Pinkus Organic Hefe Weizen

ABV 5,0 %
500 ml bottle, bought in a bilologic goods shops. Ingredients are water, wheat, barley, hops nad yeast, all organically grown. Poured into a weizen glass.
Much smaller head than the one I was expecting, maybe two fingers in height, white in colour and very froathy in texture. Not much of a retention and no lacing left behind. Average activity in the glass. Colour is very pale yellow, slighty hazy but transparent.
Aroma of citrus fruits mostly, some subtle banana aromas, some clove and yeast. All those combined, give this beer a very nice aroma.
Taste is bubblegum, but again very subtle, also sort of grape-y, as it tastes quite like a white wine. It has a citrus sourness, which makes it very drinkable and refreshing.
Quite carbonated, leaves your palate slighty dry and on the body is medium thin.
Overall, "refreshing" it's the word that describes it best. From the pale look, to the smell, to the light citrus sourness, points on you to drink it on hot summer day, and you won't disappointed when you do.

3.4/5

look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Gouverneur Speciale 140

ABV 5,5%

Bottle of 300 ml, at home, poured into a tulip glass. ABV 5.5%. Ingredients are water, barley, hops and yeast. Bottle fermented. 

Pours a pale golden yellow colour, with a huge head of three fingers in height, unfortunately froathy in texture, so it goes down really really fast, leaving but a thin line around the glass and no lacing whatsoever. Only a bit hazy and little activity in the glass.

Nice fruity and hoppy aroma. Mostly berries aromas, such as white mulberries.

Taste is bitter and quite on the hoppy side.

Medium to thick on the body, average carbonation and dry on the palate.

Very highly drinkable, the low alcohol helps on that and the price was not that high. Will keep it in mind.

3.48/5

look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Trio Brouwerij Extra Stout

ABV 7,2%

  Small bottle of 330 ml, poured into a snifter. Ingredients are water, barley and hops. I got it in the Netherlands where it's actually made, although on the label says that is imported by a company in Suriname. Blank crown cap, no brand or anything written on it.Smell is  sweet from the bottle.
  Pours a totally black coloured beer, with half finger of beige head, with low retention. Also, no lacing left behind. I expected the head to be a bit more creamy and with better retention. Another, more hard pour gave me two fingers of head this time, with slighty better retention and better lacing. Let's just assume I didn't pour it right the first time.
  Smell is weird, sour but also sweet at the same time. Reminds me of a sort of very sweet red wine. Some toffee and dark chocolate aromas.
  I get this feeling on the taste too. It's mostly sweet, with only slight sour traces. Alcohol only on the aftertaste and even then, not so much. Good. Light flavour of roasted malts also.
  Average thickness and light carbonation. Very dry on the palate.

 Nice beer, easily drinkable. but that's because it's a bit flat. Some more thickness and carbonation would do this beer good.

3.33/5

look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Texels Bock

ABV 7%

After a visit at Texel island a couple a years ago, I came back with a selection of beers from the Texels brewery and this one was one of the best amongst them. I got it again this year and I realized I hadn't written a review, so here it is.

300 ml bottle, poured into a snifter. Bottle fermented.

Pours a very dark ruby colour, almost brown, with two fingers of thick, creamy head, beige in colour and with excellent retention. Some light lacing is being left at first around the glass.

Smell of caramel, roasted malts and dark chocolate. If you smell hard enough you get an alcohol smell too.

Taste is slighty sweet at first, then turning into a softly bitter taste, leaving on the aftertaste flavours of biter chocolate and caramel.

Full body and as much carbonation as needed.

A grea beer, I can see why it keeps winning "best bock beer" prize in the Netherlands.

3.9/5

look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bavaria Hooghe Bock

ABV 6,5%

300 ml bottle, at home. Poured into my snifter glass. Ingredients are water, barley, wheat and hops. 

Pours a dark ruby coloured beer, a couple of tones paler than other bocks I had recently but still, very beautiful. One and a half fingers of beige head, with very good retention. Some very light lacing left behind on the glass, where the foam has touched it.

Very strong aroma of caramel and roasted malts, then some toffee.

On the taste is sweet in general, with slighty bitter aftertaste. At first caramel and dark fruits, then a faint taste of dark bitter chocolate.

Thin to medium on the body and very dry on the palate. Carbonation is average.

Nice beer, easily drinkable, maybe a bit too sweet for a bock.

3.43/5

look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Finkbrau Pils

I had crashed this one when I first reviewed it. Now, with my palate slighty more extended and a proper presentation, things were not so dramatically different, but at least, significally improved.

