As most regular readers will know, Winnipeg’s Half Pints has a penchant for creative experiments and style-bending approaches to beer. One of their most recent experiments was their first foray into sour beer. They designed as something of a Flanders Red and call it Old Red Barn (get it?).
Flanders Reds are rare around these parts, and thus are an under-appreciated style. I have written about them from time to time (such as here) and have reviewed a special release from classic Flanders brewer, Rodenbach (here). I have a real soft spot for Flanders Red. I really appreciate how you get the full experience of tartness but balanced with a soft malt sweetness, preventing cheek implosion that can happen with some lambics.
So, I was eager to give it a try.
It pours a hazy reddish-brown with a thin wisp of an off-white head. The look reminds me of Rodenbach, so that is a good start. The aroma starts with soft brown sugar and caramel balanced by a clean lactic sourness. Like the tart edge of a red wine. I also detect some earthy graininess and a sweet floral note.
But it is in the flavour where a Flanders Red is made or lost. Old Red Barn offers up some soft sugar and grain upfront reminding me of caramel and demerara sugar. There is also a delicate fruitiness to the front end.. This is quickly joined by a clean, moderate tartness that sharpens the palate and snuggles in underneath the malt. The sourness doesn’t obliterate the sweetness like many tart beer do. Instead it adds another layer to the beer’s profile. The sweetness remains trhoughout but is sharpened by an attractive tartness. The balance is surprising dual – both sweet and tart. They don’t meld – they can’t. Instead Old Red Barn holds them in tension. It maintains this sweet-tart duality throughout the sip. Even in the finish both sweet and tart are equally present. It has a fuller body than many Flanders I have sampled and offers up a bit more rounded complexion.
Many may feel this beer is not sour enough in its overall balance. Certainly compared to Rodenbach Grand Cru the tartness is more subdued. However, it is along the line of Duchess du Bourgogne, just with a bit fuller, richer body. For a first effort, it is a mighty fine effort. I am most impressed at how they prevented the sourness from obliterating the sweet caramel malt. For some that extra sweetness detracts from what a Flanders Red should. For me, I am fine with the balance. It might even lead me to have a second one in the same sitting, something I almost never do with other sour beer.
As far as I know Old Red Barn is/was only available in Manitoba. So sorry, folks who are elsewhere. You will have to wait until the next time they try it – and I fully believe they will. They won’t be able to help themselves.
October 8, 2013 at 10:42 AM
It is a damn impressive effort for their first sour beer. It is extremely difficult for a “newbie” to put out a sour beer that doesn’t have off flavours or is horribly out of balance. Old Red Barn is clean (for a Flanders Red), balanced, and has a bit of interesting complexity. I hope they continue producing this beer and reusing the barrels/yeast, as in my experience this is how you get the complex flavours and big, yet smooth and not overwhelming, sourness.
It is a fantastic beer, and I find it far more drinkable than some of the more agressive sours. In head to head tastings with some classic Flanders Reds, it does indeed lack the more agressive sourness, but don’t mistake this comment as it being “not sour enough.”
This isn’t a timid, dip your toe in the water, sour beer, nor is it a “we don’t have a clue how to make sour beer, but we made one, and now we have to sell it” sour beer either. Buy with confidence.