De Proefbrouwerij Signature Ale

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Big thanks to Old Mr. Crow for this one. 750 ml bottle. The pour is turbid deep golden with 2-fingers of off-white head and great lacing. This one looks great. The nose is very complex; floral, spicy, malty, with white pepper, limey citrus, rock sugar, honey-dipped peaches, hops, cobwebby yeast, mild Bretty funk. Amazing aroma that I sniffed for minutes. The taste is floral, fruity, with spicy peppery hints, some limey citrus, hops, tangerine, Bretty funk, and earthy yeast. Stays semi-dry, and acquires more funky, spicy, yeasty, and peppery notes as it warms, while never losing the fruit and citrus. With a little age, I have no doubt this would be a perfecto robusto.

Bottle massive thanks to the cheeseman for this one, at home with mesandsim. First batch i believe. Aroma is bursting with Brett, like it basically just spells like Orval, small peppery character, floural and sharp. Its well tasty stuff, earthy hop softness with the sharpness of the brett makes it incredibly drinkable.

This stuff is amazing. Barnyard funk + hoppiness - the sour flavor. Quite possibly the perrfect mix of Belgian and IPA.

Pours out hazy golden ale with white creamy head. Nice fruity floral notes. Hoppy with a sweet slightly spicey finish. A very nice hoppy saison.

Appearance is of rich amber hue. A fair amount of head protects the magic inside. The nose brings fresh doughy intro that follows with toasted grain mash. I do miss the hops though. This Belgian made collaboration has a solid malt backbone with plenty of residual sugar. The yeast does have its chance to make a statement as well but much more subdued The hops show up to clean the palate and leave their mark leaving me longing for another sweet malty sip to start anew. Overall a very balanced collaboration that speaks both old and new world beer.

Golden pour with a beige head thats lingers. Aroma is spice, citrus hops, bread, turmeric, brett and funk! Wet socks and fruit. Flavor is soft rounded malt with golden raisins, citrus rind hop, wheat, candy sugar, lemons, sour red apple and something I can’t name. Carbonation is high enough to carry the sweet malt. The beer is both sweet and sour. This beer is truly unique with a luscious flavor that I can’t peg but I truly enjoy. Very high drinkability.

UPDATED: JUN 8, 2008 The 750 ml. bomber holding the beer was silk screened with a lot of information about the making of this joint effort. When poured into a Duvel tulip, this one looked decent but not great. The golden color, and the large head were nice, but the chill haze was a bit heavy. The smell was quite a bit like a Saison with hops and wildness coming together for an inviting bouquet. The taste was a great marriage of two bold and proud traditions. The hops were immediately noticeable like they would be in a bright American IPA, but the malt content was quite a bit higher, and the unique dry and sour flavors that come only from Belgian Yeast and Brettanomyces were vying for attention. The finish was spicy like white pepper. The body was medium thick and satisfying in its sticky consistency. Another proof that addition of more hops is almost never a bad thing.

Bottle. Poured a cloudy amber. The nose was of typical belgian yeast. Very interesting flavors. Some hop notes, a bit of ginger maybe, but the malt backbone is what I really loved about this beer. Just a delicious balance of flavors, with nice carbonation. Excellent beer.