ABV 4,9%


Can of 500 ml from Lidl. Poured into a pokal glass.
Pours a deep golden yellow beer, with something more than two fingers of white, thick head. Heavy lacing left behind as the foam disappears very slowly. Medium activity in the glass. Malty smell, with mostly a grass aroma.
Sweet taste with a strong bitter aftertaste. Slighty metallic and hints of alcohol, although it's only 4,9% ABV.
Thin on the body with high carbonation.
Not so bad, especially if you take the price into consideration. It's not anything great either, but It could fool you on a blind test.

2.85/5
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

La Trappe Bockbier

ABV 7%

Untill now this is the best bock beer I've tried this year. Those monks really know what they're doing.

This is the only Trappist bock beer and the only bock beer that continues to ferment slightly in the bottle, at least according to their website.

Small bottle of 300 ml. Ingredients arewater,  barley, wheat and oat malts, yeast and aromatic hops. Some yeast can be found in the bottle of course.

Pours a very dark ruby coloured beer, with a huge beige head of 3-4 fingers in height, thick and creamy, with excellent retention. Heavy lacing around the glass as the foam is going down, but never away. A thin layer of foam persists around the glass, while a big chunk of it lingers on the centre of the beer's surface. Shake your glass a bit and another thin line of foam appears again, with almost the same sustainable retention.

A fantastic aroma on the nose from the hops. Light caramel , alcohol, some apricot, plums and other dark fruits.

Taste is great too. Sort of sweet at first but with a definitely bitter aftertaste. Caramel, coffee and dark bitter chocolate flavours.

Medium thickness on the body and average carbonation.Quite dry on the palate, with this dryness helping the bitter taste to stay longer in the  outh.

As I wrote before, this is the best bock beer I've tasted this far. I will surely get some more to drink during the cold days of autumn plus another couple to keep in my cellar.

Hertog Jan Bockbier

                                  
ABV 6,5%

I got a couple of those in a supermarket since they didn't have anything better. Your dutch bottle of 300 ml, poured into a snifter. Smells a bit sour as I open the bottle.
Once poured, it gave me a dark ruby coloured beer, with one finger of beige head, with average retention. Light lacing around the glass at first, then nothing. Some traces of foam insist during the whole drinking process.
On the nose alcohol, light caramel and if you inhale deep enough, a smell of burned wood. Although subtle, it makes a difference. Oh, also some dark fruits.
Taste is more sweet than bitter. Bitterness is more obvious on the back of the tongue though and for a little while lingers around the mouth. Mostly flavours of roasted malt and caramel.
Nice thick body. High carbonation.
Well, nothing too impressive, but with the dryness on the palate, the alcohol abscent from the taste and only present as a warming feeling, this beer has a high drinkability.

3.1/5
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3



                                         

Grolsch Herfstbock

I had this last year and I wasn't planning to get it again this year too, but it was on offer, so here it is.
A standard dutch bottle of 300 ml, with an ABV of 6.5%. Ingredients include sugar to sweeten it and caramel as a colouring agent. Poured into a snifter glass.

It pours a beer with a dark ruby colour, but not so deep as in other bock beers I had recently. Two fingers of beige head, that disappeared quickly, leaving behind light lacing.
On the aroma mostly caramel, it's missing all the characteristic aromas of a bock.
Taste is sweet, aftertaste is sweet too. Again, mostly caramel and that's pretty much it. At least alcohol is not that obvious.
On the body is quite thin, with light carbonation. Very flat for a bock.
Overall, I was disappointed by this one, having recently tried quite a few of the other bock beers on the market. They tend to be sipping beers but this one goes down as easy as an ordinary lager and I don't mean it in a complimentary way. It's not bad, but it's not that good for a bock beer.

2.85/5
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Maredsous 8 Bruin

ABV 8%

Bottle of 330 ml at home, poured into a chalice, after letting it warm up a bit. It gave me one and a half fingers of beige head, with average retention and I mean by that that biggest part of the foam went away but a quite thick layer of it stayed on the surface. Heavy lacing around the glass. What I really liked was the colour, very very deep bruin, it looked almost black while sitting on the table and no light was held agianst it.

Aroma: When I opened the bottle I smelled some dark fruits. Now that the beer sits in the glass, I smell caramel and roasted malts mostly and less than before the fruits. An excellent aroma.

The roasted malts are very notable on the taste too, one could say that they overtake any other element of the beer's flavour. Slighty bitter though, leaves behind an iron aftertaste. Reminded me faintly of Guiness and the fact that the alcohol is so finely concealed surely help. It's like you're drinking a beer with at least 3% less alcohol. 

A full, thick body, with a light amount of carbonation.

It's been a while since I had the other two of the Maredsous family. but I don't remember them impressing me as much as this one. A really great beer and as it warms up becomes better, has now got rid of the metallic aftertaste and it goes down very smoothly. I will recommend and buy again.

3.78/5

look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4