Ommegang Zuur
Zuur – or Sour – is our collaborative Flemish sour brown ale. A beer whose style arises from the mists of brewing history. It uses mixed fermentation, real fruit, significant aging, and master blending.
All of these are ancient and revered Belgian techniques. This unique Flemish sour brown ale is complex, tart with a touch of sweetness, lightly malty and gently hopped. Zuur is a unique blend created in collaboration between Brewery Ommegang and Brouwerij Liefmans
All of these are ancient and revered Belgian techniques. This unique Flemish sour brown ale is complex, tart with a touch of sweetness, lightly malty and gently hopped. Zuur is a unique blend created in collaboration between Brewery Ommegang and Brouwerij Liefmans
3.6
322 reviews
Cooperstown, United States
Community reviews
750ml bottle $14. I like Ommegang beers but sometimes I don’t like springing for the more expensive offerings, this was an exception. Dark red-brown color, looks a little oily on top. Smells like a sour oud bruin, not bad. The taste is cherries, sour, good but it actually made me think about how much I like DeProef’s Zoetzuur and how much better of a beer that is for a dollar or two less. now I have to find some Zoetzuur, thanks a lot Ommegang!
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 08-23-2010 01:52:19
pours a brown with a red tint and a very small khaki head.
smell is of some chocolate, malt, some caramel, and some nuts.
taste is sour, some caramel, some malt, and a hint of cocoa. ends sour and a little bitter.
On tap at vintner. Brownish red color with a tan head. Smell is fruity, full of citrus and cherries. Taste sweet and smooth, refreshing and easy to drink. Really nice sour kick too. Good stuff
Moderate sour fruit aroma with hints of wood. Cloudy brown color with a small off white head. Sweet beginning with a full bodied four finish.
Poured on draft. Pours a translucent brown with a whitish head of thin foam. Aroma is mildly tart. Can’t really pick up on much else, though. The sourness in this beer is odd. Its actually a little earthy. Maybe its more of a musty note than anything else. Taste is sour and the finish is long and dry. Everything about this beer is pretty subtle.
750mL Bottle, purchased at Kingstown Liquors - Wickford, RI. Aroma is a gentle, breezy fruit, with a light lactic punch and an afterthought of cherries. This is soft and a little light. There’s a low level balance of sugars, gentle acid, and a range of fruit flavors. Decent malt follow up. Overall, I though this was a little light, safe, and domesticated for a Flemish sour brown style.
750ml bottle - Pours dark amber with a two finger light tan head. The smell is of sour cherries and wild yeast funk. It tastes sour, fruity, tart, but also has a smooth sweetness to it. Very good brew.
On draft at the Brass Tap Sour Breakfast, poured a light amber brown with aromas of sour cherries, and hey. Flavors of subtle cherries, that soured as I drank with some hay. Touch of tart aftertaste as well, a solid wild ale that isn’t overly tart.
Had this many times already. Aroma is slightly sour, fruity and some wood with a bit of mold. Mouthfeel is very slick which leads to a slight oily flavor. Some sourness and fruit and wood with a touch of spice. Not too acidic, not overly sour.
S: dark reddish-brown, tight carbonation, light tan collar, doesn't cling to the glass
A: tar cherry, slightly sweet, creamy-maltiness, almost smells like a little chocolate
T: mild sour taste, well-balanced between sweet & tart, great acidity, not over-powering like some sours that border a bile-like taste
O: a solid sour, a good introductory sour for those looking to try a something easy drinking with good flavor and balance
Aroma: cherry fruity sourness, hint of pit, malty backing, slight touch of alcohol, hey and horse-blanket.
Appearance: amber light brown , gentle haze Tanned fizzy mid top. Fine beading. 3+
Flavour/Palate: Medium light bodied. Cherry tartness with pit notes. Lemon hint. Solid , refreshing brew.
