Rodenbach
Beer No: 52
Page No: 921
Category: Specialty
May 15th...OC Beer Festival time. As you can see if you flip through the pictures above, there were a lot of great breweries participating in the Beer Fest, and even though I didn't get a chance to visit even a fraction of the breweries due to time issues, we all had a great time (especially with 1/2 price tickets). We decided to get pizza before the fest, so we headed over to Oggi's, but that took longer than expected and we weren't on the road until about 1:15 (the Beer Fest started at 1pm). Unfortunately, the one lane road out to Irvine Lake was JAM-packed. We crawled the few miles into Silverado and finally arrived at the fest around 2:20pm. Over an hour to go 10 miles. Not fun.
But once we got there, we had a great time. As you can see, we visited Lagunitas, Karl Strauss, The Bruery, Angel City, Deschutes, Napa Smith, Firestone Walker, Ommegang, Port Brewing, Fireman's Brew, and, not pictured, New Belgium, Stone, Boston Beer Co., Bayhawk, Pyramid, Bootleggers, and Cismontane. I'm probably forgetting a few more too, but it was a gorgeous day, the crowds were not too large, lines were small, and Metal Shop rocked. I was a little fearful about how the whole day would turn out, but I was very happy with the event and I'd definitely make another trip out there - I'd just get there earlier. I ran into my old boss and he had arrived a little before 1pm and didn't have near the amount of traffic we did. Hopefully next year, the OC Beer Fest won't be scheduled on the same day as a Scout-O-Rama.
Getting back from the Beer Fest, the festivities continued at my house where we played a little beer pong, some Mario Kart, and then headed out to the Bruery to try even more beer. They had a firkin of Rugbrod on tap aged with French Oak. It was delicious. I didn't have a chance to try their seasonal beer, Trade Winds Tripel at the brewery itself, but I did try it at the OC Beer Fest and it was quite good. I also ran into Patrick Rue and talked with him for a bit at the festival where he explained that the keg they brought to the festival was "experimental" as the Trade Winds was keg-conditioned and turned out a little bit sweeter than he would have liked. Either way, it was a wonderful experiment and I was very happy with the result.
So...back to the beer. Like I said, we returned back to my place after the Beer Fest and I got out a nice Rodenbach to share. One of my favorite beers (I love the Grand Cru a bit more, but the standard Rodenbach is just fine as well), the Rodenbach added a bit of tartness to my day that was lacking at the Beer Fest. Most of the beers around the festival were blondes, pilsners, and light belgians. There were a few strong belgians, a couple dopplebocks, and some stouts and porters, but mostly, the beer tended towards the lighter side. There were definitely no sour or tart beers, nothing all that outrageous, so it was nice to have a change of pace back at my house. Aged in oak tuns, the tart acidity of the Rodenbach stands out well and makes for a surprisingly refreshing beverage.
My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:
Rodenbach from Brouwerij Rodenbach (Palm)
Aroma: 8/10
Appearance: 3/5
Taste: 7/10
Palate: 4/5
Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.7 / 5.0
Had from bottle multiple times. Pours ruby red / dark brown with a slight, quickly diminishing head. Aroma is tart, sour, acid, vinegar, cherries, and general sweetness / sugar. Taste is complex with sour cherries, acidity, oak undertones, and a wonderful wild yeast taste. Finishes dry, refreshing, and oaky. A lovely beer on a hot day, easy drinking, not too sour, almost as good as the Grand Cru.
