Orval

Bottle poured to glass. Cloves and banana esters are present in the aroma. High head on the brew. Very high carbonation level with a medium body on the palate. Dry finish. Sharp, crisp malt profile and earthy sharp hops notes to balance. The head feels like silk on the lips. Fine bead of bubbles for entire brew and Excellent lacing. Excellent beer.

Appearance: A cloudy orange beer that pours with a huge white head. That fizzles away relatively fast. Smell: Surprisingly little smell. A little lemon and hay. Taste: The cabonation almost overwhelms the flavor in the beggining. Then you taste a bit of hay, lemon zest and a slight medicinal taste. Mouth Feel: Light to medium body. A lot of cabonation and dry. Drinkability: Dry, hay and medicinal is not what I am looking for in a beer. I know people love this, that is why I wanted to try it. Who knows, maybe I got a bad batch. :-(

Pours semi-cloudy, orange-golden color with a very thick, frothy head that really sticks around and creates awesome lacing on the glass. Aroma is very intense with fruit notes bearing the brunt of the aromatic onslaught. Lots of apple, pear and yeasty esters, candy sugar, along with a Belgian malty hint behind all the major aromas. Flavor starts off slightly soured citrus which then moves into a sweet candy sugar and yeast bite which fades to a finishing apple flavor with a nice dryness not found in a lot of beers. Beer has the perfect amount of carbonation and leaves an awesome lacing on the glass. Overall this is one of the best trappist beers out there in my opinion, a great balance of acidic flavors, sweetness and a perfect dryness. One I will buy again and store in the cellar to age.

Bottled 5/06/08. Nice foamy head with a nutty brown body. Smells yeasty, with some hops, bread and a bit of alcohol. Tastes a little bit of apple, with some bitter and sour notes, but not sour like a lambic. Astringent on the back end. Pleasantly creamy and bubbly mouthfeel. Nice lacing, but poor retention.

Bottle. I don’t have the palate for Belgians just yet. Too carbonated, insanely bitter, qualities. I hope to re-rate this and give it better grades, and enjoy it a lot more too.

What amazed me about this beer is that is was only very young, but showed amazingly complex aromas and flavours. A scent like God’s own armpit and a vast palate of flavours too numerous to list in one rating. Have purchased a couple for further reviews as they age.

bottle: Poured dark hazy orange with a off white large foamy head that did diminish. Smell was sour and a slight bit fruitiness. Taste was similar to smell with a slight bit of sweetness and a very dry ending, very champaigne like. This was definite not a bad beer at all, but not my favor Belgium ale either.

Bottle. Chef Paul. Dark yellow, rocky head- carbonation is bubbling away. Smell is terrific- light, fruity, pears and apples. First taste is fruit, yeast, crisp biting carbonation, effervescence. Then suddenly- BAM- the stop sign comes up and the intense dryness halts all else- a flavor black hole. Very unique and nice.