De Molen Engels

Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen
Style: Bitter
Bodegraven, Netherlands

Serve in English pint

Pours a dull hazy orange with a huge, billowy, rocky eggshell colored head. Aroma is somewhat fruity, mild leafy hop aroma. A bit of grass and citrus. Flavor has a lot of toffee, caramel, sweet malts. Mild, citrus hops, light spiciness aspect to the beer which is interesting. Fairly heavy carbonation. Finishes crisp with a touch of toasted malts. Easy to drink session beer. Not a bad bitter from De Molen.

Bottle at home. Clear, vibrant gold with a foamy, white head. Nose holds caramel, citrus and grass. Has a very clean flavor, lightly sweet with straw, lemon, and grass. Light to medium in body with average carbonation. Crisp, mildly dry finish, with a bit of spice, faint bread and caramel, and some light, grassy hops. Utterly drinkable and refreshing. Great.

3/16/11. 11.2oz bottle. Clear golden pour with an enormous fluffy Belgian eggshell colored head. Much like the head, the aroma reminds me of a saison - fruity, spicy, and nice. Mild malty flavor that is quite light and hints at fruit and spice very subtly, but is a bit watery. Not bad.

Murky looking, dark straw body with lasting head. Nose is a bit biscuity, straw and yeast. Taste is crisp, grassy, pine resin, lemon and zesty.

Their cask ale at the cask ale days was excellent, this might be on the way there. Lot of stuff floating in it. Slight mandarin taste, quick finish. At a friend’s place.

11.2oz bottle, purchased at City Beer. Pours an almost pinkish, medium orange color (slightly dull); frothy, textured, mixed-bubbled white head with good retention and lacing; nice-looking pour (despite being pink). A basic, crisp showing of pine and earthy hops in the aroma; light, crackly maltiness. Medium-light body; medium to medium-high CO2. Loads of hop bitterness here (way overpowering the HOTD Ruth that came before this...): piney and citrusy (some grapefruit) alongside more traditional earthy and spicy English hop expression; the quiet malt core is crackly, lightly crystalline (almost like a very light crystal malt); kind of difficult to approach at first sip, with a mildly astringent bitterness, but the palate acclimatizes quickly, and some of the quieter floral notes and very light fruitiness emerge as well; a strongly hop-forward bitter. Not exactly a sessionable price ($6/bottle), but a pretty sessionable beer once you’re in. Moderate, toasty finish with a lingering earthy bitterness.

Cask (gravity dispense) at GBBF, day 3 on 3 August 2006. Hazy amber colour. Very perfumed, with lots of aromatic, flowery hops on the nose. Falls away on the palate though. Very lightweight and a bit short of depth with little malt in evidence. Maybe something wrong with the condition? Certainly something not quite right with the one I got anyway - a shame as I’d heard promising reports from people whose opinion I trust. Flagged for re-rate.

Bottle from State Line Liquors. Pours a hazy peach color with a large sticky white head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of big huge citrus hop notes with quite a bit of tropical-ness in there as well. Some cinnamon, caramel and nutty notes in the background. The taste is citrus and leafy hops notes, caramel and a toasted grain finish. Medium bodied. Nice beer.