t Smisje Wostyntje

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Belgian Ale
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Had this a BJ’s Winter Ale Fest. Beer poured murky dark-gold color with a small, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing head. The aroma is intriguing: moderately sweet with a malty note of caramel, moderately hoppy with apricot and flowers and curious with miscellaneous notes of prune, green apple, candy sugar and—I swear—baby powder. The flavor was moderately sweet, lightly bitter and lightly acidic with an average-length, heavily sweet, lightly bitter finish. The palate was quite pleasing—one of those that lifts all of the other qualities onto a new level. The body was medium, the texture was velvety and the carbonation was crazy fizzy. I couldn’t detect any mustard seeds anywhere, but there may have been a touch of spicy heat in the finish, although it was too hard to determine that around all of the carbonation. I will revisit this one again for sure.

11.2-oz. I’m grading this primarily as a food beer. As a thirst quencher/sipper, I can’t argue too much with the 3.0 rating it’s been averaging. As a food beer, though, it’s got some assertive tang to it that, with the carbonation, would really cleanse the palate beautifully of fatty roast meat and stuff like that. Pours a hazy light amber with tons of vigorously rising carb. Dense, creamy platinum blonde head. Plenty of lace. Tangy, floral mustard and mustard greens nose--very much a botanical scent. How I know this is beyond me; I don’t sniff a lot of mustard in different contexts. Creamy medium body with brightly assertive carb. Lemon and blackberry are an excellent description of the mid-palate; they carry along and then a nice dark brown mustard note takes effect. Long mustardy finish. This is a very promising food beer, but, that said, I don’t know how interested I am in finishing this.

Bottle from Utobeer. Mustard beer! Skeptical at first, but pleasantly surprised. Whoda thunk this marriage would work? Hazy amber in colour with white head. Typical Belgian nose with sweet hints of mustard and honey - like dijon. Taste of wholegrain mustard and malts. Minimal bitterness and salty finish. I really like it. More than just a novelty.

bottle, pours hazy orange with a medium off white head. Heavy aroma of dried granny apple, apricot and yeast. Light malt and a sweet and sour fruity element that fades to a nice dry hop and what I think is the mustard seed. Actually quite nice, as most Regenboog beers are. Lots of complexity and enough going on to keep it interesting, yet very easy to drink.

Danke, ajm. Pours a light golden color from the bottle with a faint white head. You can smell the spicy mustard in this beer from across the room. That said, it’s potent and aggressive with a variety of peppers, apricot, and possibly blood. Would definitley be amazing with sausage.

Sample @ BBF ’08, Boston. Pours a deep orange color with a small off-white head. Aroma is mustard seeds with earthy hops and clove detectable as well. Taste is a solid base of yeast and malt with a nice mustard seed finish. Quite a unique beer, and I enjoyed it.

11.2 oz. bottle, consumed on 1-19-09. This bottle probably had at about 2 years of age on it, maybe more. Appetizing, complex, intriguing, tart, yeasty, floral aroma of apple juice, dust, chalk, white grape juice, honey, and yellow plum. Smells like a musty tripel. Pours a bright, dark gold to bronze color. Moderate amount of eggshell-colored head. Effervescent; tons of bubbles. I poured half of the beer out at first and the second half after I had consumed the first half. The first half poured mostly clear with some haze. The second half was cloudy and milky with a lot of suspended particulate and looked like apple cider. White wine, white vinegar, and white grape juice flavors. Dry, tart, and fruity. The taste is not as complex as the aroma. Not particularly spicy or mustardy. Medium body. The palate effects are not remarkable. I was a little worried about the mustard, but Wostyntje was in no way offensive and actually pretty good.

11oz Bottle: Pours a cloudy honeyish orange with a vanishing fizzy tan head. Sweet Belgian malt aroma, banana like yeastyness, clove and a hint of candi sugar. The flavor is slightly tart and acidic with a sour/spicy hint reminiscent of mustard (duh). It remind me of sweet and sour sauce with the spicy flavors clashing with the sweet maltyness. Slightly fruity with some sour apple notes, spicy apricots and a malt driven finish. An interesting and unique brew, not bad.