De Ranke Cuvée is sour ale of mixed origin, like many Belgian breweries used to make. This naturally-acidified ale has the perfect balance between sweet and sour. This is a beautiful and hard-to-come-by Belgian sour that can be enjoyed out of the box, or will age lovingly in your cellar for years to come. A quick note on sours: Sour beer has an intentionally acidic, tart or sour taste. This beer is not “off”, it’s intended to reflect these flavours. Traditionally, Belgian brewers allowed wild yeast to enter the beer naturally by cooling their wort in coolships (broad open-top, flat fermentation vessels), most often strung up in the rafters of breweries. This process is rather unpredictable and often creates a different outcome each time. Another way of souring beer is to use agents, the most common of which are lactobacillius, brettanomyces and pediococcus. The addition of fruit during the aging process can also sour a beer by causing a secondary fermentation and by adding in wild microbes from the skin of the fruit.
Pours hazy orange with small, fizzy white head. Tiny, fast bubbles create wonderful effervescence.
Aroma is mildly tart with lemon zest, green apple, hay, grain and a touch of barnyard funk. Expect flavours of light sourness, fruit and minerality. On the finish there are notes of green apple, lemon juice, lime and hay. Crisp and heavily carbonated with a dry finish.
Sour beers are sure to knock your salivary glands into action and hit every inch of your palate and this one is no different. They are a surprise to the newly initiated and can sometimes take time to learn to love. Give them a chance, we promise they will broaden your appreciation for what beer can be!
The undertones of apple, along with the brightness of this beer make it a perfect pairing with pork.