Orval

11.2oz bottle. Bottled on 20/02/2008. Pours a mostly clear, bright golden orange body before pouring the sediment in. After adding the last bit of beer it turned a duller orange-amber and very cloudy. Big, rocky, foamy, two-finger width, off-white head that dissipates very slowly and leaves a soft, sticky lacing. Gorgeous and the foam never actually goes away. Aroma is pretty sharp with lots of fruits and a very nice floral hopping. TONS of fruit. Oranges, grapes, tangerines, grapefruits coated in sugar, and a touch of banana. Lots of yeast, a barnyard funk, brett, hay, and a light sour earth. Flavor isn’t as brightly sweet as the aroma, but still very sweet. Lots of the same oranges and tangerines from the aroma with a bit of a sour grapefruit in there. Very yeasty with lots of funk and brett tastes. A soft floral hop throughout that isn’t the easiest to pick up thanks to all the other flavors going on, but still very nice. Finishes very dry and slightly sour with a yeasty, sweet and dry citrus, sour grape, funk spicing, and noticeably bitter aftertaste that lingers for a good amount of time. Palate is light bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Overall, I have to admit, I was expecting this to be good, but figured it would be over-rated. However, I am truly impressed with how complex and unique this beer is. Lots of perfume-like aromas and flavors and a drying finish that wraps this up to perfection. Unlike anything I’ve ever had.

My second try of Orval. The first time I was new to beer. Know that I have tried a lot I had high expectations for Orval but it disappoint, not saying it is a bad beer just not what I remembered. Pours amberish with some cloudiness with a good head. Aroma somewhat spice with hints of malt. Taste is good as the malt and other flavors are pronounced. In the end the taste fads and your not that disappointed. My least favorite trappist.

Aroma of apples, bananas, and hops. Flavor is more of the same plus some spice and a dry, tart finish. Good, but not spectacular.

Bottle: pours cloudy golden amber body with huge foamy head. I’m irritated at myself for not having the right glass for this, as the head is barely containable :-( Spicy, yeasty aroma: the kind that makes you remember why you drink beer. Dry flavor, that is distinct from the smell (weird). Hoppy, dry finish with tart overtones. Fizzy mouthfeel, but leaves a weird aftertaste that I can’t identify. A great beer, but now I’m thinking it may be overhyped.

I drink this beer in bottle. The appearence is golden-amber and cloudy. This beer has a malty aroma. Dominant flavor is dry and palate is bitter on the finish. A very good beer.

Pours a sticky off-white head with a hazy, golden-amber body. Smells of bubblegum, yeast, and mint. Flavors of yeast, bitterness, bubblegum, little sour. Finish has a very nice carbonation but is also a little metallic. Fun and interesting beer.

Bottle at the Pembury Tavern, London, on 8th July 2009. Pours amber coloured with thick, white, well-laced head. Absolutely bursting with flavour with an abundance of spices and malts which then evolve to very dry hoppiness on a fizzy, lively mouthfeel. A very satisfying finish of bitterness and dry hoppiness provides a perfect cadence to the cascade of flavours in this delicious beer. A real treat.

Is this the greatest beer I’ve ever had? Might be. The action started from the moment I popped the cap, as it started boiling over. The waste! The horror! Into the glass (sadly, not a proper glass), it produced a towering fluffy white head, that after five minutes, mostly remained, nicely topping off a rich and cloudy orange body. The aroma was quite something, with a multitude of spices. Taste was of course supurb, with not too much of anything. Mouthfeel and finish ruled as well.