Urthel Hop-it

Brouwerij De Leyerth
Brewed at De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ruiselede, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Gotta love the labels from Urthel. That little bearded gnome just nails me every time, making me feel a wee bit childish for being such a sucker for tacky comic-like marketing ploys. Pours a hazy orange body with a dense, white head and lots of floaties. Looks very inviting to me. Smell is very hoppy, with elements of grass, hay, fruit and faint yeasty tones. Taste is floral hops; one can definitely taste the generosity with which a range of hops have been deployed into this brew. Nice balanced bitterness which lasts towards the finish help counteract the otherwise molasses-like light malt sweetness which is abound in Urthel Hop-It. Very drinkable palate, with the alcohol just enough present to make it a bit interesting and to warn you of the (relatively) high ABV. Perhaps all the lovely hops could’ve been even a bit more present in the frontlines of the taste, but all in all a nice strong ale for those late summer evenings.

UPDATED: MAY 24, 2010 Cloudy apricot color with a small film of a head. Very fine esters are suspended in the body. The aroma is very bright Belgian yeast with citrus and spices. Some bread is also detectable. Very nice flavor. It’s very tripel-like, with fruity hops and a clean, significantly bitter finish. Very well balanced, with soft, floating body, and equally soft carbonation.

Színe opálos arany, habja kemény, tejszínes, mely alig akar összeesni és vastagon megmarad, szénsavassága igen élénk, pezsgő. Illata virágos, gyümölcsös, picit fűszeres. Csípősen indul, íze gyümölcsös, aromája erőteljesen komlós, nagyon kellemes, betelíti a szájat. Befejezése enyhén fűszeres és igencsak kiszárítja a szájpadlást ill. az alkohol is melenget, de szerencsére nem lóg ki, emiatt nagyon jól itatja magát, és mire az ember észbe kap, már alig-alig maradt valami a pohárban. Ezek mellett, kiegyensúlyozott, kerek, összességében remek ser, szerintem.

Appearance: Poured an orange tinted, deep golden color with an intense, vivid, small bubbles and a dense yeast sediments. Quite thick and stable head for the abv content.
Aroma: Fresh flowery, fruity hop character with a distinct lilac or elderberry character. Some sweet honeyish, dried-apricot maltiness shines through the hop oils.
Flavor: A fresh lighter fruity and elderberry initial flavor smoothly peaked to a dry grapefruity and a peppery, asparagus hop bitterness. A limited candi sweetness at the mid palate.
Mouthfeel/Palate: Medium to full bodied. Lively carbonated, oily texture with a dry hop profile.
Overall: Another interesting european IPA hybrid with an apparent saaz hoppy character. Nice one!

American golden ale aroma; gold color, white head. Golden ale tast with a nice earthy-hop finish.

Sápadt és ködös aranysárga színe van,aminek a tetején egy laza de tetemes mennyiségű hab keletkezik ahogy a poharunkba töltjük.Ez a hab szépen lassan esik össze,a tulipánunk falára csipke függönyt ragasztva.Elsősorban az élesztő kiabál erősen amikor először beleszagolunk, amihez csatlakozik egy kis virágos komló és egy adag savanykás szőlő.Fanyarnak és gyümölcsösnek tűnik az első korty,ami után jön egy elképesztő gyantás,komlós és fenyőrügyes kesernyésség,ami gyakorlatilag szinte összerántja az állkapcsomat.Érezni benne fűszert is bőségesen,fehér bors,koriander és talán keserű üröm.Az alkoholt is elég markánsan érezni benne.Rendesen elvan látva buborékkal,csak úgy csiklandozzák a kesernyésségtől lebénult nyelvünket ez az olajos ital.Utóíze rendkívül száraz és gyümölcsösen,hosszan cseng le.Ez bármilyen durva vacsora után szétcsapja a zsírt a gyomrunkba az biztos.A mosolygós szakállas manó belül egy kegyetlen vadállat,ez bebizonyosodott!Nincs az a nehéz étel,amivel ne birkózna meg,még ha ezt egy kicsit durván is csinálja!

Bottle: Before I start this review, let me say the last time I drunk this I had a bottle that was 3 months over preservability date. The beer was truly affected in a negative way and this is the first time I had a beer that turned bad after being served only 3 months after the preservability date passed. I like to add both reviews here in one: No foam. Smells like hops and cleaning stuff. Color is slightly hazy orange. Taste is very flat/stale (truly affected by his/her own preservability date), further I taste some rotten fruits and hazy hops. There’s no carbon dioxide. just to make sure, never get this one when it has passed his/her preservability date! When I tasted a good one of this beer, this is what I had to say: Pretty big white foamy head. Very nice orange/golden color. Smell is a nice mix of hops, fruits and spices. Taste is again a mix of hops (yellow) fruits and some spices. Pretty bitter aftertaste which results pretty well because of a pretty well balanced beer. Had so many Belgian strong ales, that this one is more or less just another one, absolutely not bad at all, but there are better!

Hay color with a prominent hop aroma that melds with a hint of yeast. Slightly syrupy on the palate, but kept in balance by its effervescence. Paired with its sweetness is the barrage of hops that somehow works. An excellent beer.