Orval

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle. Orange brown unclear color, big white head. Malty hoppy and pepper nose. Aroma is spicy and citrusy, dry finish. Taste is light sour and a bit bitter. Very complex beer.

Bottle. Pours an orange honey color with an inch and a half of thick, fluffy white head. Lots of carbonation trails throughout the glass and nice lacing. Aroma is sharp and fruity with some rum and bubblegum in there as well. Taste begins extremely dry and tangy along with some grassy hops, herbs and spicy yeast. There is a strong sourness to the overall flavor that gives it a unique character along with the intense carbonation. It finishes very dry and crisp with a warm alcohol kick and a bitter, sour aftertaste. Not at all what I was expecting from a Trappist Ale. The overall flavor is jarring at first but gradually becomes more pleasant towards the end of the bottle. Nonetheless, it’s an acquired taste.

330ml Bottle – Gravity Beer Market – Olympia, WA
Aroma – Big Belgian yeast aroma. Sweet malt with lots of banana and pepper.
Appearance – Amber in color, Slight Haze with a fluffy lacey head.
Flavor – Big flavors malty sweet with banana and pepper through out the brew. Has that dry fruit flavor lingering. Tad paper like to me.
Palate – Super Dry finish with a nice Belgian Mouthfeel.
Overall – As to style this is the shizzle. As to my type not even. Hops are bitter with the peeper flavors too much. Has a nice lace and a good sour finish also. Here is to one of the top beers in the world. Sorry not my style but I can see why there are legions following this brew.

Pours an excellent clear amber with a decent, sticky head. The nose is initially malt heavy, sweet with banana and spices, as well as some darker fruit and fudge, vanilla, tobacco and just a whiff of cabbage. Mouth is pretty thin, but with a tangy kick, leads with sweet, bicuity malts characterized by some banana with some sour but refreshing lemon tartness and grapes on the swallow. Alcohol is present, but not overbearing. Unfortunately I poured this one cold so initially it had no aroma to speak of, but as it warms the nose becomes more sweet and complex. Additionally, the malt sweetness becomes less evident in the mouth giving way to the light, sour character.

UPDATED: MAY 24, 2010 Fresh: Gives an enormous frohty off-white head that leaves some lacing . Pours a murky orange-brown. Aroma is sour and a bit funky, some ctirus and that typical belgian spicyness. Complex dry taste with some sourness, earthy, grassy and some funk. Medium body and lively carbonation. Overall a strangely refreshing beer. 2004 bottle at Kulminator: Aroma: 7 Appearance: 4 Taste: 7 Palate: 3 Overall: 15 Unclear golden colorer with a big white dense head. Smells like a farm! Some goat pee and wet horse, but in a good way. Flavors are mellowed out compared to a fresh Orval. It has changed a lot over it’s six years of age, in a very interesting way.

Honestly? Not my favorite trappist, though I’ll give it a fair review. Malty citrus notes in the nose. Pours a light color for a trappist with a thick, creamy head. Notes of heavy hops, citrus, and light malt on the palate. Good, unique, interesting trappist brew.

UPDATED: NOV 9, 2011 Hazy brown/copper/orange pour, thick tanned head. Aroma is very hoppy and fruity with funky red fruit, huge raspberry, some citrus, hint of spice, all covered with a very subtle brett note. Just loverly. Flavour is very dry, lightly sour fruit, mildly bitter hops, lightly sweet fruit, in that order, fading into each other oh so smoothly. Very nice balance, best brett use ever, awesome stuff.

Orange color, big white head; aroma of sour fruits and floral hops; medium body, smooth, lively carbonation; flavor is also of sour fruits like apples and citrus backed up by some delicate sweet malty tones still never stealing the show, which, by the way, has a pretty dry hoppy finish. Actually, this may not be the most complex of trappist beers, but what it has to offer is in just great balance as you would expect from the brewery making only one beer to public. And mine was still very young so I would be curious to find out what good would a little aging do to this.