St. Sebastiaan Golden

Brewed by Brouwerij Moortgat
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium

Though a little pricey, the St. Sebastiaan comes with an unbeatable insurance policy. Dislike the beer? Keep the bottle. Classy and classic, this earthenware jug is perfect for home infused olive oils. It is still my hope, however, that it is a good beer too. Double down on the investment. Almost immediately after popping the cork my thoughts begin to drift to thyme infused olive oil. That’s because the rubber stopper released with not so much as a peep. Just a shallow exhale that loudly proclaims that the beer was "Loose and gone bad." What I call the street walker syndrome. My fears are confirmed when the pour finishes without a single bubble. Not even an inkling of a semisphere. Flat as puddle water. The body is a matching rust-water colored body and in the most displeasing of ways. The smell is more forgiving, somehow spared the atrophy of time and decay, much like the miraculously preserved bodies of ancient Chinese nobles that get dug up now and again. Creamed honey, sweet raspberry preserves and dark, but cheap and commercial chocolate flow from the dead still surface of the beer. I also catch milder sweets: toffee and peanut brittle. A shame that the beer is long since dead. I risk a taste. Offensive. The taste is similar to sewer water, and I am reminded that despite the Siren call of the aroma, this beer is veritably necrotic. A quick elegy, requiem, prayer and drain later the deed is done, but I can’t help but want to come back to this just for the vestigial smell of what this charming jug of beer tasted like in better days.

Pours a hazy amber, particulate/sediment is clearly visible. Had a huge head. Aroma was a nice fruity hoppy mix. The flavour is of alcohol, but the fruity notes balance it nicely, masking the bitterness of the alcohol. The overall flavour wasn’t as complex as I’d hoped, but still as nice brew.

Bottled (Grand Cru). Golden colour, not much head. Aroma is fruity, yeasty and also has some glueish alcohol in it. Flavour is a sting of alcohol, some fruits, grass, sweetmalts and mild notes of honey.

Bottled as "Grand Cru" (BB 10/2010)
Slightly hazy yellow color, small white head. Grassy and fruity (pear, mango) nose. Dry mouthfeel. A bit fruity (mango, peach), some grassy hops. Simple. But bottle is pretty.

Bottle 50 cl. Clear golden color, with thick white head. Aroma bit citrus, sweet (honey) notes, malts. Medium body. Taste fruits, malts, good hopsbitterness. Like it.

the beer pours a yellowish brown with no head. It has the aroma of bubble gum beligan yeast and a bit of pear and apple. It also has a little bit of bubble gum taste with a bit of honey on the palate and a bit of hay. A little undercarbonated.

Pours with a large, rocky head. Weak lacing covers the hazy yellow body. Sweet berry aroma with honey and some plastic and juniper. Tastes like a watered down Tripel with its spiceyness and then the yeastiness and bittereness. Fizzy, fizzy mouthfeel!

Golden in color with a decent white head. Smells of spices, yeast, and sweet malts. Taste has fruitiness and malts. Some alcohol warmth.