4.6 AROMA 10/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Pours a hazy amber into a Gulden Draak goblet with a MASSIVE 4 finger head. Aroma is sour funky french oak barrel, brettanomyces, citrus peel, and some mild grain lurking in there somewhere. Taste is wild yeast funk, barely detectable caramel sweetness and a lasting funky, grainy finish. Body is initially sticky but high carbonation leads to an immaculate dry finish. I have never had anything quite like this beer-- the bartender told me this brewery only makes one beer because that’s all it really needs to make. I agree. This is a beverage of such sophistication and refinement that I believe that I am not even capable of appreciating it to the degree it deserves.
4.1 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
UPDATED: AUG 24, 2011 Bottle in Belgo Centraal, London. Pours tawny amber with big foamy white head. Aroma is amazing. A lovely fragrant sugary sherbet aroma with light hoppy fruits: apple, berries, and then some spice. Taste isn’t quite as strong but there’s some nice fruit notes, with cinnamon spice. Surprisingly light and hoppy for a Trappist beer.
4.3 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 17/20
Bottle. Two years old. Pours golden with a long lasting white head. Bretty nose with a hint of pineapple. High carbonation with champagne-like sparkling. Dry mouthfeel with a bit of tartness. Some complex fruity aromas and hop-bitterness but no sweetness. Number one within the style.
4.6 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
UPDATED: JAN 12, 2012 33 cl, bottled. Pours slightly hazy orange with a beautiful, long-lasting irregular white head. Aroma: Sour apple, apple pie, berries, malt, clove. Taste: Moderate sweetness (citric sweet), amusing sourness and pleasant bitterness. Vanilla and pepper. Palate: Medium body, average carbonation. Dry. Overall: Lovely stuff.
4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottled 20.4.2010. Cloudy, dark amber with a huge, pillowy, white head. Aroma is clove, perfume-like sour apple, dried apricot, fermented apple. Taste is sour with hints of cloves. There’s also apple, a lot of cereal maltiness and dry. Palate is light, perhaps even a bit watery.
4.4 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Do not over chill this ale!! Best served at a nice cool cellar temperature between 50-54 f!! nicely hopped and velvety with a nice dry finish with aromas of spruce, chocolate, caramel, and coffee.
4.5 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 19/20
Pours an opaque, dark tan, full of sediment and tiny bubbles and monk-like secrecy. The head is a sight to behold, huge and hearty and nigh-impenetrable. Smells like apples and red wine and oak barrels and earth. Nice opening act, Orval. The taste smacks you with yeasty tartness that mimics red wine, only to fade into the soothing warmth of a dunkelweizen. Finishes like a slice of fruitcake. Bubbly yet smooth, this beer lives up to its kudos. Delicious. (2/21/09)
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
This one has it all. Trappist beers are a personal favourite of mine but still.. wow. When you look at the bottle with it’s distinguished shape and the glass that almost winks at you. Be careful not to cool the Orval down to fridge temperature. When I drank it it was chilled to the bone and that wasn’t doing the Orval much good. After warming it with my hands it evolved into a whole different beer. It has aroma’s of candy sugar that gives it a royal sweetness, followed by a tasty hopbitternes finish. Again, this beer is best enjoyed just below room temperature and really not on fridge temperature. So store it in the cellar, the attic or the garden shed or whatever. Good one!"
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