Alvinne Gaspar

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle 33 cl. Cloudy amber color with a big head. Very hops aroma, and typical Alvinne malt. Hoppy taste with much alcohol notes. Bitter aftertaste, like it !

330ml Belgian shorty bottle. Hoppy beers seem to be catching on it Belgium, and this is a great example. Sticky sweet with a much more balanced taste than an American hop bomb. Very nice yeast and hop balance. Alcohol very well hidden. Great beer.

Sample bottle at the brewery, poured by Glenn. Bright orange with a big fluffy head that lingers and leaves moderate lacing. Aroma of bread, orange peel and coriander. Dominant malts with complex spiciness. Good body. Excellent Belgian style IPA.

Interesting brew. Poured very lively with a huge foamy frothy sudsy textured off white to cream colored head that lasts and lasts (like forever) plus lots of lace. Color is an almost clear amber. Aroma was surprising given the amber glass of the bottle and being skunky (which, thankfully, was fleeting). Also yeast malt spice and bread dough. Flavor is like aroma and not expansive as is usually the case. Finish is like flavor and a bit sweet, but not too. Decent brew overall.

Bottle at Kerstbierfestival 2006, Essen. Cloudy, deep amber with a huge offwhite head. Extremely hoppy nose- all you can take from fruity and earthy hops. Very bitter, fruity, earthy hop bitterness in the lead-no compromise. Extreme beer Belgian-style.

UPDATED: DEC 2, 2007 Bottle 33 cl. Now a give this rating taste this new beer 3 times. First (begin oct.)at the brewery. Amber colored beer with a big head and good lacing. This is Belgians most hopped beer (115 IBU). Aroma is very hoppy. The taste is hoppy with some alcohol notes and bitter. Aftertaste is all hops and bitter, but not too much.

from crackedkettle.com - cloudy orange colour with tons of particles floating within, giant pale beige foam and a nice lacework; aroma of almonds and apples, slightly dusty and spicy; juicy palate, full-bodied and with a fair bitterness; the finish is herbal, bitter and fruity, lasting very long - a beautiful gift

UPDATED: DEC 28, 2010 2010-12-28, bottle from A Tutta Birra, Milan, 2 years old, 8-4-7-3-15=37
Cloudy golden-orange color; it’s still a bit overly carbonated, so it pours a huge head. Very nice aroma, solid and spicy malt, pungent, mature. The body is quite strong, the malt is spicy and too astringent, probably too yeasty as well, with strong bitterness, and tones of vegetables and salty liquorice. Overall, a beer that shouldn’t be aged.

2009-01-05, bottle from A Tutta Birra, Milan, 8-5-8-4-16=41
Beautiful golden color; huge head. The hoppy aroma is very nice, yet delicate, with a touch of fruits too. Malt flavor, truly Belgian, with a touch of Saaz. Very good, but I wonder what happened to the bottle I had last year, that was so amazing

2007-07-07, 8-5-9-5-19=46
I don’t know what was wrong with it, but this bottle was leaking, there is a lot of yeast even below the cap and it pours 10 cm of pure foam in my Belgian glass; it just makes me believe that the bottle fermentation was too much, maybe due to the average daily temperature in Milan, ~34°C

The foam drops and leaves behind a cloudy golden or light amber Ale, topped by beautiful whipped eggwhite.
The aroma is first dry and spicy, like a typical Tripel, later also sweet and fruity, with a touch of pine resin.
Good body structure, with a very good malty flavor (dry), still some sweetness, an impression of alcohol, and a touch of yeast of course.
The bitterness is bold, turning to be amost astringent, contributing to a strong and long final.

After so many IPAs / APAs, finally an Ale that takes me back to my old love for Belgian treasures. Excellent, fantastic, complex, whirling.