Malheur 10

Brewed by De Landtsheer
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Buggenhout, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

330ml brown bottle. BBD of 25/06/09. Golden pour, lots of floaties and sediment in suspension. Small tightly beaded white head with brown yeast flecks in in. Light lacing. Sweet nose, some hot alcohol, citrusy notes, honey, yeast Flavour has some sweet alcohol up front, honey malt and caramel sweetness, orange peels. Dries out a bit in the finish, grass hop notes, yeasty. Moderate alcohol warming. Big mouthfeel, mouth coating, fairly high carbonation. Reminds me of a tripel at times. Although I’ve not had a fresher bottle, I’d say this aged well. Just don’t store it on its side - the sediment is very heavy.

Apparently all the new Lebanese supermarkets in Kinshasa are stocking this stuff. How’s that for international? I pour it into a hand-crafted Kasaï chalice I picked up in Kananga: massive head, hard to tell what the body looks like, probably orangey or something. The aroma, that which isn’t overpowered by the wood from the chalice, is sweet alcohol-adjunct with a hint of hops and Belgian sugars. Flavour is strong hops notes which drowns out the alcohol quite well; the mouthfeel is also somewhat watery, surprising for such a strong brew. For a strong beer, it delivers and it tastes all right.

Bottle. Pours gold with peach highlights. Nice aroma of honey, flowers, peaches and apricots with a hint of yeast. On the palate a rich sugary sweetness gives way to a unique yeast sourness. Very fizzy and lively carbonation.

750 mL, 2/01 cork; Best Before 29.03.03 (sampled 30.10.04): explosively popping cork removal, as the beer breathes before pouring a small chimney of white bubbles pokes through the top of the bottle…cloudy orange pour with a wonderfully large, full white head; creamy and tightly bubbled, regal. Wildly intense aroma that almost screams of funky Belgian hops. Sweet citrus notes, tart fruits and yeast tingle the nose. Pointed alcohol wraps up the tongue, amazing it wasn’t more evident in the aroma. After moving past the alcohol, a funky fruitiness arises and a wild funky yeast is unleashed. Bitter hops dominate the rest of the palate, flavours and finish, this one leaves me feeling warm and relaxed, but it wasn’t quite as enjoyable as I expected.

Golden color with a white head. Very sweet, honey aroma. Like a sweet spiced tripel.

3/01 on the cork. Clear amber body with a fluffy alabastor head. Sharp, intense nose is fairly sweet with a strong hop presence. Sweet honey, piney hops, tart apples and light flowers. The body is fairly full and with a strong carbonated bite. The flavor is good, but difficult to grasp. It seems to me that the beauty of most Belgians is the interaction of the malts and the yeast, with hops providing a nice balance. Here the hops try to dominate. Piney bitter hops slowly take over sweet, fruity malt. A bit of grain toward the end as the hops start to fade. Warm and relaxing, but just a bit out my preference zone.

Thick head quickly diminishes. Yellow color with a strong alcohol taste, and a undertone of hops. Slightly sweet, but the alcohol really overpowers here.

(bottle) pours a clear yellow-golden colour with a billowing frothy white head. aroma of citrus fruits and white pepper, some grain, herbal hops and yeast. flavour is mostly the same, quite sweet, with hints of cooked vegetables, some alcohol and a light bitter finish. medium-bodied with soft carbonation.