This is one that I had never heard of before, and I also don’t think I’ve ever seen an Oud Bruin style beer in a bottle, so I had to try it. The label says that it is an Oud Bruin Ale aged in Oak Casks. It says, “Petrus Old Brown is a top-fermented dark ale brewed with the finest hops and malt varieties. Matured in oak barrels during 20 months.” It says it is a product of Belgium and is 5.5% ABV.
When I poured it, it was a dark brown in color, and when held to the light, it appeared to be very clear. It had a nice tan head with tiny bubbles, and it maintained a nice creamy ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
It smelled sweet and caramelly, almost dark, fruity, and a little raisin and toffee-like. A slight hint at its sourness was in the nose.
It was surprisingly smooth with a fairly light body. It made my tongue tingle a bit, but the sourness was much more muted than I expected. The sourness was mostly noticeable in the finish, which I also found to be very, very dry (perhaps from the sourness). As I continued to taste it, I noticed nutty, raisiny, fruity, and malty flavors. Since the label says that it is aged for almost 2 years in oak barrels, I was surprised that I didn’t pick up any oak flavors in it at all.
It was surprisingly refreshing for a sour beer, and might be a great “gateway beer” if you wanted to introduce your friends to sour beers. While I was tasting it, I was thinking that it would go very well with chocolaty desserts, particularly brownies. Overall, it was a good brown ale with a bit of dryness and a hint of sourness.
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