Urthel Parlus Magnificum (was: Vlaemse Bock)

Brouwerij De Leyerth
Brewed at De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Ruiselede, Belgium

Deep ruby, large rocky head with excellent lacing and phenominal retention. Aroma is fruity with caramel and light spices. Flavor brings, this a smooth sweetness and a medium body. Not a huge blast of flavor, but what is here is kickass. I was expecting much worse.

Bottle. Rich dark caramel color with a nice tan head. Rich toffee/malt aroma with earthy spice. caramel/toffee flavor with earth and spice. Lingering caramel with earth and spice. Yes, it’s the same thing throughout, but it’s not bad.

At the 2007 Big Beer, Belgians, & Barleywines Festival in Vail. Pours brown with an off white to beige head. Thick enjoyable caramel and chocolate flavors, but the remarkable thing is the long drying finish with interesting aromatics at the end.

75 cl. labled Urthel Vlaemse Bock (from Ledger’s Liquors): Aromas of darkness, fruit underlaid by malt. Color varies with angle of light; some beautiful cherry can be seen. The beige head goes away, leaving a bit of lacing. Starts with a fruity cherry flavor, the sweetness is more from fruit than malt (so it seems). Light chocolate rises. The sweetness is not sticky. Post swallow the impression is one of astringic dryness. There is yeast, but it does not get in the way of the fruit and chocolate. This is neat, complex stuff. Each sip seems to rearrange the order of flavor appearance. Very entertaining.

From a caged corked 750 ml. bottle with an upside down back label with a (coded?) freshness date I couldn’t read. Sampled at cellar temperature in a chalice. Poured a reddish hued brown with a foamy, creamy fluffy head that settled into a thin, tiny bubbly lacing, minimal amount of ringed laced sticking. Aromas of Milky American chocolate and sweet caramelized malts, honey, spicy, Belgian yeasty, and a subtle herbal hoppiness. Good steady carbonation and a crisp, dryish, velvety smooth medium-light bodied mouthfeel. I really like the combination of the Belgian yeast and German malts and Saaz hops, a unique taste, light milkiness meshed with honey, caramel and toffee malts, spicy bready yeast, a soft sour fruitiness, a mild herbal spicy hoppiness with just enough bitterness to cut some of the sweetness, the alcohol is pretty restrained and provides a slow warming presence in the back of the throat, and a dry yeasty, malty finish. For me, easy, smooth drinkability, very enjoyable, new to my area, I will be buying this again.

NorCal tasting Jan 07 - What an outstanding beer. This has all the excellent qualities that I love about beer. The aroma was dark malts, dark cherries, fruity, raisiny and inviting. It just begs you to drink it. The appearance reminded me of a deep cherrywood color, with a nice off-white head. A lively mouthfeel, perfectly conditioned. The flavor had a perfect balance of grassy hops, cherries, raisins and dark malts. Excellent.

Pours a dark bronze amber color w/ a full semi cremy froth the recedes slowly to a few clumps w/ lacing. Aroma is slightly sour w/ clean sweet malts and biscuits. Medium nectar w/ mellow residual effers creates a refined squeaky texture. This is like a Flemish sour meets German Bock. It’s very Belgian in look and feel. Mildly sweet malts carrying a defined tartness. Licorice, fig, glazed caramel, black cherry, dried plumb. As she warms more cocoa, creamed coffee, and leather show up. Alcohol is noticable but not distracting. Finish is bittered only slightly. It’s a unique brew worth a try.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown body with good size head, great looking beer. Aroma is of yeast and candied sugar, currants, malt. Flavor is sweet with a little alcohol kick. Intresting beer. Enjoyed it.