Castle Brewery Bacchus
Castle Brewery (or Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck, rather) makes a beer that I absolutely love. Kasteel Tripel is one of the first Belgian brews that I cut my teeth on when I began exploring more than the swill I was drinking at the time. For that, it holds a special place in my liver. Castle Brewery, also makes a pretty solid gueuze, and it’s more because of this that I decided to pick up a bottle of their Flanders Oud Bruin, Bacchus.
Bacchus is a pretty decent version of this style of beer, weighing in at 4.5% ABV and packing a pretty solid cherry tartness along with a rich maltiness. It’s not as layered as many of the style, nor is it as tart, but all that makes for is a really drinkable, moderately tart brew. And, at the time, that was exactly what I wanted.
Appearance
Bacchus pours a dark, murky brown with a dense, light tan head.
Aroma
Dark cherries, moderate tartness, yeast, raisin and a lightly roasted malt character fill the nose smoothly.
Taste
The beer greets you with a caramel maltiness and moderately tart cherry presence that starts strong before fading smoothly to the lightly sweet finish. The tartness isn’t overbearing, but is solid enough to grab the back of your tongue a good deal. As the beer warms and your palate adjusts to the tartness, more of the cherry, a light funk and other dark fruits start to show through.
Overall
This may not be those most tart beer I’ve had within this style/realm of brews, but it certainly is one of the smoother, more drinkable selections I’ve enjoyed. I love the combination of caramel maltiness, light sweetness and moderate tartness — it’s balanced quite well. I will be adding more of this beer to the fridge in the future.
Rating: 3.75/5
