De Proefbrouwerij Signature Ale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Lochristi - Hijfte, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

UPDATED: JAN 12, 2008 Bottle from the First Houston Tasting
Pours thin and lifeless with an aroma of spearmint, lemon peach, and cedar. Flavor is floral cedar with a hoppy finish. Thick mouthfeel. Fantabulous!

Pretty well carbonated, the beer pours with over a three-finger thick, pale tan colored head even though it was done quite carefully. The head leaves patchy lacing patterns on the sides of the glass as it slowly recedes with a rocky, never quite disappearing surface of froth. A myriad of carbonation bubbles stream from the bottom of my tulip, all easily visible through the brilliantly clear, cranberry-tinged, copper colored beer. As I pour this beer I get a spicy note of white pepper. Upon further inspection the nose is amply hoppy, substantially spicy and even has a nice funky tartness to it. Aromatic notes of fresh cut weeds, orange zest, peaches, lychee, hay, ginger, orange zest, moldy cotton, honeysuckle, black pepper, lemon-thyme, clove, hints of urea and lots of other spicy phenolics and esters that keep that beer very interesting. This is definitely a beer that I can easily spend quite some time smelling and exploring, not even worrying about getting to the flavor exploration of this beer. The hops and Brettanomyces combine to create a really green, sharply spicy, savory herbal character. Really just a fantastically interesting and complex nose.

Fairly sweet, yet fairly well carbonated, which really helps to temper the residual malt sweetness. Overall this beer actually has a sort of dry flavor profile; the sweetness does play a role it is just that the carbonation and the astringently herbal / phenolic notes really help to balance and dry out the finish. Characteristically Amarillo hop flavors of lychee, apricot and sweet citrus peel mix with the malt sweetness to form a sort of orange-blossom / wild flower honey nectar character. Lightly tart, somehow this melds in with the fruity hop notes and becomes part of that flavor profile. Touches of funky Brett flavors mix with herbal hop notes in the finish to provide a mix of sharp flavors; Astringent herbs, a biting bitterness, spicy-not-quite plastic like phenolics, must cotton notes. There is a fair amount of body to this brew, it is still easy to drink, though I am not quite sure I would term this a quaffing brew.

At times the Amarillo hops are quite characteristically present, yet at other times the other competing flavors take over; the flavor and aroma of this beer are really quite interesting. What should be strongly competing flavor profiles from the hop and yeast character, somehow melds; sometimes the Brettanomyces dominates, at others the hops take over, but still at other times (and this last the most prevalent) this cacophonous chatter of competing flavors just melds into delicious, somehow well integrated whole that is just a pleasure to drink. As the beer warms up it starts to become a bit more tart, which actually accentuates more of a lemon zest character from the hop notes, but really all of the other hop notes are still noticeable.

This is an absolutely kick-ass brew; ample hops and Brett derived funk, how can I not just absolutely love this beer. A beer to satisfy the inner hop head and funk-o-phile at the same time. I am so glad I found this lone, discardedly placed, wayward bottle at Hi-Times. Perhaps not perfect in any category, but I am just really digging everything this beer has to offer right now. I think part of my enjoyment of this beer is that it reminds me of a hoppy, 100% Brett fermented, 5% alcohol beer that I brewed that was just phenomenal. My biggest regret is that I don’t have a couple of these to age.

750mL bottle. Pours a bright, clear orange-tinged golden color; white, web-like head with solid lacing. Pleasant, yeasty and doughy notes in the aroma, with a solid mineral / dry citrus hop presence; mild brett presence at this point. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: solid belgian core (esters, light yeastiness, some warming alcohol), with a nice dry hop character (citrus, pine) and a mild show of brett at this point; slightly warm, so I’ll look forward to trying this with some age. Doughy and minerally hop finish.

Sample provided by kmweaver. Clear golden body with a large fluffy white head. The nose is very hoppy (herbal, floral) with pineapple, apricot and cotton candy. The flavor is lightly sweet, moderately bitter with cotton candy, tangerine, pineapple, lavender and spicy herbal hops. Medium body is soft with moderate, gentle carbonation. This was a fantastic beer.

Pours deep amber into a tulip. Off-white whipped cream head with excellent retention leaves sheet lacing. Sour fruit and biscuit malt aromas. Smooth with orange and lemon alcohol spritz upfront , a caramel middle and a lasting tart citrus peel finish. I can taste both brewers - remarkable stuff.

Bottle Thanks to notalush and his Santa. Hazy honey golden with white head. Some spiciness in the aroma. Evident phenolics, honey, white pepper and some herbal qualities. Nice spiciness to the flavor. Has a peppery character and evident Belgian hops giving it a spicy edge. Very light lemon peel as well with a spicy biter finish. Tasty stuff, well crafted.

750ml bottle. Poured a mostly clear light, golden amber. Nose began with some funk then proceeded to aromas of herbal hops and Belgian yeast. I will get my hands on more of these.....this....I vow.....lol.

a hazy dark orange pour with a large fluffy white head. aroma of light citrus fruits and a touch of fresh green hops. flavor has notes of citrus(grapefruit), hops, peaches, butter and a touch of brett. light body and very refreshing.