aroma of herbal vegetation among tart stone fruit as it warms up a bit. May be difficult to pin the hibiscus exactly in a blind tasting.
TASTE: Front of palate is predominantly vinous taste with subtle hibiscus and floral notes in background. Mid palate is sour, citrus, lemon. Dryness seems to begin to appear on mid palate. Back of palate and finish is pleasantly smooth and subtly dry. Finish has a trace of alcohol warmth.
MOUTH FEEL: Smooth with medium carbonation and semi-dry finish.
OVERALL/MISCELLANEOUS NOTES: Unlike Rosee d’Hibiscus (first tried three days before this one), which is a much lighter brew that is like a Berliner Weisse with a big hibiscus flavor and that is an excellent refreshment ale, Vrienden is more of a stronger Belgian-style sour with quite a subtle amount of hibiscus and a beer that is best enjoyed while sipped at a much slower pace. If you want to taste what hibiscus would taste like in a craft beer seek out Rosee d’Hibiscus first.
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