Duvel Triple Hop 2013

 

Stubby bottle, 330 ml, at home. Poured into my tulip glass. ABV 9,5%. Great appearance as with all Duvels, with clear golden yellow body and a snow white, thick and sopay head of a bit more than three fingers. Foam has average retention. Nice lacing left on the glass once again. The new hops offer an tropical fruit aroma, a bit of mango too. Very refreshing smell, just like a good IPA. Very nice bittery taste as well, with the flavour following the aroma. Lots of tropical fruits, very refreshing, very hoppy. The high alcohol masterfully hidden for one more time, deceiving you into taking big sips of this excellent beer. Medium thin body, good amount of carbonation. Dry on the palate, but nothing extreme. Overall, this one is very close to an IPA, both aroma/taste wise and hops level, although not overly bitter. Great beer, and as with the 2012 version, they should have made it year round or at least seasonal instead of an one-off. 

AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 17/20

                                                   3.9

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

Best Bier

ABV 5%.

Made from Bavaria Brewery.

I got this one in a supermarket about a kilometer from my neighboorhood, where I had gone just to check out if I could find a new beer. Well, I got me a new beer but I was a bit disappointing from my findings, since they only had it in cans (where I prefer bottles), the beer looks cheap and also it's called Best and any product which is called Best is going to be average, if you're lucky.

Poured into my standard glass for pilseners. Pale golden yellow colour, with lots of bubbes rising to the surface and two fingers of white head, froathy at first but as it was losing in height, it was gaining in density. The end result was one finger of thick, soapy head, which left some light lacing around the glass. Not bad at all. 

On the aroma not uch to report, typical smell of an average pilsener, maybe with some more hay aroma.

Taste is neutral, nothing too offensive either, but at least leaves behind a nice, bitter aftertaste.

Thin on the body with average carbonation, but far from the watery beer I was expecting.

All in all, a decent brew, not the Best in any case, and for the price of 1,14/liter is a very good choice if you want a cheap beer for parties etc. To my surprise, it turned out to be pleasantly drinkable. So I guess as we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, we shouldn't judge a beer from its can.

3.03/5

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

Vitalis Malt 0,0%

This is advertised mostly as a healthy energy drink, although on its commercial description states clearly that is a beer. I consider it to be a beer too, since it contains water, barley malts and hops, more importantly. A non-alcoholic one, but still, a beer. From an internet search I only found suppliers and that is made in Germany, from whom and where exactly I haven't the slightest idea.

Small bottle of 330 ml, poured into a standard glass. It produced a very dark brown beer, almost black. Non transparent at all.One finger of beige head, with low retention that leaves light lacing.

Aroma is very sweet and quite unique. I can't really tell what this smell is but it may be coming from the glucose/fructose syrup.

On the taste is very sweet, with some corn traces, although it doesn't contain any, at least according to the label, so I guess is once again the syrup responsible for this. Sweet on the aftertaste too, but much less now.

Medium thickness on the body, with almost non-existent carbonation, which is weird because even now I can see lots of bubbles rising to the surface. It goes down just like water.

Overall I am pretty confused with this one, I liked the appearance and the aroma, taste wasn't that bad but on the other hand I felt like I was drinking a soft drink that had gone flat, something that I didn't have with other non-alcoholic beers.

2.88/5

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

Budels Organic Pilsener

ABV 5%

Best before 3/2013.

This beer is made of organic ingredients. The lat biologicI tried was quite disappointing, so let's see if it was just that or all the bio beers taste equally bad.

Standard dutch bottle of 300 ml, poured into a nirmal glass.Golden yellow colour with a small white head, one finger in height, quickly gone,leaving just a thin strip around the beer's surface. Average activity in the glass.

Nice aroma, a bit hoppy, but other than than I couldn't perceive anything else.

Taste i very nice too, on the bitter side. A great difference from my previous bio-beer, which tasted more like wet hay. This one is actually pretty good.

