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It is pretty rare these days to find a brewery that hasn’t done at least one collaboration and that number just added a historic member as Rodenbach collaborates for the 1st time in nearly 200 years with Dogfish Head. The beer is still in the planning stages and who knows, it may have to sit in barrels and be then be blended. At this point it might be anything. I would like to see some brewed in Belgium and some in the US and then blended. Look for more updates next year
When I heard that Rodenbach was canning and that Fruitage would be the name, I set my sets to pay special attention to the foreign section of the cold case and now I will double that attention as their “Classic” will be in cans as well.
Rodenbach calls it a Flanders Red-Brown Beer that is created using “mixed main fermentation and maturation in oak casks (“foeders”)” and consisting of “3/4 young beer and 1/4 beer matured two years in oak.”
When found, I will certainly be reviewing.
It is one thing for an American craft brewery to can a beer but when you see Rodenbach of Belgium try it, you know that cans have gained wide acceptance.
Fruitage is a blend of 25% 2 year old traditional Rodenbach foeder beer and 75% young ale. That blend is then aged on the eclectic mix of elderberries and cherries.
This tart and fruity sour beer will arrive in March.
Here are some excerpts from the press release about this special beer…
“Vintage 2008 was aged in oak vat number 96 at Brouwerij RODENBACH in Roeselare, Belgium for the last two years. The 750 ml bottles are cork topped and the Flanders sour ale resembles an Oloroso sherry wine with its deep red, coppery glow. Cask 96 was chosen for this year’s special Vintage because its track record in producing sour beer over the years has been superior.”
“Vintage 2008 is 7% ABV and is more mild than RODENBACH Grand Cru. Like other good sour beers, RODENBACH Vintage pairs perfectly with food because of the absence of hop bitterness. Vintage 2007 took home the Silver award in the Wood and Barrel Aged Sour category at this year’s World Beer Cup in Chicago.”
“There are only 30,000 750 ml bottles of Vintage 2008. RODENBACH is often called the missing link between beer and wine.”