Hale’s “IX” Belgian Gold

Brewed by Hales Ales
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Seattle, Washington USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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22. Pours a cloudy dark amber with a loose white head. Tangy peach nose. Creamy medium body, fairly low carb. Caramel and peaches on the mid palate. Mildly sweet finish.

Bottle:   Straw in color, slight haze, thin to moderate white head, sparce lacing.   Strong pale bready nose, a little floral and even softer basement funk.   Very strong breadiness up front, pale fruitiness, heavy yeast notes.   Seems like your typical Americanized Belgian Strong Golden.   Moderate to full body and mouthfeel.   Lingering breadiness and soft alcohol notes.   Pretty average if you ask me.

Bottle, split with mcberko. Pours bright orange with virtually no head and really thick sediment. Aroma of Belgian yeast, oranges, clove and honey. Flavour of Belgian yeast, oranges, clove, spices and some funk. Light and crisp. Mediocre.

22 oz. bottle, pours a vibrant orange with a small white head and large flakes of sediment floating about. Aroma is quite fruity, with loads of fresh orange, dough, lots of yeast, clove, and some spice. Flavour is quite light for a Belgian Strong, with orange, clove, dough, yeast and slight spices, finishing with an orange note. ABV is nowhere to be detected. Good, though needs more punch.

Bomber from Malt & Vine. (9.2% ABV) Pours hazy orange gold with a slight white head. Aroma of cooked sugar. With hints of yeast/spice and citrus. Hints get stronger quickly. Med body. Mild carb. Flavor is a little snappy - cardamom? Sort of fruit juice running through light malt with some developing spice. Which builds in the mouth. It just gets better with every sip. The spice is enough to offset the malt. There is just no hint of that 9.2%. Perhaps the only fault is that it is too clean - could use a bit of must or weird herb. Maybe it should have been a tripel. Maybe it is. I’m finally starting to love this stuff!

Bottle. Pours translucent golden-orange with a thin white head. Aroma is spicy, with strong yeast and malt presence. Everything leading into the first taste is great. However, the flavor is syrupy-sweet. There is a little spiciness and some bitterness, but this is overshadowed by the heavy candy sweetness. Not unpleasant by any means, just a bit sweeter than ideal.

Clear orange amber color/ ivory head. Fruity banana, tropical, spicy dry yeasty aromas. Medium bodied. Spicy clove, coriander flavors with lightly sweet pit fruit, pils malt, candi sugar--good

Pours orange gold with a thin white head. Candy sugar and dough in the aroma. Taste is quite sugary without much else to balance it out.

Washington Brewers Festival – Kenmore, WA
Aroma: Deep Belgian yeast and malt aroma.
Appearance: Dark Golden in color, clear with a thin head.
Flavor: Nice strong Belgian flavor. The malts and spices where nice.
Palate: Dry finish, with a Good Mouthfeel.
Overall: I liked this Strong Belgian very well brewed.

On tap at Hales. Pours an bronze-amber beer into the tulip glass with an airy, creamed head. Piquant, prickly Belgian yeast. Fitting mix of esters, phenols and caramel malts in the nose. Hints of spruce and mild, filtered clove. Essence of wintergreen throughout aroma and flavor. The body is characterized as well by light clove and spruce. Belgian yeasty verve. Yeasty alcohol warms with a full palate of phenols (no banana). A tad of Belgian funk.I’ve been impressed with Hales’ foray into Belgian-styled beers. They’ve done some remarkably authentic versions. This one was impressive and extraordinarily palate pleasing.