Troubadour Magma

Brouwerij The Musketeers
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Ursel, Belgium

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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This one is from the Peoria, Illinois International Beer Festival. Due to lack of space when drinking, my notes won’t be that great on these beers. Not typically a IPA fan but, this one was pretty good. Didn’t have that licking a pine tree finish.

on tap, pours a orange yellow dense and cloudy. Heavy oil and bread in nose. much the same in taste with full body and hop overtones of spice given flowers and some orange peel. Big bready kick to back up alc of 9.3% but not a traditional belgian yeast. More of a Northwest american feel to it. Not bad at all but not all the ingredients lined up just right, maybe on the malt end of things. Lingering dry finish of light grain and soft hop bitterness.

Small head, lasts medium long. Aroma of apricots and coriander. Very nice carbonation which makes the beer taste somewhat lighter. Well balanced hop, coriander and apricot taste.

11.2 oz bottle. I question whether or not this beer should be in the dipa category (as opposed to tripel, or Belgian strong ale), but nether the less, it a solid, hoppy, fruity, bready ale. Pours with a large pillowy cream white head, clumpy lacing, a medium opaque body and deep burnt orange in color. The nose is slightly boozy, with a fair amount of sharp mixed fruity esters. Also, some softer notes of raisons, pine, and yeasty, nutty cookies. The feel is quite bitter with a mild fruity acidity. It is also surprisingly balanced with a nice, sweet and grainy component settling under the sharper notes, making this quite drinkable for the abv. Fruity notes in the start, with melons, berries, and raisons. Prominent piney hops come out right after and proceed through the finish. Grainy bread and mixed nuts in there as well. Mixed mild citrus bitterness along with the pine and fruit through the finish. Overall, this was a quality Belgian ale with a decent amount of really things going for it.

Bottle 330 ml. Pours orange-amber with a thick creamy white head. Aroma: fruits (apricots), citrus (slight pineapple), hops and malt. Taste: well balanced. Slight bitterness. Malty sweetness. Palate: medium bodied, creamy texture. Overall: very refreshing. Maybe lacks a little bitterness. A very nice one!

Pours a cloudy amber with a big offwhite head, and some interesting lacing. Smells sweet, of mango, other citrus, some caramel, and flowers. Tastes a heavy sweet, with a mild bitter, but strong hop presence, with some spice. Medium bodied. Medium, active carbonation. Finishes with a sweet citrus and a hint of lingering spice. Pretty good.

Unclear amber with a off white lasting head. Strong citrus and caramel nose, some yeasty notes. Flavourwise is densely sweet & bitter. Nothing new under the sun.

.3l draft pours a light orange color with a creamy white head. Aromas of light hops, belgian yeast and banana. Medium mouthfeel that is creamy with a slightly bitter finish.

UPDATED: FEB 26, 2013 33cl bottle at local Belgian bar. Very hoppy. Pours slightly hazy yellow with white head. Aroma of citrus and floral and hops.

12oz(?) bottle served in a tulip. Pour is a hazy, pale orange with three fingers of slightly off-white pillowy foam on top; retention is good with this brew and the show of lacing is a very pretty crown. Nose is rock candy, oranges, bananas, Belgian yeast, cloves, and definitive bready/caramel malt. Taste is orange rinds, figs, hops, perfume, and yeast which leads into a sweat caramel malt finish that still holds resinous hop notes. I wasn’t sure what to expect from a Belgian triple IPA, but this was quite good. Unlike American versions, this doesn’t deliver a hop overload, but the hops are definitely identifiable from start to finish.