Author: dpatrickryan

Brasserie du Bocq La Gauloise Blonde Belgian Pale Ale at 6.3% ABV (€3.50 at Belgian Beer Tradition Rue au Buerre Bruxelles, 330 ml, best before 15-Jul-2016)

Pours slightly hazy pale straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Nose is pithy citrus, wheat, bready yeast, light coriander and tropical fruit. (7/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter and tart. (6/10) Medium body tending to the watery, lively to moderate carbonation, off dry finish. (3/5)

A nice refreshing BPA – bright and mildly tart, with nicely balanced bitter and malty sweetness. The ABV never really enters into the profile, and isn’t high enough to interfere with the refreshment value. Pleasant, if a bit on the boring side. (14/20)

My 172nd from the 2010 Edition (retired from the 2013 edition), and 182nd combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

De Dolle Brouwers Stille Nacht Belgian Strong Pale Ale at 12% ABV (€5.60 at Belgian Beer Tradition Rue au Buerre Bruxelles, 330 ml, 2014 vintage)

Pours cloudy pale gold with a short, short-lived white head, minimal lacing. (3/5) Nose is boozy dark fruit, candi sugar, spices, green apple. (6/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, mild tart. (6/10) Medium slightly oily body, moderate to low carbonation, lingering boozy finish. (3/5)

Well, subtle this isn’t – nor is it light, refreshing, or any of the other adjectives one normally associates with the beers of spring. No, this is very firmly a winter beer – one appropriate for lighting a fire in your belly as you gingerly sip it during the long cold months of torpor. And at a beefy 12%, there’s fire aplenty. I don’t say this often, but this might be too emphatic a beer – a little more even-handedness and balance would go a long way here. Still pretty good, mind you… (12/20)

My 173rd from the 2010 Edition (163rd from the 2013 edition), and 183rd combining both editions.

6/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Beer Project Brussels Grosse Bertha Hefeweizen at 7% ABV (€4.20 on Thalys, 330 ml, best before 1-Dec-2016)

Pours hazy pale straw with one finger of white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is banana, clove, yeast, herbal and floral. (6/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (6/10) Light bodied, lively to moderate carbonation, semisweet moderate duration finish with a mild alcohol warming. (3/5)

Neither fish nor fowl – it’s got characteristics of both hefes and tripels, making it a little tough to characterise. More importantly, that tends to make it a little muddled: the banana and clove are of course pure hefeweizen, but structurally it’s a bit more like a tripel. The styles do tend to be somewhat complementary, though, so I guess it’s really not all that radical an experiment. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

De Dolle Brouwers Oerbier Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 9% ABV (€5.20 at Belgian Beer Tradition Rue au Buerre Bruxelles, 330 ml, best before Dec 2016)

Pours clear medium amber with two fingers plus of fluffy light tan head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is dark boozy fruit (dates and raisins), caramel malt, brown sugar, green apple, other stone fruits. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild tart, very light bitter. (8/10) Medium body, prickly carbonation, medium duration finish with a little lingering alcohol warming. (4/5)

Quite a nice BSDA, if a bit on the pricey side for where I got it. Very mild considering the beefy ABV, almost sherry-like and quite good for sipping. Almost feels like there’s a little brett in there contributing to the mild tartness, but it’s quite restrained. Sweetness is similarly restrained, and kept well in check by the pleasantly prickly carbonation. Certainly much better than the amateurish label might have you expecting, and having read their writeup, I’d like to cellar some for future experimentation. (16/20)

My 169th from the 2010 Edition (160th from the 2013 edition), and 179th combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux Abbey Tripel at 9.5% ABV (€6.50 at Belgian Beer Tradition Rue au Buerre Bruxelles, 330 ml, best before Dec 2019)

Pours slightly hazy pale straw with two fingers of rocky white head, excellent retention and lacing. (5/5) Nose is complex: floral and herbal, lemon, pine, dank, cheese, vinous notes. (8/10) Taste is mild to moderate sweet, mild bitter and tart. (8/10) Medium body, lively carbonation, medium duration finish with a little lingering alcohol warming. (4/5)

Quite happy to get my hands on a relatively limited release beer like this for my 1000th unique on Untappd. Interesting and complex, with a flavour profile that compares to wilds or spontanales, but the strong Dupont yeast character keeps things in line. The vinous notes make it seem like champagne to toast my (dubious) accomplishment. Cheers! (16/20)

