brown, eyed belgian

Rodenbach comes in a cute little bottle, sitting among the ciders at the beer store.  It's not a cider itself, but might have been left there to enjoy the company of its Belgian beverage brethren.  The label styles it a "Flemish Red-Brown" and explains that it's actually a mix of "young" beer and aged beer, matured in oak vats.  There's something about that oaken barrel/vat recently.

The poured beer releases a fruity, almost marzipan-y, smell.  It's a nice brown, with just a touch of reddish hue.  A quick whiff from the glass is sweet and sour, not unlike some fruit sodas, but the taste is all Belgian beer.  Tangy, with an undercurrent of bitter, and a tail of sour, it's a refreshing sort of mouthful.  Not as heavy and smooth as other brown or red beers, more of a summer time drink.  For some reason, the sky has decided to cloud over now that I have my beer in front of me; a shame, since it tastes like a good, sunny late afternoon pick-me-up.  Oh well, small disappointments have never stopped me draining my glass.