Sigma is a 10.0% dark sour ale. It pours a murky dark brown, with a lively head that quickly disappears completely. The aroma is typical of a sour ale, strongly acidic, with a little funkiness in the background.
The flavour is somewhat like a Flanders Oud Bruin, with a strong, sharp acidity which grips the sides of the tongue early. Tartness of green apples and a prickly carbonation make for a lively mouthfeel. There is subdued dark malt, which softens the puckering somewhat. The finish is very dry, sucking the moisture from the mouth, with a lingering tartness. As for the alcohol, you’d never know it was 10%!
The Morpheus yeast: Unusually for a microbrewery, Alvinne has cultured its own unique yeast strain – Morpheus – which it uses in many beers; including the sour series. Developed by the third member of the brewery team who has a Masters in Food Science Engineering, Marc de Keukeleire is known as ‘the Yeast Whisperer’!
A blonde Sour/American Wild Ale - a great balance of bitter, sweet and sour
This amber sour is one of the base beers Alvinne use to create many of their barrel-aged creations
Voted World's Best Wood Aged Beer 2012 and 2013 and World Beer Awards
The 2015 variant of their flagship Magma, with the addition of Brettanomyces yeast at all three fermentation phases
An intriguing dark ale, brewed with spices (ginger, coriander & cardamom)
A Berliner Weisse with 20% rye and 30% wheat malt, aged in oak for 8 months before the addition of raspberries for a further 4 months
A refreshing Grisette style beer, a collaborative brew with Cervesa Guineu from Spain
A big Belgian Quad aged in red wine barrels, then transferred to Sauternes white wine barrels for a further year
Cuvee D'Erpigny is back in 2016 with the Pays D'Erpigny aged in French Sauternes barrels
Cuvee Freddy is Alvinne's take on a Belgian Our Bruin, the Framboos has 20kg fresh raspberries added per 100 litres of beer, than aged in red wine barrels for several months
An interesting beer from Alvinne, and one of Belgium's most bitter beers at 115 IBU
A Berliner Weisse brewed with 20% rye and 30% wheat
A second version of this beer, with a dominant display from the Morpheus yeast supported by Cascade and Chinook hops
A big Imperial Stout, dark fruit, chocolate and a hint of sourness
A Farmhouse Tripel is one of the new offerings from Alvinne, but it isn't exactly traditional
Alvinne's saison is light, crisp, quite funky with a hint of sour thanks to blending a little of the Omega blond sour beer
A little sweet, a little sour, lots of body and complexity
A blonde Sour/American Wild Ale - a great balance of bitter, sweet and sour
A cross between a barley wine and an ABT, with the added complexity of Alvinne's Morpheus yeast
This amber sour is one of the base beers Alvinne use to create many of their barrel-aged creations
A old style brown ale aged in an oak Foeder where it gains the lactic acidity
A rich and boozy quadrupel, featuring Alvinne's Morpheus house yeast
