Corsendonk Agnus (Abbey Pale Ale)

Brouwerij Corsendonk
Brewed at Brasserie Du Bocq
Style: Abbey Tripel
Turnhout, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip

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Pour creates an absolutely giant (2 inches +) and growing head of macro foam. The foam resembles seeing into the soul of pearls when held up to light. As the pour sits the head falls away from the glass creating a ring around the outside of the head - or a pillar of just barely milky off white foam in the middle. The color of the brew up in the light is warm and soft. A very pale amber - as if sunshine is tired at the end of the day and is laying hammock style in my glass. The head further settles down into a lazy carpet that is still a touch higher in the middle. Almost clumpy.

The aroma first hits me with high sweet notes. Similar to a knife that has been dulled. The first hit isn’t sharp, but dulled sharp. A touch of apricot comes through - this may be intensified by the color. A hair of metallic smell sneaks through on the sides.

The palate gives the impression of the foam wrapping around a thin liquid center. The first sip feels like the liquid center is literally held a few millimeters away from my mouth by the foam on all side. As if the foam is jumping out of the precious brew to protect it from the elements. The second sip gives more of a honeycomb feeling - as if the foam is structuring the liquid throughout to hold it up.

The flavor starts off low and smooth then jumps up near the end of the swallow. The jump at the end is a nice bright flavor. It tapers off with what seems like bitterness trying to form, but it never forms. Where many beers have a lingering bitterness near the end of the swallow this beer has a nice clean taper off of the flavor. The flavor is a touch heady - especially when exhaling through the mouth. The flavor isn’t intense in any way - it is much more relaxing. A bit of apricot flavor keeps coming back to me - especially at the tail of the swallow. Light natural fruit taste wrapped with the honesty of living in the country is what this beer is telling my tongue.

This is a very relaxing beer. Everything about it lazily sings about summer afternoons while smiling at me. Lately I like beers to have some type of punctuating point, but this is very nice in a mellow way. I would have rated this beer a touch higher, but there is something about the taste that is hitting me as dirty. On a side note it is making me burp a bunch. On another side (front?) note the cork system was very unique. The cork was held down by one 3 millimeter metal band that was connected to a regular champagne twist at the neck.

75cl bottle@Pourquoi Brasserie (Roma). Pale yellow body with a creamy and foamy tall head. Aroma is citrus, some belgian yeast. Taste is complex: honey, some peach. Bitter finish

11.2 oz bottle. Cloudy gold with a white head. Nose is banana, lemon and mild grass. Medium body with soft prickly carb. Taste is green banana and distinct honey finishing with peach peel, lightly bitter. Not as sticky as some; good.

From BA (April 2008): 0.33L Bottle, drank 2 mouths later than its Best Before date. Solid Golden Amber colour with a good white head, pored into one of my Corsendonk stemmed glasses it was bound to look good. My nose has real problems picking up the esters others claim, this was OK but nothing stood out for me. Belgian Tripel beers all have that slightly tart, strong hop flavour and this one is up there with the best of them. The flavours stay in the mouth, the fizz is there, but not over powerfully to ruin the aftertaste, it’s a well balanced beer. Been a fan of this beer for years, didn’t realise I hadn’t reviewed it before.

Whoohoo! Beer like this makes me glad (and not just because I just slammed the whole tray down my throath) Also because I bought this one on sale at the Lidl. They had it on sale, so why not buy a couple of bottles.... It reminds me of Duvel. Which is one of the most common blond beers in Holland. It also reminds of Leffe Triple, which isn’ t strange either, since that is one of the most common triples in Holland. So to me, all blond beers remind me of Duvel and triples remind me of Leffe. But then again... This one’s better than Duvel or Leffe. Less artificial, which has probably to do with the less mass-fabricated process. This beer is not recommended in the morning, when you just wake up. Besides that, it’s fucking great every time of the day. And though it’s not a drink-allnight beer, you can drink a couple of these without getting fed up by it. One point of criticism though.... This beer has a lot of CO2. It’ s foamy in my stomach and if I need to burp, it feels like whipped cream. That’s also why I wouldn’t recommend this one after dinner or with a full stomach. I think you’ll burst..... But for beer like this, that’s an offer you’re willing to make.

Excellent belgium ale, with a delicate and subtle fruity citrous taste, dry, clean palate, perfect carbonation and hoppy finish. One of my favority belgium ales, however it is expensive if you live in upstate NY 6 dollars per bottle. Try Ommegang abbey ale

On bottle Golden color,some foam Good aroma intensitet Medium full & high complexity Very enjoyable ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Une grande bière d’abbaye par son design et son verre actuel (voir la photo de présentation). A propos de ce verre, disons tout de suite qu’il magnifie beaucoup plus l’Agnus que la Pater. En effet, la belle triple se prête bien mieux à ce verre tulipe qu’une double qui attend davantage un verre calice. Mais nous sommes ici dans des débats typiquement belges....quoique j’ai relevé que nos amis américains commnencent à saisir l’intérêt de ce genre de discussion. Cette bière est définie comme une blonde sur lie. Elle est à 7,5 abv. La couleur est un blé d’or superbe, limpide. Les bulles sont ultra fines, nombreuses, et vives. La mousse est blanche et "marque" le verre. Les arômes sont de fruits blancs très agréables, de levure et houblon. Le volume est soyeux et doux. Le 1er goût centré sur le houblon, avec des pointes de girofle, de cassis, de cerise et un arrière-goût de céréale. Le 2me passe déjà à l’équilibre houblon - malt. Le 3ème confirme ce grand équilibre très joli, avec tout de même cette pointe de houblon nécessaire à toute triple qui se respecte. La longueur est constante. L’alcool est généreux. La levure est superbe, soyeuse, bien structurée. La finale laisse percevoir un beau nuancier de couleurs, avec du malt, des zestes d’agrumes, du houblon et surtout un bon équilibre des saveurs qui détermine toutes les grandes finales. Ce qui n’empêche pas quelques touches originales qui relèvent de la beauté et de l’art. Donc une vraie blonde triple d’abbaye.

Pours a hazy gold. Thick head. A bit watery, weak body. A tangy citrus hop profile gives this beer its character. Very decent.

330ml bottle from Bierzwerg. Golden colour with 2 finger head. Solid Tripel, but bit boring.

Pours a hazy pale blonde with pineapple yeast esters on the nose. Dusty sweet yeastflavours dominatewith a long fruity finish with a slight fennel note.