Orval

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottled in 06/2006, drunk on 7/2008 A: Firey orange with a billowing head that lasts the entire experience. Zippy carbonation. A: Hops & Brett. Grassy noble hops with a sour nose. Wonderful combo, both upfront. T: Wonderful! Everything that was in the nose was in the flavor along with a wonderful malt flavor. Very bright & drinkable. Great summer beer. P: Very dry & carbonated, but not bone dry. Still a malty presence while on the tongue. Also a lingering bitterness. OA: Perfect!

UPDATED: DEC 30, 2008 Small bit of foam builds in the neck after releasing the cap. Pours a dark burnt orange with a pillow of white head that doesn’t lace much as it recedes speedily. Pungeant perfume spices and hop aromas. A bit of grapefruit and tart citrus. Nicely carbonated and dry enough to give it a good bite. Significantly hoppy and everything lingers. The spice and perfume stay on the tongue while the drying finish makes each sip a complete joy. One of the best and easily the most unique Trappist. After several rerates from bottles anywhere from fresh to nearly 2 years of age, there is no doubt in my mind that Orval is a perfect beer. Never the same, but always spectacular, I find that of my choices of perfection, an Orval that provides a nice Brett sourness is my favorite, but the others are still so enjoyable if it was required to pick a single beer for the rest of my life, the variety available in this beer would make it a simple choice.

Best beer ever !! Machel Jackson also gave it a very high rating so... Very special intense taste, bitter, low alcohol.. beautifull bottle...

UPDATED: FEB 3, 2012 (330ml, Bottle)An emphatically unique ale .. In my experience Orval becomes sublime after six months age ; In an Orval goblet its a beautiful orange color , giant foamy head. Dry ,bretty ,fruity ,musty and the epitome of sophistication.

Ahhh, this is the life.... this beer has been a long time favourite, and still is. Nice copper/amber colour with a huge fluffy/rocky head. The smell is divine. Fresh bread, a little sourish, hops, a little fruit, very complex. Taste is even better, yeasty, hoppy, a little sweet and a little sour. Nice bitter finish. This is a beer for all occasions, and an all-nighter. It’s refreshing, tasteful, not too high in ABV and because of the fairly high carbonation it is not a gusher, but a real tasting beer. Excellent!

UPDATED: MAY 25, 2010 Rating May 25, 2010: Bottled almost exactly a year ago; with a doubt, this bottle is "on". Man, this is wonderful. What can I say? I’m reminded of my very first experience with this beer, over a year ago: Every great aspect of beer, combined in one bottle. Hoppy and malty at the same time, unique yeast character, dry and drinkable, a hint of sweet alcohol.. Nothing I would change, perfect.

Rating Sep 30, 2009: Bottled 06/19/2008. Delicious muscat grape aroma, ripe pears and apples, an evident acidity. A filthy, rain-drenched dog lurks in the background. Looks great. The flavour is pretty sour, very spicy, herbal and medicinal. Surprisingly light unfortunately. Light alcohol presence, thoroughly mouthdrying. It’s great, but not as great as I had in memory. 4.1

Rating May 26, 2009: Younger version than the previous rating, bottled october 2008. Crazy how much this improves within just a few months of age, this is seriously less appealing than the first bottle I had. Still, it is great: Decent animal-hair character and less hay in the aroma than I had in memory. The flavour is less rounded, great spicy hops and crisp bitterness though. 4.2

Rating Mar 12, 2009: Fruity, sour aroma of wine, apples and a whole lot else. Complex taste of fruits as oranges, apples and peaches, rich malt, a whole lot of herbs and spices and a hoppy finish. Creamy mouthfeel resulting from the humongous head. Really great and far too complex to explore it in 33cl. 4.6

One of the most interesting beers I have ever tried. The bartender who served it described it as having "Barnyard flavours like you’ve never tasted before" and he was right in such a great way. Phenomenal beer, 100th beer I had tried and to be quite honest, the most interesting. Surpassed all my expectations.

I am not sufficiently trained to describe technically what I appreciated in that beer, however I can tell it’s among my favourites.... It’s definitely intense and long lasting and this is what I’m looking for.