13+
750ml bottle: Pours a barely transparent dark mahogany amber with a spotty-lacing froth of off-white head. Has a lightly sweet caramel nose with a healthy amount of tart cherries. Starts with fine carbonation, but a somewhat thin body and light biscuity malty sweetness with a touch of brown sugar and light fruity tartness before a slightly drier and thinner, bland finish. This seems to be lacking the complexity and body I was expecting.
Date: June 30, 2010
Mode: Bottle
Source: Crabapple Bottle Shop
Appearance: dark brown, fine beige head, drippy streaks of lace
Aroma: tart chocolate aroma, touch of caramel sweetness, fruity cherry tartness
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of sour fruit, touch of chocolate, light sweetness, long tart finish
Overall: really well balanced between the fruity tartness and the malty sweetness
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 14/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: *** /4
Pours a murky brown with a medium tan head. Aroma of mild tart/sour cherries and hints of leather and funk. Flavor follows suit nice sweet/sour combo...fruitiness not as present. Mouthfeel is slightly thin and the finish is dry and a bit tart. Wish it was a bit more sour.
Aged bottle from the cellar. Pours crimson/brown colour. Very little head (about a baby finger) but what is there laces. Dark fruits, a bit of funk, malt, some spices in the aroma and taste. Sweeter caramel malt. I remember this one being much better ages ago. Updated Dec 2015.
Bottle. Had this a while back. Rating noiw. What I remember is that it was a nice attempt of a sour, almost like rodenback then quickly fades to rubbing alcohol taste. Still had a sweet backtone, yet not the best but still pretty good
Bottle: Deep burnt caramel, heavy reddish hue, moderate to large finely bubbled head, slight pinkish hue
to it, fairly nice lacing. Lovely Kriek like aroma, cherries, woodiness, seems a bit tart. A bit tame on
the tongue, at least not as tart as I would have thought. &nbps By no means is this one sour. Soft unsweetned
cherry like start, smidgen of dryness, another smidgen of wood character. Lacks dryness and a tart/sour punch.
Seems too muted. Aroma was nice, but on the tongue its rather dull. The cherry aspect lingers from
start to finish, backside seems a little barnish and musty. Body and mouthfeel are moderate. Picks up a
bit more dryness after the flavors die off. Decent, but I was hoping for a bit more tartness, a bit drier, and
just an overall KABOOM when it came to tasting it. As is its okay, but a little muted. If you dont want
your Sours too tart or too dry, this might be for you. Its like a weak Duchess without sweetness.
Entertaining, but could be a bit better.
Very tart, bordering on sour in aroma as well as some barnyard/mustiness. The flavor is tarty with a good but not overwhelming amount of cherry flavor that leads to a slightly dry finish. Good quality, the sourness was close to being too much, but not quite, otherwise this was pretty good.
11 ounce goblet - $8.75 at Taco Mac (Prado) in Atlanta, Georgia.
Appearance: Served up a very dark brown body, garnet at the far edges, and with no head, just a very thin, ivory-colored ring.
Smell: A first noted whiff of cola, sour cherry cola, to be a bit more precise, then notes of berry-accented wine, spice, toasted bread, and, as it warms, a hint of caramel.
Taste: Opens with a tartish sip of cherry-flavored cola, with a very faint toasted bread hint, and very, very faint roastiness. As it warms, a small bit of caramel is detected. Continued sour cherry character. Moderately acidic. Some papery traces. Light, spicy phenols scattered around. Thinning, watered down sour cherry cola on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Low carbonation.
Overall: It’s fine, I suppose, kinda light though, and reminded me a bit like a lighter, less interesting La Folie.
Pours a cherry cola with a fizzy head. Gentle sour aroma, some red wine, plums, and a decent malt profile. Flavor is lightly sour and tart, remarkably easy to drink. A pleasant sour.
This pours a murky dark brown color with a big fizzy head that tapers off to a lasting thin layer. The first thing I notice in the aroma is a light acetone smell that’s followed by plum, leaf, wild berry, and a lot of funky Belgian yeast. This is light, refreshing, and easy to consume. While this has some tart berry flavor (if I’m supposed to specifically pick up cherries, I don’t), it has a lot of Belgian Ale/Saison quality. I get quite a bit of yeast, some sweet bready notes, and very mild acetic character in the finish. This is a pretty nice beer. I was thrown off a bit at first as this isn’t really all that sour and is a bit of a hybrid beer but the more I drank it the more I enjoyed it.
