Alvinne Gaspar

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Moen, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Strong aroma of babyfood, oats, peaches, and caramel. Opaque, dingy brownish orange, with floaties, medium eggshell head. Full bodied, syrupy, chewy. Intensely tangy, sweet and sour flavor of overripe peaches. Grassy peach pit finish. Not the hoppiest beer, even from Belgium, that I have had. It is, on the other hand, quite unique. It isn’t really my thing, but I didn’t hate it. A good beer to get you out of a rut.

Bottle. Citrus, hops, berries in the nose. Great bitter taste, flowers, mildly sweet endgame. What I would call a very nice Belgian IPA.

Lots of yeast inn the pour, yeast in the taste as well. Expected more hops from this. Not really all that hoppy or bitter, there are better examples of hoppy belgian beers than this.

Bottle. Amber, small fully diminishing head. Moderate malty and sweetish fruity aroma, citrus and herbal hoppyness, some spiciness. Body is medium to full, malty, very dry and spicy flavor (pepper and clove), due to massive amount of spices only faint hoppyneness is noticeable. Finish is average to long, malty, spicy and dry. Aroma and flavor are not in balance, spiceness in flavor overwhelms everything else. Not very enjoyable beer.

Pour is a murky brown with a small white head. Aroma is floral hops and not much else. Flavor is lots better with a nice herbal hop with some brown sugar and finishes with a earthy malt on the tounge. This is a decent beer but I don’t think this is the hoppiest of Belgain beers.

Explodes out of bottle and fills a bomber mug completely with a foamy, cream head that fades very slowly leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Hoppy caramel nose. Flavor is balanced with caramel malts and some hops. Label says this is the hoppiest beer in Belgium but is nothing like, say, an American IPA. Very drinkable. Higher ABV is hidden. $5.95 for a 330ml bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma. Best by Dec 2013.

Bottle from The Trappist. Pours hazy orange with a massive beige head that won’t go away and a rather nondescript floral aroma. There is a slightly sour malt flavor, a little bit fruity and carbonated, with an interesting hop bitterness that sticks to the palate. This is a unique brew that is also fairly tasty.

Bottled (Alvinne shop, 33cl)
Hazy orange color, huge off-white head. Perfumic aroma of lychee, barnyard and hay. Crisp, foamy carbonation/mouthfeel. Quite light palate for 8% beer. Very hoppy bitter, dry, light wood and hay in the flavor. Duvelish. Warming aftertaste. Interesting.