Beer Primer Flemish red ale

Welcome to Beer Primer, The A.V. Club’s never-ending quest to help readers attain a better understanding of all things boozy. Last week, The A.V. Club covered stout, and this week, we bring you Flemish red ale. 

Belgian beers can fall into any number of styles, so articulating them with just a few words is rather difficult. Historically, many were made in Trappist monasteries—yes, monks can brew beer. Some use spices in the brewing process and some make very strong, alcoholic beers.

The Flemish red ale is a Belgian that, unlike its peers, is not made with carefully cultivated yeast strains added to beer in a sterile environment. The hot mixture of malt, hops, and water, instead cools in a large, shallow pool where the wild yeast strains in the air settle into the beer and start spontaneously fermenting. It sounds gross, but that’s what gives Flemish reds their dominant sour flavors. The beer spends as long as two years aging in oak barrels.

While barrel-aging isn’t exclusively Belgian, it is growing in popularity among small brewers. If you’re feeling adventurous, check out the Festival Of Wood- And Barrel-Aged Beer on Nov. 8. (If not, The A.V. Club will be filing a report on it anyway.)

Ommegang Rouge, a Flemish red ale made in Belgium by the New York brewer Ommegang, is unlike anything featured in Beer Primer to date. The nose reeks of teriyaki, and instead of the typical bitter or malt flavors associated with most beers, this one has a sort of tart tanginess. Not only that, but it’s sour, with an underlying fruitiness and hints of cherry. The Rouge spends 18 months aging in French Oak barrels. It gives the flavors time to blend with each other, and the result is a lot of subtlety. In this case, it’s hints of allspice and clove on the aftertaste.

Where to find it: Hopleaf
Try it with: Venison tenderloin, served with pears poached in a fruity lambic, which is another style of Belgian beer. Those sweet flavors pair well with the Rouge, which has enough body to balance the richness of the venison.