De la Senne Taras Boulba

Brewed by Brasserie de la Senne
Style: Belgian Ale
Brussels, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: JUN 10, 2007 Bottle. A dry, hoppy and bitter Belgian style bitter. Light in alcohol, only 4.5%, but seems to have a lot of flavour considering. This was leafy, citric and earthy. Thirst quenching, quite tasty.

Bottled - trade with Otje - Thanks Roberto. A hazy yellowy orange coloured beer with a nice white head. The aroma is hoppy and sharp and a little soapy. like an English BCA can be. The taste has very good hops. Lemony flavours and great bitterness. Smooth and very tasty. Untypical of Belgium, but really very good.

Very pale, high carbonation. Extra hoppy is a correct description, dominated by grassy and grapefruity hops. Crisp, refreshing, lovely beer. Right up my alley!

Bottle at Eric/Maria’s. Cloudy, orange bitter. Very high-fermentation and carbonatian. Really enjoyable.

Bottle at Bier Circus, Brussels. Pale cloudy blond. Bitter finish with a generous amount of hops.

Bottle Yellow, clear body. Off-white head. Nose of hops, vanilla, ... Heavily bitter flavour with some spiciness. Very tasty. The proof (along with gueuzes) that a good beer shouldn’t be at least 8% ABV.

UPDATED: JAN 15, 2012 Complete re-write for fresh 12oz bottles Best Before May 2008 that by all accounts is superior to all batches they have made before
In short: A complex tasty and refreshing 4.5% beer with A Saison-ish character and a strong floral spicy bitterness. Amazing
How: Bottle 330ml, consumed very fresh immediately after receiving it through private importations
The look: Cloudy light golden body topped by an initial large head with medium retention
In long: Nose is wild yeast with a Saison-like character, wild flowers and pineapples. Taste is amazingly intense for a 4.5% beer. Full body, huge amount of grainy tasty cereals, huge amount of spicy noble hops, juicy flower petals, dough, some grapefruits. Might be the fullest body I know for a below 5% beer. The beer is dry with a little acidic touch just to add to the drinkability, The finish is dominated by a strong spicy bitterness and floral notes. Something about this beer reminds me of a blend of a De Ranke XX Bitter and an Orval without the funk (and that’s quite a compliment coming from me). It is now a classified as a Belgian Ale but when I first rated its ratebeer style was “Bitter”, and as great as this beer is (and IT IS great when fresh) it is as respectful to the Bitter style as Mike Tyson is to women.

Draught - Bruxellensis Festival. Hazy gold with thin off white head. Hoppy aroma. OK in mouth, some cream. Really hoppy, dry finish, bit like de Ranke XX bitter, but not as extreme

Draught at ZBF 06. Pours a hazy golden, with a rich white head. aroma is malty, fruity and yeasty. Taste is malty, grainy, almost dusty, slightly sweet and spicy. Bitter finnish

UPDATED: NOV 8, 2007 (Bottled) Hazy golden with a smallish, but tight and creamy, very lacy, white head. Crisp, lemony-grassy-hoppy aroma with pale maltiness, genevery hints, and some yeast. Grassy-lemony flavor with hops quite similar to Urquell, but not as harsh - probably since this is an ale after all. Yeast smooths out the bitterness, as expected. Medium-bodied, quite low-carbonated palate. Nice stuff for the low ABV - like a smooth Urquell brewed with ale yeast. Instead of Orval - nah ... instead of most local supermarket swill - hell yeah! (Draught@Pikkulintu, Helsinki, was 7-3-7-4-14=3.5) Opaque yellow-golden color with a very small head. Crisp, flowery, aromatic, hoppy aroma with lemony hints - something like a milder XX-Bitter. Nicely bitter-hoppy, flowery-aromatic first impression in the flavor. The finish takes quite long to begin, but eventually comes with a decent, dry hop bite. Light to medium-bodied, dry and refreshing palate with slightly fizzy carbonation. A nicely hoppy, crisp summer drink.