Malts: Pilsner & pale malt Hops: Warrior and Amarillo [Yakima Valley, Washington State USA], Cascade Yeast: Top fermenting yeast from Orval Trappiste Brewery Very fresh and hoppy in the nose and on the palate - ideal "complex" summer refresher with an amazing array of fruity-citrusy notes
Beer Ratings and Reviews:
[1] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (12/4/2007 9:05:37 PM)
"Pours with an initially quite frothy, three-finger thick, pale off-white colored head that leaves some nice lacing on the sides of my tulip glass & even recedes with some structured peaking to it. As I pour the brew a touch of light struck hop scent reaches my nose, nothing too bad & hopefully it will dissipate. My hope is confirmed when I finally get to exploring the aroma of this brew; it has a solid grassiness to it (influenced by both hop and pale grains), a fruity citrus character (lychee, apricot, candied tangelo peel) and a nice pale grain driven character of biscuits, fresh crushed soda crackers and an appetizing bread-like aroma. This has a really nice appetizing aroma; I really like the mix of the bread-like malt aromatics (the dominant note perhaps), grassy hop / grain notes and the soft, yet persistent super hop fruit character.
Light feeling as it hits the tongue & it has a nice, prickly, slight foamy carbonation to it. Quite dry tasting, but just a touch of sweetness that seems to be accentuated by the fruity hop notes. A nice, substantial pale malt character builds in intensity as it moves towards a dry, biscuit-like / soda cracker grain character that lingers on in the finish. Oh yeah, it is pretty hoppy too. A persistent, mouth coating bitterness is noticeable from the get go & it lingers on into a long, biting finish. While quite dry, some of the fruit / citrus notes characteristic of the American hops definitely still come through; flavors of kumquats, aromatic, dried apricots, piquant Curacao orange zest and tangelo peel are all noticeable. There is also a grassy undercurrent that is accentuated by both the malt and hop usage. The yeast character supplies a light tartness, some esters / phenolics that definitely accentuates the grassy notes in the beer, a sort of cotton-mouth thing ; really this seems like a nice rustic Saison-type yeast here, though at times it can be hard to pick it out.
This beer is very drinkable, the 750ml bottle just seems to be disappearing. I could perhaps wish for a little more yeast complexity, but really the ample hop & great malt character wouldn't come through nearly as well."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $0 Unit Cost: $0 per Pint
[2] Review by Phil B from Gatineau, Canada who has tried this beer once. (11/14/2007 1:08:01 PM)
"Bottle: Poured a hazy beige color ale with a large foamy off-white head with some good retention and some lacing. Aroma of dry Belgian malt with some dry hops taste is dominated by some dry malt base with some floral and grassy hops. Body is pretty full with some average carbonation. Overall, this is an interesting take on a very interesting beer (Orval) but I thought it was slightly too dry and missing some funk to be truly great."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.5)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[3] Review by eaglefan538 from DE, USA who has tried this beer once. (8/4/2007 1:09:53 AM)
"Draft: Deep golden-yellow in color, nice generous white head, solid lacing. The aroma was very pilsner like, pils malts noticeable first and foremost, grass, lemon grass, and bready aspects. The flavor was pils malts, fruity esters, lemon grass, grass, doughy malts, and funky yeast byproducts. Mouthfeel was full, the highpoint of the beer. While the complexity was there and I can see why others would appreciate this, it was a bit too unmelded for me, I didn't like the way the flavors came together, and I'm not fond of the higher emphasis of pilsner-like qualities in my Belgian ales. to each his own."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.5)
Sampled: Forced Draught
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[4] Review by oh6gdx from Vaasa, Finland who has tried this beer once. (7/12/2007 2:20:07 AM)
"Hazy yellow colour, mediumsized white head. Aroma is barnyard with some yeasty and fruity hints. Flavour is sour fruits, yeast and some hops. Quite ok brew, but I didn't get that excited about it. "
Aroma:
6/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by Vac from San Diego, California, USA who has tried this beer once. (11/15/2005 9:38:31 AM)
"Pours with a pale yellow body topped by a thick, creamy head with lots of lacing. It’s sweet and yeasty with a light fruitiness, a light floral note and a little grassiness. Light to medium bodied and dry."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.8)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
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