Contreras Valeir Extra

Brewed by Contreras
Style: Saison
Gavere, Belgium

Totally hazy yellow color with a light white head. Nice hoppy aroma with lots of exotic fruit and spice. Hoppy flavor with a freshness from citrus fruit, spice and yeast. Refreshing drink with a very lively and fizzy mouthfeel.

Hazy pale orange with a big white foam that leaves some lacings. The smell is of white bread and Belgian yeast. Spices and grassy notes. Notes of lemon and caramel. Quite a nice smell, but nothing spectacular. The flavor has a gently sweet malty backbone with notes of caramel and white bread. Lemon. Some spicy and grassy notes. Quite a lot of citric hop notes. Light phenols. The finish is rather bitter considering the style with some peppery and lemony hop notes and a hint of minerals. A refreshing taste. Rather smooth texture and gentle carbonation. Medium body. Kind of dry finish. A nice and refreshing saison. They managed quite well to integrate a somewhat prominent (but gentle) hop profile in it without loosing the characteristics of a saison. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Draught at Pizzeria Paradiso, recommendation from Darrell. Cloudy, stormy yellow with a white head that disappears rapidly but leaves incredible lacing. Aroma of grapefruit and lemon. Similar taste of both, with a bit of pepper. Very very dry with a slightly bitter finish. Well done.

Bottle from Bruisin’ Ales in Asheville. Poured into St. Feuillien glass (my new favorite glassware). Hazy orange-tinted golden with lively white head and great lacing. As others have noted, bottle says Belgian IPA, and it tastes more like one. This is an interesting beer. Nose reveals citrusy, resiny hops... more like West Coast IPA than any Belgian beer I’ve ever had. Also, more typical dry, tart lemony, yeasty notes that one would expect in Belgian IPA. Malt presence is surprising, too... sweet, apply, earthy... but that part is probably the yeast. Finish offers something almost wheaty and a little off (sprucey?), but great overall. Dry finish and nice full palate... a bit prickly. This beer seems underappreciated.

Bottle. Nice white head with good duration. Color is hazy golden. Aroma and taste are malt, yeast, fruits, flowers and hops. Nice bitter hoppy finish.

Picked up at SL... A saison? Bottle says its a belgian IPA... Any way, short stubby bottle, monster head that stuck around. Nice golden orange color. Weak aroma of some spices and light hop notes. Taste is funky... maybe some banana, apple, earthy, yeasty, light hops and malts all well balanced. Very dry... Overall a unique beer that I enjoyed

It is hazy golden with a huge, white, creamy and lasting head. The aroma has notes of malt, yeast and light fruit. The flavor has sweetness and notes of malt, orange peel and other kinds of citrus, apple, yeast, spice and the finish has notes of both citrus and yeast. It has a soft mouthfeel like a wheat beer.

Pours a dark hazy golden orange color with golden ripe nanana yellow hues when held to a light source and a 1.5 finger frothy white head. Excellent retention with a nice amount of lacing in the tulip. Earthy hops dominate the aroma with some nice bready yeast and clean crisp light fruit. Slight malt backbone with some straw and grass notes. Very hop forward for a Belgian with a fuller end of medium body with a nice citrus bready yeast presence. Hints of citrus fruit, peppery spice, ripe banana, light crisp apple and pear and a bone dry pine finish. This is a very complex beer which is extremely dry, piney and bitter for a Belgian beer with a nice amount of light crisp fruit from the Belgian yeast strain and a slightly malty backbone.