Orval

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

Pours a slightly hazy amber brown with a massive tan head. Extremely dry and spicy aroma with scents of bready Belgian yeast and herbal hops. Very dry flavor as well. Tonic, flavored water flavor with some hops and yeast lingering with the finish. Very diluted grape flavor. Unlike anything I’ve ever tasted and not in a good way. Seems to be a bad bottle somehow.

Bottle into chalice. Pours cloudy orange-copper, with a big, rocky off-white head that settles down into a creamy, long lasting cap, with plenty of robust lacing. Nose has a light, tart citrus quality, dry, with a light funky barnyard note underneath, and a bit of a floral note as well. Clean but complex. Taste is quite complex - starts off with a crisp citrus tartness, quite funky around the edges with a dry barnyard character, then takes on a lemon meringue pie character around the middle of the tongue - clear lemon, some smooth vanilla sweetness. Gives way to a light, floral hop note on the finish, with a lingering, dry, earthy funk. Mouthfeel is lively, a soft but active carbonation, with a creamy, fluffy character from the ever-present cap. Medium bodied. A crime that it took me so long to give it a go with this masterpiece of a beer. Beautiful.

gets better when aged. the beer keeps fermenting and thus the taste gets broader and more refined. excellent beer!

Pours hazy orange amber, bready, citrus, yeasty, bannana, orange peel, hoppy, malty, spice.

Bottle from Volo in Toronto. Damn this is a nice beer bar. Great aromas. A lot like grape cough syrup but in a good way haha. Very unique.

Bottle. Deep amber with big creamy head that lasted. sweet, robust, very hoppy for a trappist. great to try, but not a fave. medicinal and a touch yeasty.

[330ml bottle at The Retreat, Reading] Served in correct branded glass, which my friends said looked like the Holy Grail! Pours a cloudy gold with a very large white head. Was immediately struck by the fabulous carbonation. I’m normally no fan of fizzy beers, but the soft, tiny bubbles in this beer gently caress your tongue, leaving a tempting tingle that you immediately want more of. The dominant flavour is lemon/citrus, with some pine notes and a little cinnamon. There’s a pineapple sweetness in the background, although the sweetness is thankfully lower than in other Belgian beers. The finish is dry, although not as dry as I was expecting based on other comments on this database. In fact, this is a very well balanced beer. But it’s the beautiful mouthfeel from the unusual carbonation that I’ll remember.

orangy amber colour , nice thick white head. Has a nice citrus and spice aroma. nice hop bite, with a kick of alcohol and hint of fruitiness excellent beer.