De Molen Vuur & Vlam (Fire & Flames)

Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Bodegraven, Netherlands

Serve in Shaker, Tulip

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Pours a beautifully vibrant orange/amber, crystal clear, and sports a rather lofty off-white head. Aroma is a ton of citrus and tropical fruits. Tangerines, Grapefruits, White Grapes, Nectarines, a substantial sweet note, that’s part fruity, part caramel-like. It’s got huuuuge hop aromatics for sure in the nose. Taste is slightly more subdued. The tropical fruits are definitely there, Peach, Tangerine, and what not, however, there’s a nice grainy malt character that comes through, and blends with the hops to help balance things out. In all honesty, the flavour is quite robust at first, but the hop aromatics seem to kind of fade quite quickly and bring in the grainy malt, that said some grapefruit lingers through that, and out lasts the grain to the finish. As for the bitterness, it really isn’t all that bitter to me. The mouth feel is lighter, with a nice tingly carbonation, and no alcohol really. There’s a bit of a warming tingle in my throat, but that might be from the chipotle pepper stew I had earlier… I say that a lot. It’s quite tasty, and I’m sure it would work well as a nice Gateway IPA, but is probably a bit pricy for that function… the grapefruit and peach are more pronounced as I make my way through the 750ml bottle.

750ml corked bottle pours a hazy golden orange color with a massive white head that leaves some nice spotty lacing on the glass. Aroma is citrusy hops with some earthy notes. Taste is dominated by citrus and earthy hop bitterness with some malty sweetness underneath. Medium bodied with abundant carbonation. This is quite a nice india pale ale that was worthy of sampling.

33 cl bottle thanks to Nisse666! Sampled on March 8, 2012 Cloudy, pale orange color with small white head. Very fruity nose with apricot, orange zest, and a little pine. Taste of dried tropical fruit, agave, floral hops. Dry lingering bitter finish. Nice.

Bottle thx BOTGL cons 2012-03-08 Göteborg Ar: apricote marmelade, sweetness, grape fruit, pine cones, fresh mango Ap: copper colored body, dirty white frothy head F: nice wee fruity flavor not that bitter as the aroma, apricot juice, mangos, pineapple,pine cone, grape.

Bottle @ Ekstedts. Notes of citrus, vanilla and gooseberries. Crisp, refreshing and pilsner-like bitterness.

Serieus clouds on top. Good on cirus tones. Refreshing after taste. I want another one. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle #1951 to tulip. Unbelievable 5 finger head that is dense at the bottom and foamy with large bubbles on the top. It dissipates at about the rate of two fingers per minute. After a couple of minutes the head aerated and looks like off white pork rinds stuffed into the glass on top of the cloudy, brushed copper elixir. It’s hard to get a sense of the aroma through such a thick head. I’m getting brewed iced tea, watermelon rind, and quomquat, and pinot grigio. Interesting flavor is a bouquet of hops up front. I imagine that this bottle has been on the shelf for a while because th flavors seem a little muted. Even still I can taste the care that was made to add numerous complementary hop varieties to this beer. After that is a thin malt body followed by a moderate Earthy hop bitterness that reminds of dry fill dirt. Palate is moderate. The bottle says this will age for 5 years but I’m guessing it would be best fresh. That said, there are some De Moelen beers want to hold onto and age after several years.

Keg. Cloudy blonde body, thick white head, very light and fluffy. Aroma is a faint waft of yeasty malt, with a slight suggestion of peach and apples. Flavours of sweety candy, pears, some peach, smooth progression into a sour but pleasing bitter finish. The mouthfeel is big, creamy, and lovely.

Wowzer! What a great beer this was. Drank at Birmingham Post Office vaults last weekend, and I highly recommend you go out and try this one. I got a strong passion fruit/exotic fruit aroma, with a delicate malty background. This one’s all about the american hops and the explosive exotic fruits and citrus fruit taste was amazing. No big harsh hop bitterness either, which I find can often detract from the overall taste.

Bottle. Clear amber colour with a dense white head on top. Grassy aroma and pinewood present. Also some good amount of citrus hops detected. Flavour is full, fresh and citrussy, like grapefruit. Good hop presence again in the flavour, making it bitter. Good IPA.