Bottle, 2004 vintage from Secret Santa - thanks! Shared at the homer "welcome to California" tasting. Pours crystal clear reddish amber, tiny off-white head that dissipates quickly leaving minimal lacing. Aroma is funky basements, a bit of fruitiness, apple, vinous - white wine. Flavor is oxidized yes, medium sweet, light tart and light funk. Ciderlike in some ways. Medium body. Interesting experience.

Bottle sampled 3/15/14
Flat, lifeless and clear ruby-amber liquid in the glass.
Prunes, tons of toffee and caramel. Over-ripened red fruits. Concentrated sweet strawberry jam and tons of vanilla from the oxidation. Smells like it’s going to be very, very, very sweet....
And not surprisingly, it is very, very, very sweet. I found very little flemish brown ale here and quite a bit of a barleywine with light to moderate Belgian influences. Very light on the acetic aspects, with just ripe red fruitiness and an ever so slight aceto-lactic tartness. Tons of toffee and caramel, light soy and lots of vanilla-like oxidative notes. Pretty low on the alcohol though!
I can’t envision how this would have been particularly good when younger. It’s just powerfully caramelly beer with very little tartness for balance. Would have had less oxidation, but just as much punishing sweetness. Very convinced a lot of this beer’s reputation was hype and rarity.
If Alexander can be near a 5.0 after 10-12 years of age, than screw this stuff /end-justification-for-why-I’m-rating-this-rant. Ugh, Palm....Call me up when they discover a single Foeder of aged pre-Palm bier....

Thanks YouBrewIDrink(sp?)

A - Looks like Brandy or a Cognac. totally still.

S - The nose is so brandy /lightly touted cognac. Dessert wine notes as well. Nice Cherry pie and honey.

T - Very interesting. Huge grape and sauvignon taste with a very sharp acidic bite at the finish.

M - Totally flat, oily and silky

O - Obviously it has become past its prime.

Dark amber madeira colour, no head. Aroma of malts, sherry, ethyl acetate, cherry, cheese, raisins, red fruits and berries. Sour flavour, light sweet note, ethyl acetate, acetic acid. Full body, finish malts, sour, lactic acid, citrus and vinegar. Past it’s prime it feels, but still a nice beer.
(From 37.5cL bottle @ home. Bottle via 77ships, thanks Eugene!!)

I expected a lot of it, too much I?m affraid. It?s good, but not brilliant, a bit flat actually. I prefer the Vintage.

2004 Vintage. 375mL bottle at DHVL, pours a fairly clear amber / copper with a small beige head. Aroma of sweet liqueur, like cognac and sherry, red wine notes, and some sour red fruits -- you can certainly detect the higher alcohol. Flavour is very vinous, with complex notes of red wine, sweet liqueur and oak. Very sweet and sort of cidery, with also prominent vinous and liqueur notes. Bizarre stuff - the body is very thin, with an almost cloying sweetness. The aromatics were a lot more pleasant to me, while the body kind of cloys. Weird stuff - fairly good in small samples.

Bottle. Pours clear tea brown with nearly no head. Distinct vinous aroma with clear notes of hops and malt. Very sour, but pleasant taste. Nearly no carbonation. Rough aftertaste. Interesting.

pours orange, if thats a way to say it. no foam, prob not carbonated ( anymore? ) . but shockingly see-trough . very clear ( i can see the watter on the outside of the bottom of the glass by looking from above ! ) smells like a rodenbach does, yet ’heavier’. maybe cause its 8 years old already? now taste... waaw. was afraid to be dissapointed, but waaw. good isolated parts of the rodenbach, but SOUR, withoud a doubt the most sour rodenbach-version i ever had. this is good ! too bad it’s flat... but even than, waaw... i get like a viving mouthfeel, rodenbach sourness, wich just litteraly jumps into yer troat, where it leaves this.. aplle-kindof taste ( not an aple beer, but more like apple sourness) en than just.. dissapears. its like drinking a ghost... you get this magnificent taste and than its just.. gone all of a sudden. , leaving you hangin for more. very very nice, i prefer the carbo ones but this is very good. why is every version of rodenbach, better than rodenbach? fix the normal ones, than i’ll be a fan !

Bottle @ Delirium Brussels. Fairly clear, burnt orange appearance with a tiny head that dissipates quickly. Musty, vinegar, mild cherry, tart, woody aroma. Richly woody, balsamic vinegar, cherry, light vanilla, quite sour, somewhat oxidized flavor. This is a 2004 vintage and I think it has peaked already.