Bottle, at ChrisO’s Christmas Tasting, 28th Dec 2010. Red brown with a diminishing beige head. Woody, malty nose with a lot of boozy strength. Good palate, slightly sticky. Dry, fruit finish. Not too sour, perfect for my palate.
Enjoyed this one. Copper ruby pour with one finger sandstone head. Rusty nose with some cherry skin notes and moderate acetic character. Similar flavor, acetic character with cherry skin and a dubbelish character.
bottle at dak’s 8/14/10.
cherry tinted brown color with an off white head which leaves some droopy lacing.
initial sweet malt and rich cherry pie aromas are met with dust, herbs, red wine vinegar and earth.
the flavor is the same... unsweetened cherry filling with an astringency on the finish.
it is tart, thin and fizzy. 7/4/6/3/15
Bottle on 12/27/2010 from River City Cellars. Clear reddish brown body with ruby highlights and a small creamy off-white head. Sweet cherry, fruit and light tart aroma. Tart fruit flavor, some dry grain, light metallic notes and a bit of cherry. Light body with moderately high carbonation.
Dratt at Dexters. Stained glass red-brown color. Thin, soapy off-white head. Funky sour aroma. Quite authentic, medium bodied, with lots of sourness and a mellow sweet undertone. Easy drinking, manages the tartness well. Delicate lemon-clove action. Light oak? Awesome beer.
THOUGHTS: Wow. Nice and sour. But the sourness disappeared in the finish at first. Intense up front, but flavor is a little thin in the finish. It stayed more sour throughout, when it got a little warmer, but was still a little thin in the end.
TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark, reddish brown with red highlight in bright lighting and a small to average, off-white head that mostly diminished and left fair lacing. The aroma had a hint of roasted malt and/or dark chocolate; moderate to heavy dusty, funky and sour yeast; sour cherry; red wine; tobacco; and slight wood. The initial flavor was sour and slightly sweet; while the finish was rather sour, lightly sweet and tart with a fairly long duration that was a little short for the style. There was mostly sour cherry and funky yeast; but there was also regular sherry, ever so slight roasted or dark chocolate malt, some wood and cherry stone. The medium body was oily and then rather dry with lightly fizzy and tingly carbonation and a dry and moderate to heavily astringent finish.
A - Pours a rich almost clear reddish-brown color with a finger of off-white frothy head atop. The head fades slowly down to a thin layer leaving behind some nice lacing in the process.
S - The aroma is bursting with sour cherry and sweet malt. There are also some background fruit esters and some bread mixed in as well.
T - The beer starts off with lots of sour and tart flavors. There is a nice mix of cherry and malt right off the bat. Through the middle, a mix of some bready flavor as well as some other fruits and some green apple comes through. The finish is a mix of sour and tart with some backing bread malt that lingers nicely.
M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer fees great from start to end with a nice balance on sour and tart on the tongue. These flavors also linger really nicely.
D - Very drinkable. The beer feels super complex and balance, even with the strong sour and tart flavors. From start to end, the sour and tart elements mix together at just the right levels to make for a really great beer.
I like it. Poured a dark red-brown at first, though subsequent pours were muddy with sediment, giving an opaque brown color, modest head. Aroma was funky tending to sweet sugar. Flavor was sweet and sour with a modest carbonation. Sourness was a bit acetic, couldn’t taste much in the way of cherries but maybe they were responsible for the balancing sweetness. Very easy drinker.
Bottle, shared with Parksy. Russet brown, hazy, lively light tan head. Musty sour cherries and cork aroma. Tart sour cherry flavour, tempered by soft caramel sweetness. Light to medium bodied, lively mouthfeel, tart lactic acidity in the finish. Light but refreshing and tasty.