Brewery Vivant Contemplation

Brewed by Brewery Vivant
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Grand Rapids, Michigan USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Can. Slightly murky dark gold. Thin white head. Sweet in flavor. Can taste a little honey. Taste lingered and dried out my mouth. Not one of my favorites.

Can. A bit sweet from honey I guess. Interesting but not a great beer while helping someone move. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Can. Pours clear orange with a medium fizzy white head that dissipates with some lacing. Aroma is grain, honey, hay. Flavor is about the same, prominent honey taste but only medium sweetness. Light spicyiness and yeast notes present, perhaps a bit of clove. Light grassy bitter finish. Clean finish, medium body, silky mouthfeel. Not bad.

16 ounce can into tulip glass, no canning date. Pours fairly crystal clear golden orange color with a nice 2 finger fairly dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of honey, pear, apple, pepper, biscuit, banana, clove, herbal, floral, earth, and light yeast spiciness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good complexity and balance. Taste of pear, honey, apple, bread, banana, pepper, clove, earth, herbal, floral, and light yeast spiciness. Lingering notes of light fruits, honey, bread, herbal, earth, pepper, and light yeast spiciness on the finish for a bit. Nice balance of flavors with good complexity; zero cloying flavors after the finish. Malt sweetness overshadows the spicy yeast esters, but is not overly much at all. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with almost zero warming noticed on the finish. Overall this is a very nice Belgian style ale. Well balanced with nice complexity; very smooth to drink. Very enjoyable offering, well done.

Can, this ale had a clear orange-light amber pour and made a two finger faint off-white head that receded to a thin cover, the bubbles had alittle bit of a orange tint to them, the glass had ample effervescence, this ale left some small spots and fingers of lacing on the glass, this ale had aromas of light toasted malt, pear and faint orange fruit, citrus, faint yeast dough and light floral hops, there was a little honey and fruit sweetness in the background, also, some bread notes hiding behind the other aromas, the flavors were light toasted malt, bread, light melon and orange fruit, some citrus, there was a trace of honey, the finish had little sweetness and was drying on the tongue with a good touch of citrus sourness, the mouth feel was light and easy on the palate with average carbonation, I thought this beer was nice, I do not think it was a BSA, it was light on the palate and does not come across as a BSA style of beer, the can states this beer is 6.5% alc., not a Belgian Strong Ale in my book, this was a fruit and bread ale with some citrus on the finish, a nice drink.

On tap at the French Laundry...saw this on the tap menu, but no indication of the style (and the server did not know). Figured this to be a pale ale of a slightly Belgian funky sort. Very tasty brew with a nice mouth-feel to it. Not really big or complex enough to be a strong ale, but very good none-the-less.

UPDATED: FEB 22, 2013 Can. Pours a cloudy orange color with a very small amount of head. Aroma is grainy malt, honey, and some light citrus and red fruit. Taste is very smooth. Reminds me a Belgian Triple. Light fruity notes mixed with some flavorful malt. The honey holds it together it keeps it smooth. The Belgian yeast flavor does not come through until the finish and is very subtle. High carbonation and medium body. Slightly sticky mouthfeel. I enjoyed this beer. Not nearly as complex as other Belgian Strongs but it’s smooth and tasty. Re-rate 2/22/13 - Had this twice more and don’t like it as much. Over-carbonated a bit and the flavors are dry and a bit stale. It’s not bad though. Nice fruitiness, lots of honey. Decent.

500mL Can. Thanks Sean! Wax and phenols dominate the aroma, with a light sweetness and some distant lupulin. A very dry palate puts forth few strong flavors. I’m almost at the point where I could guess a Brewery Vivant beer blind, they all have this signature denuded Belgian quality. Like a Belgian beer at 1/10th the volume, but in being so toned down, it misses out on some of the wonderful subtleties of Belgian Ale fermentation. I do like the sticky, juicy finish with musky, wild honey notes overriding. Also, not particularly a "strong" beer.

On tap at the Shark Club in Howell, MI. Golden pour with a white head. Mild aroma, where mineral scents dominate with hints at yeast. Yeasty clove flavor with a slight citrus. The yeast flavor is nice, but it’s definitely missing a malt presence that would help to complete it.

Not sure the dislike with this one. Funky but not too much. Flowery hops. It isn’t perfect, but it is easy drinking and somewhat tasty.