 michael-pollack (1378), King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, USA
Nov 30, 2007
750ml Bottle: Aroma of herbs, spices, yeast, rye, pepper, corn starch, baking soda, yarrow, and honey. Poured orange in color with a small, off-white head that diminished quickly. Very hazy. A few chunky particles floating around. Sparkling. Flavor is medium sweet. Tastes of alcohol, yarrow, pepper, yeast, spice, corn starch, rye, and honey. Full body. Viscous, creamy texture. Average carbonation. Chalky, sweet, pepper, alcohol burn finish. Overall, too much alcohol burn and too little flavor.
Oakes (6853), Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Aug 23, 2008 Cloudy golden-orange colour. The aroma is herbal, spicy (mint, chamomile, cinnamon) and toasty with breadcrusty malts and rye. Huge herbal character - must be the yarrow - with lots of chewy rye, full maltiness. Big and rounded with a peppery finish. Very unique, well-balanced brew with accents of both Belgium and gruit. Impressive effort, muddled only by a slighlty overt yeastiness.
Beershine (1214), Miami Beach, Florida, USA
Aug 22, 2008 Pours an unbeatably beautiful frosted bright golden hopeful hue. Small cream-colored head. Aromatic, herbal, and floral as expected. Also aromas of lemon-lime, yeasty funk, ginger ale, and lager. Tastes strong. Alcohol apparent immediately and lingers. Mouthfeel reminiscent of Unibroue: has a highly carbonated texture. Lots of grapefruit flavors including pith and peel with some sulfur. Nice hops on the back of the tongue. Juniper and gin flavors abounding. I’m appreciating the nuances and the history of the yarrow.
JCB (1001), Durham, North Carolina, USA
Aug 18, 2008 750ml from TJ’s, Carrboro (I think). Handsome pour resembles a fairly typical Allagash brew in this line - deep golden shading to orange, somewhat moderate head. The nose is fairly simple, a nicely pleasant floral aroma. However, the taste is more complex, though not necessarily more enjoyable. I’m getting some serious heat from the booze, some pepper combined with ginger, along with fruity hops and just a bit of malt detectable. Hot and sort of astringent. Interesting but not really something I can see returning to often.
DA (2389), Portland, Oregon City, Oregon, USA
Aug 13, 2008 Pours cloudy gold/orange, thick white head that leaves lacing as you drink. Crisp and dry with citrus and spice notes. Very floral in the aroma and finish, apricot and citrus hops blend well with the peppery dry spicy finish.
Glouglouburp (1935), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Aug 13, 2008 In short: An original herbal/spicy Belgian ale. Very good stuff. Underrated.
How: Bottle 750ml, about 8 months old
The look: Cloudy golden yellow body topped y a very small white head
In long: Nose is floral and herbal blending fresh herbs and flowers with a rustic character. Malt bill is grainy with a not-juicy fruity flavour, like a mix bag of fruits with the juice squeezed out of them. Dominant flavours however are this unusual concoction of herbs and spices, never over-the-top, never rough, but very tasty. Medium bitterness. Maybe it’s the herbs and spices but the beer is very dry for the style, pleasantly so. Very good stuff and I’ve already got the 2008 on deck and I’m eager to see if it will live up to the 2007. This is an underrated beer, any more underrated than this and… well… the score would be even lower.
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