Orval

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Absolutely delicious. Nice sweet/fruity finish, with an almost bitter taste at first. I really enjoyed this and would easily drink it again, although it is a bit expensive where I am.

One of the better belgian ales, but it is really not to my liking. Stale! Yuck!

Not so much alcohol, but this beer is ’liquid bread’. I tried it several times, and I can tell you that drinking it in its own glass is 100% different. It is a true belgian trappist, with its own complexity and style. Please give it a try.

Great appearance, cloudy gold w/ a huge whip cream head. Palate was light, bitter, sour, middle was dry, and finish was watery, dry. I didn’t think this beer had an enjoyable flavor, and I was pretty dissapointed in this one. Maybe I got a bad bottle, but this is by far the worst trappist I’ve had, and honestly it tasted like mop water!

UPDATED: AUG 18, 2005 Head is initially large, frothy, creamy, rocky, off-white, fully lasting. Body is hazy medium amber, dense tiny/small particles, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately yeasty (horseblanket, barnyard), moderately hoppy (grass, herbs), lightly malty (toasted grain, light bread), with notes of cedar, apple, apricot, orange peel, dried pineapple, mango, clove, bandaid, etc. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately bitter, lightly acidic. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, heavily bitter. Medium body, velvety/creamy texture, lively carbonation. The Trappist that’s unlike any other Trappist. I’ve rated this numerous times, and every time I have it, I bump up my score a bit. This is one of the most visceral, bitter, funky, capricious, unique, rustic, and unusual beers you will ever have. So damned compelling, perplexing, and singular...how do you rate something like this? The bigger question is...fresh or aged? Well, my 2.5 year old bottles are a little better (to me) than my 1.5 year old bottles, so I’m thinking aged. But both are mid to high 4’s, and it’s all I can do to keep from going out and buying another 12-pack to dump in the cellar. Time and time again I come back to this and time and time again I am amazed and its diversity and charm.

BIG HEAD (the ale). Don’t pour to fast for gawlds sake. Onto the official speak... I’m getting Cooking Apples,Band Aid(not old rockstars, but sicky plasters),toffee, burnt witch embers-still hot, bitter, ear waxy.. (I’m starting to wonder if our beer is off cause everyone else loved it!). It’s like cheap cider. It’s definately off... ohh hang on... looking at what everyone else has written: It’s a sour, bitter, clean band-aid dipped in off cider... I suppose it could be mistaken for orange and pepper..... Hmmm another one will sort out the ambiguity. .......... Yes much Better 2nd time around.

Starts with a wonderful aroma of belgium yeastyness and a hint of orange spice. The Taste starts out with a peppery spice that blends into tastes of orange, hops, and malt, and ends with a crisp hoppyness that leaves you yearning for more. This trappist ale certainly is not like the others, but is definatly is one of the best.

I always hear Belgian beer drinkers rate this very low on their scale,but I think that this one of the most unique beers in Belgium <biting my tongue> it really is though,afterall in a land where bitterness,hop flavor and aroma take a backseat to exotic yeast strains this is cleary a different breed. A Belgian I.P.A. if there ever was one,although I’m not saying it is ;)

One of my personal favorites. The yeast and brettanomyces make this a firm bodied light ale with a great hopsack aroma. A head that does not stop and rich malt flavors.

Mine is slightly cloudy, with little gas with a rich head. This beer has a smell of oranges about it. It’s very bitter, whilst tasting aswell as smelling of oranges, with loads of pepper. One of the most interesting beers i’ve had. It was recommended to me by the owner of the beer store, and I must thank him greatly. After its initial surpise this beer becomes morish ands more flavoursome than most others. This beer stands out in my beer hunting as being lovely and unique.