When this beer was first introduced, four years ago, I did several 30 liter kegs in a row, and moved on to the next one. It was a hit, but I only have 12 lines, and I can't have one beer tie up the footprint of a 1/2 barrel forever. I'm sort of stupified that I haven't gone back to it since. It's been a favorite all over, and some bars have tried to monopolize this cherry-aged brown ale from Ingelmunster, Belgium. And I moved on from one beer to the next, even while some of my regular customers and employees reminisced about it's wonders. Not enough of them, apparently.
So, it's been since July that I did a Belg-a-Rama, and since last June that I did a Battle of the Belg, and I decided to combine them. 6 Belgian brews I haven't tapped in the past year, paired with American-brewed counterparts. It was hard to find any U.S. equivalent to Kasteel Rouge, but I found one...or did I? We'll get to that later. For now, I enjoy the deep and dark tartness of the Rouge, and look back on my notes from exactly four years ago:
Fresh off the tap and into a Kasteel chalice. Dark crimson color, light at the bottom, smallish, very pink head. Pinky, pinky, pink. Sweet and tart cherries, all up and down and over and out. With a brown ale base lurking beneath. Yup, I can smell it. Taste: fresh and fruity, bright and tart. Rich and rounded. Lip-smackingly delicious. Big-time pucker, brisk and refreshing. Rich malt flavor right below, cherries on top. Nice. Long finish, full presence on the tongue, hangs heavy in the mouth. good stuff. nice for dessert, or a relaxing nightcap.
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