If you walk into your local bar and ask for a glass of beer, chances are you’re going to get one. Ask for a beer that has been aged for a few years, though, and you’re more likely to get a laugh than a foaming mug of brew. Such beers do exist, though, and they are a testament to the wide variety of styles, flavors, and colors you will experience in that wonderful wide world of beer.

In fact, all beers are aged for some time before they leave the brewery. Most ales undergo a brief conditioning for a few weeks before they are sold. Some of the stronger ones may be aged longer. Lagers are aged for an even lengthier period, usually at least a month and up to two or three depending on the style of lager in question. Indeed, lager is the German word for store, and quite literally means an aged brew.

Few beer styles undergo the unique and lengthy aging process that a Flanders brown ale undergoes, however. This style, typified by beers like Petrus Oud Bruin (Old Brown), are aged for a period of years, two years in fact in the case of Petrus. In addition, Petrus is aged in oaken casks that impart woody flavors and lactic acids. The lactic acids give the beer a unique sour character that is both refreshing and thirst quenching.

Just before bottling, Petrus is blended with a bit of fresh young beer and then sent upon its way to your glass. Petrus is sold in small, 8.4 ounce bottles by the Bavik brewery of Bavikhove, Belgium. Like many Belgian ales, this is a distinctive and delicious brew that is as idiosyncratic as the country in which it is brewed.

Comparisons are inevitable between Petrus and the more famous Rodenbach Grand Cru, a very similar beer. I find the Petrus to be slightly less tart and sour though it still does possess these traits in abundance. It is also much more spicy than Rodenbach. The alcohol content is moderate at just 5.5% by volume.

Petrus Old Brown pours to a deep ruby to light chestnut brown color with a thick creamy tan head and a sour, perfumey nose. The palate is very complex, spicy, and lightly chocolaty, with hints of candied mincemeat pie and dark malt flavors. The beer is very sour and tart, and hence very refreshing. There are distinct woody notes from the oak but no discernible hop bitterness in the finish. There are, however, dry and perfumey hop aromatics similar to Orval. This is a delightful beer, a unique and delicious brew in a rare style.

Petrus Old Brown will certainly not be for everyone, since its distinctive sour character may be overpowering to some. Dedicated beer enthusiasts will definitely appreciate this character, however. It allows the beer to stand up very nicely to most foods, including the richest of sauces. Much like a fine wine, the sourness cuts nicely through the boldest of flavors in just about any dish.

I myself prefer it by itself, served as a beer to be gently sipped and enjoyed, thus allowing the many complex flavors to emerge on the palate.



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