De Ranke XX Bitter

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Belgian Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle at De Paas. Hazy gold pour with large head. Citrus aroma and super-hoppy bitter flavor

Att det här ölet jämförs med Orval är nära nog blasfemi. Närmaste jämförelsepunkt torde i stället vara likgiltighet. Det marknadsförs som ett genuint och gediget hantverksöl, rikt på anor och traditioner, autentiskt, men lyckas mest förmedla känslan av något halvfärdigt. Som om de sista pengarna investerades i marknadsföringskampanjen i stället för råvaror av hög kvalitet.

Pours a slightly-hazed straw color with a good-sized white head that eventually makes its way down to about an eighth of an inch of lacing. Nose is slightly sweet and grassy with a wee bit of hay. Some pear and milder fruits. Taste is similar with a bit of bitterness coming through alongside a bit more earth. Mouthfeel is beautifully done; wonderful carbonation and a silky creaminess. Excellent drinkability. Another big hit from De Ranke. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 08-11-2010

Bottle. Poured a lightly hazy, bright yellow color with a dense, inch and a half thick white head that slowly receded and left some thick webs of lacing. Dry, earthy hop aroma with hints of dried, dusty fruits including orange, light lemon, and soft tangerine as well as some light hints of spiciness. Lightly sweet, crisp entry leads into a dusty fruitiness with hints of orange flesh and tangerine that transition into a moderately dry, earthy hoppiness with hints of dry orange and a lightly doughy yeastiness that lingers softly into the lightly bitter finish. Moderate carbonation paired with the bitterness creates a soft, delicate mouth feel. Overall, a great example of a traditional Belgian ale that just kicks ass to drink.

On tap at Chez Moeder Lambic Fontainas. Pours golden oranginezed with an average white head. Fresh aroma, far floral, fruity, some spices too. Very bitter but somehow smooth also, round flavour, light sweetness, spices. Persistent bitterness in the after taste. Medium body, soft carbonation, long finish. Good.

UPDATED: JAN 12, 2011 330 ml, BB date says October 2015, into tulip. Pours pale golden slightly hazy body topped by medium-sized white head that persists. Aroma is clean sweet malt with grassy hops suggesting dry-hopping and fruitiness that might originate from yeast-derived esters or hops. The simplistic flavor is predominantly resinous & piney with high bitterness that lingers into the aftertaste. Light-medium bodied with moderately high carbonation creating peppery-prickly sensation and palate-cleansing dry finish enhanced by intense bitterness. Good for what it is and justifying its name, the xx bitter.

head: white, foamy, creamy
colour: yellow, bit hazy
smell: sweet, bitter, yeast, wheats, bit citric, peels, bitter offcourse !!
taste: corn , grassy hop, bitter, overall dry mouthfeel, bit wheaty , dry end , nice !!

Bottle. Pale yellow pour with a foamy white head. Aroma is yeast, citrus, and floral hops. Hop bite with carbonation. Taste is citrus peel, yeast, spice, and plenty of back-end bitterness. Good stuff.