Orval

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

Pours orange with a thick white head. I believe it was 6.9% ABV as well. Big fruity aroma of raisin and other mixed dry fruit. well fermented and thin. Tangy and fruity malt. Notes of orange peel and coriander. Not my thing.

Bone dry. Funky nose, very reminiscent of a lambic, you’d almost expect it to be sour by the smell. Not so, it is, however, grainy and quite complex. The beer equivalent of a fine aged burgundy, light yet profound.

Color is a really nice amber with a yellowy glow at the bottom and the head is silky smooth and tightly frothy, looks like fleshy silk and is about two fingers high leaving tight weblike lacing. Smells of light fruity hops and sweet malt, very smooth, soft, and fresh. Taste is rich, sweet malt, a bit tangy, and has a good dry hoppiness and a mild yeasty note. This is very silky smooth and drys slowly leaving a nice sweet tangy sense in the mouth. Easily drinkable and the flavor is just right.

one of my definate fav Trappists. all year beer, hoppy dryness that is as enjoyable in winter as in summer.

Re-rerate: Four and a half month old bottle. Stunning. The last few bottles have proven this to be a truly perfect beer. There is so much variety depending on age, but that makes me love it even more as it can be multiple beers for multiple moods while still being outstanding in every iteration. The hops and fruity esters are phenomenal in younger examples, with brett and dry elegance taking over as time progresses. This truly is a perfect five, and it is a tragedy that it’s not appreciated enough to land in the top 50. Re-rate, 11/26/07. I’ve finally come around to re-rating this almost three months later, and Systemblaget still has bottles bottled on the same day, so I’m getting a sample with 9 months of age instead of 6. It may be that the beer has evolved considerably in those three months, or it may be that I have evolved as well since one of my first ratings, but this rating experience is very different from the original. The pour is a clear orange/amber with an absolutely massive lasting head. Bubbles stream from everywhere to sustain the mountainous foam for quite some time, until you wear it into a creamy layer that laces all the way to the bottom. Beautiful to say the least. The aroma is a little different than I remember: dryer and much more complex. Yeast, sour fruit, hops, bubble-gum ,and cloves hit you to start. Very spicy cloves. As the beer warms, more sugar comes out, with some caramel and a good helping of sweet cherries with a lingering acidity. The flavor is dryer than I recall; much dryer than the aroma would lead you to believe. Hop resin scrapes your tongue with a lasting bitter finish, and a slight citrus acidity rides over it all. The body is light and heavily but smoothly carbonated, with a long bitter and lean finish. the alcohol taste that was present before is completely absent now. I’m awe-struck at the complexity of this beer. I didn’t know that you could smell so many amazing things in one glass. It’s like a whole table of spiced christmas confections, and I’m loving it. It’s leanness and dryness also make it supremely drinkable, which is more than I can say for any other Trappist ale that I’ve had. ྪ,5,9,4,18=4.6) (original rating) From a bottle in Lund, Sweden on 8-28-07. Pours a murky golden orange amber with a substatial head that stays for quite awhile in a tulip glass. The aroma is probably one of the best-sweet apricots linger with tangy lemon and spicy cinnamon. I was expecting a better flavor out of this, but something was lacking. There was a good mouthfeel with heavy carbonation, but an intrusiveness of alcohol lingered over it and ruined the flavor. The bitterness in the finish was definitely refreshing, but for a beer bottled at only 6.2% ABV, there shouldn’t have been this prevalent of an alcohol taste. I’ll definitely give it another try.ƙ,4,6,3,16)

Bottle courtesy Boboski. This is such a classic beer. Pours a cloudy amber with a thick white head. Aroma is fruity hops and sour yeast. It just has a dry aroma. Taste is light dry and sour with hints of fruit. Finishes dry and bitter. Amazingly elegant.

Cloudy orange color, great creamy head and a clinging lace. Robust tart aroma with hints of wood, citrus fruit, and other light fruit, with a touch of yeast. Big spritzy body with a solid yeastiness that compliments a very bitter (for a Belgian)hop bite. Dries quickly in the quasi-finish but comes up a touch juicy towards a further end. Leaves a bit to be desired I think, I maintain that there are better trappistes.

Pours honey in color w/ full semi creamy froth receding to a rocky surface. Aroma is tart w/ barnyard features and cedar. Reminds me of Bordeaux. Medium nectar w/ very little residual effers. Flavors are bone dry and slightly bitter w/ a defined tart cedar cigar box character. Finishes long and dry w/ slight medicinal properties. Overall: Orval is a food ale. Harsh on its own. Goes good w/ real crab sushi roll. After a thorough search and seizure thus brew turns up in a watery grave. not impressed at all.