My 170th from the 2010 Edition (161st from the 2013 edition), and 180th combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie de la Senne Stouterik Stout at 4.5% ABV (€5.10 at Belgian Beer Tradition Rue au Buerre Bruxelles, 330 ml, best before Dec 2019)

Pours nearly opaque ruby brown with one finger of rocky tan head, good retention and patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is coffee, cocoa, mild floral and citrusy hops, bready yeast. (7/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, low carbonation, slightly oily texture, short and semi crisp/slightly sticky finish (4/5)

It’s actually been a surprisingly long time since I’ve done a straight up, no (additional) adjectives dry Irish stout. No, it’s not a double, or an RIS, or an American – it’s  stout: done. Is it good? Yes. Great? Mmm… p’raps, p’raps not. Worth drinking? Hell yes. Worth five euros? Well… we’re back into p’raps/not territory. I have to say, I do consider myself an aficionado of Brasserie de la Senne products, though. (14/20)

My 171st from the 2010 Edition (162nd from the 2013 edition), and 181st combining both editions.

7/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij Lindemans Lindemans Apple (Pomme) Lambic Style – Fruit at 3.5% ABV (€2.00 at Carrefour Express Grand Place, 375 ml, best before 4-Feb-2017)

Pours hazy pale straw with a fat finger of white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is strongly dominated by slightly artificial apple juice, with faint yeast and caramel. (5/10) Taste is moderately strong sweet, moderate tart, mild bitter. (5/10) Light bodied, moderate carbonation, lingering tart finish. (3/5)

Jolly ranchers. Want to slag it, but really, it’s not that bad. Sweet, sure – but tart enough to stop it from being sickly. Kind of enjoyed it. (12/20)

6/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brouwerij Corsendonk Corsendonk Agnus Abbey Tripel at 7.5% ABV (€1.53 at Carrefour Express Grand Place, 330 ml, best before 9-Apr-2018)

Pours hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is coriander, banana, lemon zest, Belgian yeast, honey. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (8/10) Medium to light bodied, prickly carbonation, dry crisp finish. (4/5)

Really good abbey triple, with nice Belgian character and a crisp dry mouthfeel, and absolutely no indication of the fairly beefy ABV coming through in the nose or on the tongue – this really is the way I like my tripels. And it cost a euro and a half, in a grocery store. Why is it that I don’t I live in Belgium, again? (16/20)

My 166th from the 2010 Edition (157th from the 2013 edition), and 176th combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

Brasserie St-Feuillien / Friart St Feuillien Triple Abbey Tripel at 8.5% ABV (€1.85 at Carrefour Express Grand Place, 330 ml, best before 16-Mar-2017)

Pours hazy pale gold with two fingers of fluffy white head, good retention and lacing. (4/5) Nose is coriander, banana, lemon zest, Belgian yeast, honey. (8/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (8/10) Medium to light bodied, prickly carbonation, dry crisp finish. (4/5)

Another really good abbey triple, complete with the with nice Belgian character and crisp dry mouthfeel I look for. Hard to clearly prefer this over the Corsendonk I tried earlier tonight, but it definitely has a more pronounced ABV – which is not necessarily a negative. And under €2 at a corner grocery store. I think I need to live in Belgium for a bit… (16/20)

My 167th from the 2010 Edition (158th from the 2013 edition), and 177th combining both editions.

8/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com

S.A. Damm Voll Damm Doble Malta Märzen at 7.2% ABV (€3.00 at Varadero Palma, 330 ml, best before 03/16)

Pours clear pale amber with a fat finger of fluffy white head, good retention and moderate patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is corn flakes, caramel malt, faint grassy hops, slight alcohol edge. (5/10) Taste is moderate sweet, mild bitter. (5/10) Medium bodied, off dry medium duration finish. (3/5)

An interesting take on Märzens, with the “double malt” making this in essence an Imperial Pale Lager. Malt definitely dominates the character, but there is some significant hop contribution to at least start to balance that out. The alcohol presence is definite, making it tend a little to the harsh side, but all in all it’ll do on a 30° day on the coast of Mallorca. (10/20)

My 165th from the 2010 Edition (156th from the 2013 edition), and 175th combining both editions.

5/10 #1001beers #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com