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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Pours quite well carbonated and despite a very careful pour I start out with four-fingers of foam, that quickly grows to 6 fingers in height, including the last two-and-a-half being above the rim of my tulip glass. Quite a well built structure, it shows no signs of overflowing despite its height. The head is a light tan color and sits atop a brilliantly clear, orangish tinged, gold colored brew. The foam is quite dense and creamy in consistency. This is quite aromatic; as I pour I get notes of dried grass and as I marvel at the structure of the head I get bright fruit aromatics that remind me of aromatic apples and pears. I have no idea how I am going to get to the beer under all of this foam, but for now I am content delving into the contents of the aroma. This definitely has a funky edge to it; slightly musty, a touch of cork, damp grain and a touch of sharp esters / phenolics are the funky notes. Really the aroma is about the mix of fruit and hop character though; just under the omnipresent fruit notes (apple, pear, some star-fruit, kiwi and dried Muscat grape) is a nice grassy hop character that has a light herbal edge to it. As my nose gets used to the fruit notes, more aromas start to come out; the aroma now smells distinctly of un-ripened fruit (green mango, green papaya and even a distinctively cucumber like note). As the head slowly recedes it forms a volcanic cone structure that is topped by a bulbous, mushroom crown of froth; really one of the most distinct structures I have ever seen on a beer. A nice, thin layering of Belgian lace clings to the sides of the glass too.

Very dry tasting up front and even creamy feeling on the tongue. After five minutes of waiting for the first sip the beer has lost quite a bit of carbonation, but it still has more than your average beer. The carbonation adds a bit of texture to what is a very light feeling beer. There is a bracing bitterness to this beer though that lingers through to a long finish. In the near finish that un-ripened fruit character / cucumber note from the aroma shows up in the flavor, but it is not nearly as big as the aromatic note was. The fruit notes come out more towards the end as this is where a touch of malt sweetness shows up, just before succumbing to the dry, biting bitterness. The hop flavor in this brew leans towards grassy notes with a touch of lemon zest, perhaps some notes of nettle and even a touch of a tobacco like note that mixes in with the bitterness in the finish. The second pour of this beer retains a lot more carbonation, actually I did not wait a full 5+ minutes before taking my first sip. This causes the beer to almost vaporize as it first hits my tongue. Soft flavors of apple and pear are noticeable at times as is a bready malt / yeast note, some cracker like malt and some honey-like malt flavors.

This beer is very good; probably one of the best visual experiences; it has a very intriguing aromatic character, but is not quite perfect; and the flavor is merely quite good. The flavor seems a touch flat somehow, this is of course a product of the low alcohol percentage, but the best of these hoppy, low alcohol sort of season like brews have more texture and more exciting flavors to them than this does. Still this is very good, and I would be quite happy to see a bunch more beers in this same vein. I like how easy drinking this beer is and also how the bitterness, while substantial, is not overdone. I could use a bit more hop flavor and aromatics, but that might be made up for by getting a really fresh sample of this beer.

Bottle sample at a tasting at Dagan’s place. Thanks beerandbeyond. Hazy deep yellow-golden with a big white head. Aroma of some spiciness, yeast, hops, citrus, flowers and a bit of grass. Fruity flavor, yeasty and spicy with a moderately bitter finish with a bit of hops. Medium-bodied. Pretty refreshing.

Backlog june 2011, bottle at Hoppy Loft Golden color and ok foam Medium body and complexity Expected more hops from a self proclaimed "Extra hoppy ale", but of course it is Belgian Still enjoyable

On tap @ Modo infoshop, Bologna. Bitter, sweet and citurs. Blonde with a great white head. great beer

330ml bottle @ Beer Bistro Toronto. Poured a light, hazy yellow. Moderately sized but thick white head. Notes were very subtle, mild citrus tang is all I could discern. Taste was light citrus, mild hop, fairly dry. Long bitter finish with a decent astringent bit. Would try again.

Bottle. Very hazy pale with a huge super white head. Herbal, light citrusy hop note. A little yeast. Taste is light sweet with a crisp, dry and bitter, herbal hoppy finish. Some grass and citrus. Light body. Refreshing.

On tap @ In De Wildeman. Hazy pale blonde color, white head, some lacing. Aroma’s of grain, fruit (citrus). Flavor has a starting bitterness with a hint of sweet. Bitterness increases while drinking. Light body. Finishes with a firm bitterness. Real nice & tasty thirst quencher.

Buona buonissima, ma preferisco la zinnebeer! Cmq buonissima!

330 ml bottle at beerbistro. Pours a very cloudy dull golden yellow with modest-sized white head with some retention. Aroma is light tropical fruit and citrus. Flavour is very yeasty with strong, somewhat sour, fruit notes - apple and other tropical fruits - with some grains. Modest bitterness in finish. Pleasant.

Pours a hazy yellow/orange beer with a hoppy and citrussy aroma. Hoppy flavour with a slightly bitter aftertaste. Nice Belgian ale.

I find this an ideal beer to drink during the afternoon when in Belgium, not too strong alcohol wise and hoppy enough to satisfy my thirst. I’ve also had it in cask form in the UK; this review however is from a bottled one: taken at The Red Rose in Brugge. Correct glass; bronze to amber body, white coloured head with staying power. The smells are of yeast, citrusy hops with a somewhat earthy nature. The taste is hoppy and yeasty, with some malty undertones, becoming a little more bitter towards the end of each sip. Carbonisation about right even though it can look and be a bit fizzy on occasions, it didn’t on this tasting. A Belgian beer to chat over, or even have a mini session on: no great, wonderful or exotic flavours to enthuse about, just a pleasant beer and well worth having.