De Ranke XX Bitter

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

Date: 04/11/2002
Mode: Bottle
Source: Wild Wing Cafe, Marietta

Appearance: frothy head,
Aroma: spicy malt aroma,
Flavor: bitter malt flavor,
Overall: a cross between a belgian and an IPA
-------- /> Date: 08/22/2008
Mode: draft
Source: brick store

Appearance: cloudy dark yellow, big creamy white head, thick lace,
Aroma: big hoppy and spicy aroma,
Flavor: dry malt flavor, lots of phoenolic spicyness, lots of hoppy flavor, the phoenolics and hops double team to keep it very dry and bitter, long bitter and spicy finish,
Overall: abusive

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 8/20
Rating: 2.4/5.0
Drinkability: 5/10
Score: *4

Really spicy hop aroma. Very light body. Crisp, and hoppy with medium bitterness. grassy and spicy. well balanced. one of the few belgian ales i’ve liked in a long time. I could session the fuck out of this.

Bottle. Wauw, what a nice surprice. Normally I don’t dig the pale belgian ales.. but this... it’s fantastic! Incredibly fruity aroma with notes oranges, grass, hops, hay and yeast. Very good bitter flavour, quite tart and crispy, a long bitter & dry finish. Great for sipping and really great as a thirst quencher!

Hazy golden-yellow in colour, large long lasting white coloured head, fluffy, excellent lacing, vigorous visible carbonation. The aroma is bretty, yeasty and musty, lots of citrus, white pepper, spicy with some floral hops thrown in as well. The flavour is quite hoppy, excellent bitterness, floral and grassy, good citrus bite, spice, herbal, yeasty. Rather bitter mouthfeel, medium body, high carbonation. Finishes quite long, bitter, quite dry as well. Really good stuff, a spicier Orval for sure (if that’s even possible). I’d get more of this if it wasn’t so expensive.

750ml bottle from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/new-york target=blank>Beers Of The World in Rochester, New York for $13.69.
Purchased on June 30, 2006 and opened on June 14, 2007.
Best before June 2010.

there was a guy dressed as capatin morgan, his buddy had a plastic duck strapped on his left shoulder. they had swords that made cool noises that lit up. there was a large breasted drunk girl being very loud as she tried to get her hands on the captains sword, she settled for the pistol. i watched, sniffed this dry gem and talked to a guy that was sucking down coors light like it had an answer in it. nice dry funk with a stale (in a good way) hop scent. amazingly balanced beer finished very dry and had me searching for another. light fruit notes, white grape, some lemon too. the brett character is not overwhelming, and i kept thinking this was an amazing balance of flavors as i watched the scene around me unfold. a perfect beer to start the night off with.

pours a hazy golden color with bit frothy head. very hoppy aroma of fresh greeness with some citrus coming through. mouthful is very hoppy and bitter with crispness to the finish and a little lingering bitter as well. this is a very nice hoppy belgian...

Bottiglia da 33cl al Pub del Duca; colore chiaro, schiuma poco persistente. Aroma luppolosissimo, così come il sapore: una birra volutamente ’esagerata’ ma comunque eccezionale. Finale amarissimo.

750ml bottle, date not marked on label but most likely from 07
Consumed August 2007
This beer pours a hazy glowing orange and yellow color with a perfectly-built foamed soap head, lifting out of the top of the glass and sitting firm for quite some time. The aromas wafting out of my tulip can be smelled from across the table. Stick your nose in and you get a potent nose of blue cheese funk, grassy, dry and crisp hops, a light touch of orange and melon fruitiness, and an exceptional spiced farmhouse brett scent that mingles perfectly with the grassiness of the hops. Texture is smooth, mellow, and soft up front, with only a light amount of frothy fizz over the middle. Flavors run circles around my head, I can’t even describe them properly… the grassiness and funkiness blend perfectly together, and the orange and melon flavors are more pronounced than in the nose. Lightly tart and moderately grassy, with the crispness of Saaz but the dryness of Amarillo hops, that’s how my tongue interprets this beer. This is probably the best of the hoppy saisons/Belgian IPA style that’s coming out of Belgium more often these days.