Orval

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Pours dark amber with an ample off-white head. Aroma is fruity with notes of spice. The flavour is complex and balanced, sweet malt, fruit (tangerines), cinnamon, trappist yeast. It finishes dry and hoppy. Very enjoyable beer.

11.2 ounce bottle into tulip, bottled 11/13/2008, best by 2013. Pours hazy deep orange color with a huge foamy khaki head with great retention that reduces to a nice cap. Some spotty lacing on the glass, with plenty of carbonation. Aromas of big brett character: tart apple, wet hay, funk, cherry, pepper, lemon, grass, bread, and yeast spices. Awesome aromas here, the brett did a nice job over 3+ years. Great complexity. Taste of big biscuit, pepper, grass, citrus, lightly tart apple, light cherry, and yeast spices. Fairly dry finish; but some lingering notes of biscuit, pepper, light fruit, and yeast spices on the finish for a bit. Fantastic flavor balance and complexity. Medium-high carbonation and medium boded; with a very crisp and smooth mouthfeel. Very drinkable at 6.9% with no alcohol other than a slight warming after the finish. Overall this is an incredible Belgian pale. Incredibly complex and balanced after 3 years of age. I will definitely pick up a fresh bottling of this to compare how the Brett transforms it.

Pours a cloudy golden amber with a very big off white head. Aroma is sweet and malty with some pine & citrus notes. Flavor is rich earthy malts with a hoppy bitterness that slides in at the finish (there’s a little black pepper in the finish, as well). What a wonderfully smooth beer. Everything seems really well balanced and the alcohol (6.9%) is not noticeable.

Pours an amberish brown with a big frothy off-white head. Aroma is yeast, alcohol, apple and other unidentifiable fruits. Taste is medium sweet with an awesomely subtle bitterness in the background. Finish is mildly bitter. I don’t think I’ve had a belgian with this much bitterness-- it’s a really fantastic contrast to the sweet frutiness I’m used to. Palate is full with a nice amount of carbonation. Great beer.

[ASPETTO] color ambra scuro, con riflessi aranciati, velata [SCHIUMA] color bianco, fine ed abbondante, media persistenza, residuo persistente [OLFATTO] media intensità: profumi floreali, lieviti. Base maltata e un accenno leggero di alcohol [GUSTO] malto nei primi istanti, con note leggermente dolci frenate da un pizzicore dovuto alla carbonazione, per poi dare subito la stoccata con amaricanti corposi checonducono fino alla fine. Accompagna nel tragitto un fruttato fresco, senza arivare ad essere acidulo. Finale secco, retrogusto con un amaro deciso ( vegetale, radice) e persistente che si mescola con leggere note alcoliche. [TEXTURE] corpo medio-basso, carbonazione iniziale pungente, percezione alcolica moderata [COMMENTO FINALE] un classico, sempre all’altezza, con una luppolatura generosa e caratteristica che la rende molto beverina, fresca. Forse una carbonazione sopra le righe soprttutto all’inizio. Una "trappista" commercialmente omnipresente. Una sicurezza al momento dell’acquisto. ho letto commenti riguardo a bottiglie lasciate riposare anni o alle differenze (qualitative) fra produzione datate e quelle più recenti. non sarebbe male provare a lasciarne qualcuna in cantina.. se si resiste alla tentazione; temo però per la luppolatura e il dry-hopping.

The first thing that’s remarkable: the spicy smell. It has a heavy bitter taste. The aftertaste is spicy. The bottle looks nice and is very typical.

Bottle from 99.Hazy orange-gold pour with a tall, rocky, off-white head leaving heavy lace. Nice Belgian malt nose with noticeable Brett aromas. Medium body and sharp, fine carbonation. Toast, clove, Brettanomyces, citrus and white pepper. Finish is dry, bitter and umami. Defines the style and rightfully so: it’s just about perfect in every way. I could drink this every day.

03-02-11 Bouteille 2011: Très belle couleur caramel, trouble, avec une mousse blance abondante qui réduit lentement et avec un mince filet de mousse qui reste recouvrant la bière, sans effervescence. Arômes très légers d’houblon, de poire et de brettanomyces. Petite touche de sucrée, avec une amertume bien présente, sans être agressante. Bien balancée avec une bonne base maltée et légèrement caramélisée. Corps moyen avec une texture moyennement ronde. Se boit aisément et offre une belle panoplie de saveurs fruitée, maltée et houblonnée. Finale asser astrigente, mais tout de même raffraichissante. Bière très complexe à essayer à différentes température et différentes années de vieillissement.

Hazy orange/red/brown color, nice white head. Hoppy tasting; especially bitter and also kind of fruity