Orval

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bright orange brown with an impressing white, pillowy head with good retention and nice lacing on the side of the trappist glass. Complex spicy aroma, fruits, yeast, hops, only slight sweets. Orange, dark fruits, apple, cardamom, liquorice, even some anise. Flavour does right to the complexity of the aroma. Slightly sweet, but balanced with a good hop bitterness and a slight sour twang. Citric notes, spices, cinnamon, cardamom, and more fight for attention. Strong bitter finish. Great trappist. (from 33cL bottle)

Poured out of the classic bottle into a Trappist glass. Pours bright orange with a HUGE off-white, pillowy head! That’s got to be the frothiest head I’ve ever seen!!! Aroma is grapefruity, peppery, with a nice hoppy zest to it. Flavor is much of the same with a nice mix between the bitterness and the sweetness. I can definitely sense that Brett funk too, but it works. Mouthfeel is pretty thin and dry, but the flavor makes up for it. Overall, not the best of the Belgian Trappist brews and not an everyday drinker for me, but certainly worth trying! I’d like to let this sit in the cellar for a while and revisit it sometime!

I do not see how this beer is so highly rated, and so I’m calling b.s. on this one. I find this beer to be extremely uninteresting in every way. If you want a tasteless, aromaless, uninspired beer, this is your brew.

che dire? forse x i miei gusti troppo frizzantina,ma come lega l’olfatto al palato,è strabiliante,fantastico l’amaro che lascia in bocca anche dopo aver finito di bere....

bottled on 19/5/2010, aroma is grapefruity with some fresh hops in there as well first taste is grapefruity, then goes to a slight sour sweet bitter blend, that is very reminiscent of a saison, overall pretty good beer, gotta make sure you mix up the yeast on the bottom, or it is rather bland

Poured from the classic bowling pin bottle into a tiny plastic stein at Brew Fest in Athens, GA. Clearly, this was not the ideal way to sample a classic ale, and the experienced suffered for it. This came off as too frothy, too peppery, and too thin to live up to its legend. In fact, it probably only seemed that way by comparison with the tripels, dipas, and other delights alongside which I drank it. I must return to this at some point when my palate is fresher to evaluate it more fairly.

11 April 2011, bottle. med orange and very hazy, like metamucil. gorgeous nose! really tart cherries, sharp yeast and alcohol. very distinct. med/full body and moderately fizzy with a noticeable wateriness. i have to say, i expected more from the nose. it doesn’t taste very sour, nor is there much alcohol in the flavour. there is an earthy yeastiness with a bitter, nutty finish. i was expecting sweet and yeasty. decent.

roasty, grass, leaves, golden, brown, clear, minimal head, medium bitterness, medium body, thin feel, lively, bitter, clean and abrupt finish. Outstanding ale!!