Malheur Bière Brut (Reserve)

Bottle at the Kerstbierfestival, Essen. Hazy, pale golden with a small, but stable white head. Complex fruity aroma with vanilla. Lots of flavours, starting fruity with yeasty dough and some spiciness taking over. Good body. Another world-class beer from De Landtsheer.

Bottle: Pale yellow, light head and lacing. Nose of musky sweet malts, light carbonation burn in the nose. The flavor is nice and lightly creamy, malty. The carbonation feels just right on the palate. Zesty and citrusy with vanilla and a nice cheesy tartness.

This pale golden ale poured with a massive white head. The flavor is of citrus and yeast, and the palate is highly carbonated, evoking thoughts of a nice champagne.

Bottle. Orange/golden colour with a white head. Aroma is acid, fruit, citrus. Flavour is citrus, orange, acid, sweet, alcohol.

Bottled. Pale golden, not entirely clear, with a huge white head. Almost unbelievable preassure in the bottle. Some acidic notes in the aroma, with candi-sugar, fruits, orange and alcohol. The flavor has alcohol, sweetness, sour hints and frutiy notes. A bit thin body I think, with alcohol, sweetness and fruityness in the finish. A complex beauty. (060829)

In short: A Tripel-ish Belgian Ale on steroids. Honeyed sweetness, citrus fruits and a ton of dry grassy hops all come together in an heavenly manner
How: Bottle, 750ml, 3 to 6 months old
The look: Slightly cloudy golden-yellow body with a large white head.
In long: Nose is that of a superb tripel with citrusy fruits and dry grassy hops. Satisfying body full of pale malts and honey. Very yeasty with plenty of citrus/lime/etc notes. Champaign-like astringency. Surprisingly, lots of grassy hops with a dry bitterness. Bubbles, lots of bubbles and more bubbles. Alcohol exceptionally well hidden, even at 11% it manages to be refreshing. High abv and strong carbo produce a pleasant tickling sensation. If all brutes where as refined as this Brut a hockey fight would be two guys calling each other rude and bad-mannered.

Superlatives best describe this beer attributes. Fantastic presentation, huge carbonation, thick head, clear golden color. Incredible nose of honey, peach, citrus, flowery and a bit yeasty. Starts very sweet but is extremely well balanced by a peppery/dry finish, no trace of alcohol in the taste. As others have pointed out, it is impressive how this beer is 11% and still very refreshing. The body is round and firm without being the least cloying. Overall, the best beer I have ever sampled up to now. I found it very versatile as served cool, it is a very nice apperitif and warmer, a delightful digestif. It does really compare to champagne, both for its taste and price!

Lightly hazed golden ale with a thick onctuous white head. Crisp malt with coriander, herbal spices, light thyme and black pepper, a bit of catnip. In mouth, a tingling spciey malt with good coriander, celery slat, hops, and oily mouthfeel. Rich and smooth. Mondial 2006.