Viven Imperial IPA

Brouwerij van Viven
Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Sijsele, Belgium

Serve in Shaker, Snifter

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330ml bottle. Wow. Big bold orange colour with a level beige crown of foam. Looks great and smells greater with those full floral ,herby hop aromas busting out of the glass. Some citrus on the palate with a creamy velvet mouthfeel and a long strong finish. Brilliant.

Masterpiece, full marks for me. On tap at biero. Aromas of grass, caramel, oak, bread, and anisette. Taste has perferct balance, with a sweet start being controlled by nice bitterness. Palate is full bodied and sirupy. Amber, cloudy, with a frothy white white head.

Le vivier de ce Viven est intarissable. Cet imperial IPA est une bière, comment dire, royale... Déjà l’étiquette à la Wanted US sur papier kraft. Puis les 8 % abv affiché pour entrer dans le sérieux. Couleur très particulière entre le roux clair et l’abricot mûr. Clarté nette mais la couleur donne l’impression d’un tout léger voile, très joli d’ailleurs. Bulles pas très nombreuses, mais jolie mousse beige moyen à beaux flocons. Arômes de fraises, cerises bigarreau, pamplemousse rose et zeste d’orange. Volume doux mais structuré de la 1ère bouche, qui ouvre sur le pamplemousse accompagné de houblons fleuris/fruités du type Colombus. Arrière-bouche bien fraîche, marquée en haut du palais par une épice. 2ème bouche superbe sur des épices d’Orient, et du malt caramel qui arrive après. 3ème bouche pleine de finesse, élégance et pourtant avec une grande puissance des éléments aromatiques. Avec un côté doo wop qui est très plaisant. La longueur offre des prises de bouche de plus en plus prégnantes, de grandes saveurs, nous amenant à des impressions de grande classe. La levure est fleurie et superbe. L’alcool est comme on a dit sérieux, et remplit son rôle à merveille. La finale nous amène à regretter d’avoir encore si peu de gorgées de superbe breuvage. Tout est ici à son apothéose : arômes, saveurs, douceur … Voilà donc bien un nouveau chef d’oeuvre de ce brasseur par la Proefbrouwerij. Une bière qui va en montant, avec beaucoup d’originalité et de classe.

Large white head, hoppy nose. Copper colour. Taste is bitter and lingering. A great example of an IPAD.

33 CL bottle from Dranken Geers in Oostakker. Nice copper/amber body with large rocky off white head. Soft citrus hops aroma. Lightly sweet, long lasting and bitter taste of citrus hops. *****

Muy buena! Una combinación perfecta entre el estilo belga y el americano que recoge lo mejor de ambos.

This Belgian take on the double IPA almost makes me forget I’m not in Cali anymore. Almost. Excellent job from a small brewery in West-Flanders, Belgium. Thank you for bringing me a bit of taste of home.

The recipe from the first kegged Bruges Beer Fest version has been slightly changed . It has become stronger towards an 8 vol% strength, which should make this IPA more leaning towards the wonderful US Double IPA style. Also, more American Simcoe hops are inserted, which gives a darker beer and more American hop characteristics. An additional bottle refermentation will give more flavours and complexity. It pours nicely dark golden orange, and slightly hazy. The foam is kinda beige with a subtle green shine. Already when nosing I notice the typical American grapefruit alike hop flavours. Fruity, fresh, citric, grapefruit, flowers. Memories of past US visits immediatly revive. Folks, this is a PERFECT US West-Coast double IPA clone! Tasting only confirms this statement. I taste citric Simcoe hops. Tomahawk also, and more US hop varieties. Very pleasant is the balance between sweet and hop bitter. Not too sweet, but in perfect harmony. Note that this hop monster is still about 124 IBU bitter! This is to be called extreme. Tasting also gives a nice carbonation tingling, great body, and satisfying depth. A beer to taste with care. 8 vol% is quite strong, and it really doesn’t feel that strong when drinking. This is because the beer is such a fruity experience all together. Only after finishing the glass for a while, the alcohol is clearly present :) The after taste is a complete hoppy citric sensation. Quite equal when finishing grapefruit. It gives a pleasant fruity citric bitter long lasting lingering.

Wow. The smooth character is really great. Billed as an imperial IPA. I guess it is for the alcohol content and not the overwhelming hops. Smooth honey sweetness and aroma throughout. Perfect color orange/red. Nobody makes beers like the Belgium brewers.

Botlled, 330ml picked up at Banbury Beer Fest ’10. Deep amber with white head. There is a lovely fruity aroma to this, citrusy and fresh, this leads to a gorgeous rich malty body carrying heady, sharp, drying hops. Grapefruit, gooseberry and lemon peel, lip smacking, really very good indeed. Loved this and would definitely try to get hold of it again.