Orval

Brewed by Brasserie dOrval
Style: Belgian Ale
Florenville - Villers-d.-Orval, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle. Well, finally tried it. Pours hazy gold with a big white head. Aroma is soapy/cheesy hops, spicy brett, fruity notes. Flavor is dusty, brett spiciness, more soapy hops. Palate is bitter, high carbonation, somewhat astringent.

UPDATED: JAN 6, 2012 Well, most people I know, with a rather similar taste of beers, tend to say this is a really really nice beer. But I’m not that convinced... I like it, but i don’t love it... It’s good, but just not my flavour. Eventhough I tried young Orvals, Orvals that had 2 years of aging, even 4-5 years of aging... Update: Had a 4,5 year old Orval again yesterday, cellar temperature, and it was really nice. Perhaps I’m just starting to get these flavours?? It’s just so different from any other beer I ever had... Update (also on my website: http://thebeerapprentice.weebly.com/) I’ll start with the young one, aged 6 months: As you can see, the young one is lighter in colour, almost orange, amber. The foam is nice, again almost white. The smell is very mild. Bit of hops, bit of bitternes, bit sweet. The taste is rather agressive, bit sharp in bitternes. You have the feeling this beer hasn’t settled yet. Aftertast is nicely dry, bitter and refreshing. It has more body then the Petit Orval, but something’s missing. Whatever I was missing, I found it in the older one, aged 1 year and 4 months: The colour is rather amber/brown, head is the same. Smell is so much more powerfull. It’s sweeter, you get some oranges, more spices, more sweetness. While the taste is more of taste, it also has the balance, the softness the young one was missing. The taste of this one is very full, well balanced, softer... In the aftertaste you refind a bit of the dryness and the bitterness. If I had to pick a winner, it’s obvious, the old Orval wins by far from the young one. Much more complexity and balance in the old one

A surprisingly long-lasting fizz is heard when I remove the cap from the beautiful bottle, and when carefully pouring the dark amber beer into my trappist chalice I understand why: this is one aggressively carbonated brew! An enormous, creamy, off-white head builds up extremely quickly, and I need to take several breaks in order to fit all of the beer into the glass. Initially the body looked rather clear, but I guess the long pouring process and the high carbonation caused some sediments to be whirled up, so the beer ended up looking rather cloudy. The aroma is amazing and very unusual (at least to me): hoppy with flowers, pine and apple, along with dark spices, wine and oak. Light sweet and light bitter taste with a light to moderate bitter finish. The flavour is dominated by the dark parts of the aroma: oak, fermented apples and leather. Medium body with a very dry texture, and the carbonation ends up as rather average. The dryness and the oak and fermented apples actually reminds me of a brut nature champagne… Great stuff, although not at the very top, but I suspect this will grow on me on time. So, Orval, are you ready for a re-rating in a few months time?
[33 cl bottle, from Vinmonopolet, Vika, Oslo]

Very fine head, high and lasting, grey yellow. dark spiced nose. Brett? Medium body and some length, sweetness but also some wellbalanced bitterness. Dried fruits, fruitcake.

Now this is a very drinkable Trappist beer. Taste is light, very floral, slight caramel notes.

A cloudy orange beer with an amazing offwhite head. Aroma is sweet citrus fruit and some spices. Taste is also sweet orange and other citrus fruits with underlining spices like cinnamon. There is a beautifully pronounced bitter finish with some sourness. Fantastic!

UPDATED: AUG 6, 2011 fantastica birra!ma chi dice che non è cosi facile da bere!!forse per uno che prende in mano per la prima volta una birra puo trovare fastidioso il delizioso amaro ! color arancione grande testa bianca di grande allacciatura ,scompare in media durata ma rimane sempre una velatura cremosa sopra odori vinosi ,arancio e luppolo in bocca l’amaro si fa subito sentire ma ottimamente bilanciato dal malto e dai caratteristici lieviti.finale lungo lungo lungoooo

potent head and strong hoppy aroma with a little bit of sweetness in the aftertaste. nutty brown colour and cloudy because of the bottle fermentation. little more dry. great with some cheese and barbequed red meat (at least i drank it with that and it was awesome). full body and bitter finish. one of the best trappist