diabel (1210), Aarschot, Belgium Mar 5, 2008 ZBF 2008, SInt Niklaas, Belgium Muddy, blond body. Off-white creamy to rocky head. Aroma of hops and orange. Heavily bitter, citric flavour. Quite 1 dimensional and not extremely well balanced, but not bad.
Beerlando (1356), Orlando, Florida, USA Sep 30, 2008 Gusher warning! This one erupted like a volcano! The pour yields a very dense, cloudy, dusky orange-amber. A massive, well retained, frothy white head leaves thick, jagged lines of lace around the glass. Once the foam subsides, the aroma emerges, revealing notes of clover honey, fresh green grass, orange blossoms, grapefruit, and lemon zest. Candy sugar and creamy, funky Belgian yeast complete intriguing the nose. Flavors are like a yeasty, toned down tripel with an IPA-like hop profile. Candy sugar lays the malty groundwork, while bone dry Belgian yeast cuts the sweetness, and bitter, grassy, citrus hops tip the scale to balanced. Substantial and creamy on the palate, with moderate-plus carbonation, the finish is dry, fading from fruity and sweet to bitter. This is clearly what some recent American interpretations are shooting for (think Vertical Epic 08.08.08 or Le Freak), but this one trumps most of them. Great Belgian IPA. Rastacouere (5409), Montréal, Quebec, Canada Sep 29, 2008 Objectively speaking:
Spicy noble hops in large quantity make this a powerfully aromatic Belgian ale.
I like:
Delicious cloudy golden hue looks like a lemon pie. Very, very aromatic for a beer that uses no fruits. Never too bitter despite the high IBUs, this remains elegant enough an aroma focused. Wheat background enhances drinkability.
I dislike:
Timid white head. Perhaps a bit too green in the aroma, but a lot happens at once and you can easily lose your focus in there.
sloth (1538), Ceciltucky, Co., Maryland, USA Sep 25, 2008 Imediate over flow upon opening. But it looks as though i,m not alone in this situation. Bottle still discharging foam as i type. Large, fluffy offwhite head with good retention and decent lace. Seriously hazy gold colored body, reminiscent of a Hefe actually. Nose is spicey, lightly grassy with some co2 notes as well. Body is light, seriously spritzy carbonation. Perfumey hop flavors, light spiceyness and maybe a hint of toasty malts and fruit, light citrus, metallic(irony) notes too. Dry, spicey, over carbonated finish. Bottle procured @statelineliquors. Suttree (2355), Knoxville, Tennessee, USA Sep 22, 2008 Very cloudy orange with a huge white head. Typical Blgian aroma, nicely musty and spicy. Flavor is rather flowery and spicy, with nice yeasty, citrusy notes. At the Thirsty Monk. MuttyD (89), Cambridge, USA Sep 20, 2008 Amber/golden color with massive foaming white head (most of the beer ended up on the table). Flavor is bitter, flowery, sweet. Bitter and dry finish. Great beer
|