De Proefbrouwerij Signature Ale

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

2010-10-02. Hazy amber body with a nice frothy white head and lace. 3+ Pleasant mild aroma, light citrus, muted yeast and malt. Flavour is pleasant, light yeas throughout, modest citrus, sweet orange, hints of citrus seed grows as it goes on. Modest bitterness throughout, muted malt core. 7+ Smooth average plus palate is well carbonated. 3+ Very drinkable but less assertive than hoped. Not unlike some of the Unibroue Anniversary brews. Bottle from Bottleworks, Seattle

This pours a slightly hazed yellowish amber body with a fluffy off-white head. The aroma has tart tangerine, sweet pale malt, honey, meadow flowers, apricots, and herbs. The flavor adds a refreshing acidic quality along with some zest, peppers, soft fruits, an herbal/floral bitterness, and a touch of the funk. Very nice and no doubt this would age quite well.

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17th June 2008. This reminded me a lot of ’Deus’ but fortunately the water chesnut flavour is much pared down here and is balanced by orange and grapefruit. Soft dry finish. A bit different.

Cloudy golden colour with a white head. Malty, light sweet aroma with fruity and floral notes and hints of alcohol. Malty, fruity and light citric flavor with citric notes.

Bottle. Head is initially average sized, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy dark yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted grain, cookie), moderately hoppy (flowers, apricot, grapefruit, resin), lightly yeasty (mold), with notes of cotton candy, band-aid, alcohol, perfume, hint of detergent. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter, slightly unclean, slightly husky. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. A mix of good and bad elements, resulting in a somewhat average result. The aftertaste is unpleasant, a bit saccharine and slick/coating along with some grainy roughness. Not elegant. Some off notes in the aroma, but some pleasant things in there too. Neither a success nor a failure.

Bottle. Pours a beautiful slightly hazy golden with lively carbonation and a nice long alsting pure white head- great lace. Aroma is a really nice balance of tons of fresh hops- american hops dont overpower, stays spicy and earthy, and then balanced with the nice doughy fresh pils malts, and just a modest amount of brett earthy funk. Light sweetness still in the flavor from some doughy malts, which may give way to more brett in the future- this bottle is still young but has nice fresh hop character, fresh dough, and good farmhouse brett- light on the palate yet full flavored. Very refreshing and easy to drink despite its high abv. This will age nicely and gain more funk and acidity.

Bottle@Home. Brett aroma, leather and barnyard. Yellow colour, off-white head, good lace. Sweet, leather, spiced, hint of caramel. Unusual combination of starting sweetness and finishing leather.

Not quite as thrilled with the initial scent as with Les Deux Brasseurs, but still capable. Hazed amber color with a taller beige head that slowly settles leaving a curtain of lace. Pale malt sweetness and orange zest scents. Hints of yogurt, grapefruit, and a nips of funk. Starts with a strong caramel flavor. Flavors not as promising as the aromas in this one. Roots of licorice, more orange zest, light resin, dried weeds and flowers and some spice, mostly from the alcohol, come out. Complex, but not balanced. FInish is fairly dry and the linger is quite bitter and somewhat biting. This is one of those brews that you can sit and think about things for awhile. You can ponder where the flavors are coming from and where are they going, both from a time and temperature sort of thing. Will this be better in a month, or perhaps a year; or is it one that is just going to be as good now as ever? Hell if I know, I’m drinking beer. Enjoy it and shut up.