Rating

4 Stars, Brouwerij Het Anker, Tripel

Gouden Carolus – Tripel by Brouwerij Het Anker

Per the Het Anker website, this beer was originally brewed for the Knights of the Golden Fleece in 1491 so I had to pull out the gold rimmed glass for this golden tripel with a long lasting creamy white head. Nice mild, spicy aroma with orange and malt sweetness working in harmony. A little spicy, citrusy followed by light hop bitterness and pleasant alcohol, finishes dry with a grain character. Easy drinking and refreshing with no overpowering flavors, completely hides it’s 9% alcohol.

4 Stars

5 Stars, Brouwerij Rodenbach, Flanders Red

Rodenbach – Barrel No 145 – 2009 Vintage by Brouwerij Rodenbach

Deep mahogany with a small amount of rapidly dissipating nutmeg head. Rich cherry, plum, subtle vanilla balancing with the strong sour aroma. The intense aroma belies the mellow, well balanced beer hiding behind. I was expecting something on the more sour end of the Flemish Red spectrum and am pleasantly surprised by the beers approachability. Juicy sour cherry followed by a rich vanilla oakiness, tingly acidiccness and a nice dry finish

5 Stars

4 Stars, Brasserie St Feuillien, Tripel

Triple by Brassiere St Feuillien

This beer is a bright amber with a pebbly, frothy white head. Inviting aroma leads to more fruitiness and yeast eaters than I was expecting, light maltiness plays in the background. High carbonation leads to a pleasant explosion on the tongue; juicy, malty with an long lingering aftertaste. There is a triple hiding somewhere in the background…

4 Stars

4 Stars, Brasserie Cantillion, Lambic

Mamouche by Brasserie Cantillion

Poured a hazy gold with a fair amount of head that rapidly dissipated to a wispy bright white. Aroma is complex and difficult to describe past classic Belgium Lambic. First reaction is, tart! Once your palate adjusts it’s quite juicy with a good amount of bitterness with a lingering sweet, tartness. Despite using words like sweet and juicy it is dry and unlike most lambics it is not brewed with fruit but with elder flowers.

4 Stars

4 Stars, Brasserie D’Orval, Pale Ale

Orval by Brasserie D’Orval

Bottled on 3/5/14 best before 3/5/19. I mention this as it is unusually relevant to this beer. The beer starts life as a dry hopped Belgian pale ale but the long it ages the more the brettanomyces works its magic. Somehow this classic Trappist beer has escaped my drinking.

Pours a beautiful amber-orange with a large, long lasting, frothy off-white head. Classic Belgian sour aromas great the nose; fruity sour, cherry, apricot, vanilla with very subtle spiciness. Strong fruit punch upfront followed by pleasant sourness fading to a light bitterness, malt flavors and dry.

With this beer I would love to a vertical tasting with differently aged bottles.

4.5 Stars.

5 Stars, Br. Verhaeghe Vichte, Flanders Red

Duchesse De Bourgogne by Br. Verhaeghe Vichte

Pours a fantastically clear ruby red with a large dollop of tawny head. Rich fruit aromas of cherry with undercurrents of oak and vanilla. Intense fruit flavor, primarily cherry but ripe orange as well, balanced by the sourness and tannic bitterness. Much has been written about this beer but I will simply say, a true classic and my personal favorite sour beer. If you think you don’t like sour beers or have never tried a sour do yourself a favor, find a bottle (preferably a big one that is caged and corked) and savor a few glasses.

5 Stars.

1 Star, Blonde, Brouwerij Palm NV

Steenbrugge – Blond by Brouwerij Palm NV

Pours a hazy deep gold with a rapidly vanishing fine bright white head. Yeasty aroma with banana and clove. The beer is buttery smooth with medium carbonation, a little sweet, some citrus fruit and banana flavors but clove and yeast flavored dominate. There is some classic Belgium blond in there some very nontypical flavors more associated with a German hefeweizen.

1.5 Stars.

4 Stars, Blonde, Brasserie Du Buisson

Cuvée Des Trolls by Brassiere Du Buisson

I believe the translation to be “Tank of Trolls”…

Pours a golden straw colored, light haze with a fizzy and rapidly disappearing white head. Full aroma; strong fruit and yeasty.  Taste is fruity, yeasty, malty, balanced well with some bitterness. The beer has a lager like lightness dispite the 7% abv (I had to check, it is a lager).  Refreshing, flavorful and easy drinking, what’s not to like?

4 Stars.

5 Stars, Brasserie Dupont, Saison

Saison Dupont 

Saison Dupont, the saison that all other saisons are measured by. What do you say about such an iconic beer?

Pours a bright golden body with ample pillowy white head. Complex nose with strong orange and apple fruit aromas, spicy peppery and a subtle grainy character. High carbonation and refreshingly easy drinking flavors closely follow the aroma, light bitterness finishes dry and spicy. The only problem with this beer is that the bottle I opened was not the larger 75cl variety.  One of my all time favorites and a true classic.

5 Stars.

3 Stars, Brasserie La lie, Brune

L’ambrée du hameau by Brasserie La lie

Bright amber-brown appearance in the glass with loads of lasting, off-white, head. Caramel, toffee, light fruit and mild peppery spiciness on the nose. High carbonation leads to a smooth mouth feel. First impression is malty sweetness but followup tastes reveal plenty of tannic fruit and a spicy tingle on the tongue, finish is slightly bitter and nicely dry.

3.5 Stars.