Nice body, medium thick and just the right amount of carbonation.

Overall, I found this one pretty decent brew. Usually when something is biologic or made with organic stuff, it doesn't have any taste or it tastes really bad, but that was not the case with this beer. Too high of a price for a pilsner though, so I don't see myself buying any time soon in the near future.

3.38/5

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

Jopen Trinitas Tripel

ABV 9%

Bottle of 330 ml, with a long neck, pretty similar to the bottles of american beers. From the back label, roughly translated "This is a beer with three grains, Trinitas is the Trinity (the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit). In Germany according to the beer purity law, the holy trinity is water, malt and hops. Our own unity of three is barley, wheat and oats". 

First smell as soon as I opened the bottle, was yeast, with a fruity aroma following straight away. Once poured into my chalice, it gave me a one and a half fingers of off-white, short lasting head, creamy in texture. It left me with some heavy lacing around the glass. Colour of the beer was deep orange, slighty hazy.

Aroma is not much different once poured than it is when you first open the bottle. Bready at first, with a fruity smell following, mostly those fruits being peaches and apricots. Some alcohol smell lies beneath them, but it;s very faint and is only traceable if you really insist to perceive all of the aromas.

Alcohol is much more obvious on the taste though. Some of the apricots can be found on the taste as well, alog with some caramelized malts, the latter being quite weak, or balanced, if you prefer, with the drying, bitter finish of the hops.

Medium thickness on the body and average carbonation.

Overall, it was a good beer and I quite liked it I must say, although I didn't have enough time to really enjoy it, not that it would make any great difference if I did. Nothing to be really excited about, but a decent and honest tripel that won't disappoint you.

3.23/5

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

Duvel Tripel Hop 2012 (Citra Hops)

ABV 9,5%

A bottle of 330 ml, similar to the classic Duvel, with Tripel Hop written under the name and the clarification, "Dry Hopped With Citra Hops" in a circle, on the lower right side of the label.
Since this is made only for this year and they're planning to make it with a different hops variety every year, I thought that it deserved a different entry.
Poured into a tulip glass, very similar to the Duvel one, after letting the beer warm up a bit. Colour is pale golden yellow, with some bubbles rising to the top and a whooping head of four fingers. Great retention and light lacing around the glass as it goes down. The head never disappears completely, even now, I have a thick part of it into my glass.
Aroma is.. fantastic! I haven't met another beer with this kind of fruity aroma. Mostly I get a fruity aroma of dark fruits, but never before something like this. The citra hops are really making a difference. I smell some guava and a bunch of other tropical fruits.
Taste is also great, much more bitter than I expected from the smell and much more bitter than the original Duvel too. Some citrus and tropical fruits on the taste again, result of the citra hops I suppose. The alcohol is there, but very masterfully concealed. I get the warming feeling but I can't feel it that much on the taste. Aftertaste is also quite bitter.
Full on the body and quite a bit of carbonation, maybe a little too much.

I am not a huge fun of Duvel, and don't get me wrong, I like it and I would gladly drink it on every given occasion, I just don't get all the hype around it. But this one, not only I liked it, I loved it, mostly for the superb aroma and then for the great, bitter taste. I had got myself three bottles already, before I even try it, but this one will probably be the first beer that will send me back to the store, in order to get some more and store in my cellar.

4.53/5
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Palm

ABV 5,4%

  One of the most widely available belgian beers here in Netherlands, along with Jupiler, I guess. I had it many times before and the supermarket around the corner had it on offer recently, so I grabbed the chance to get a whole crate of it. It was also a good choice for my new tulip glass to be used for the first time. 

  The small bottle of 300 ml gave me a beer light amber in colour, with slighty beige head of two fingers in height, with good retention, which left some traces of lacing as it was going down.

  A sweet aroma coming mostly from roasted malts. That's where the faint caramel aroma is coming from too.

  Taste is fruity you could say at first, but then the flavour of the roasted malts overcomes everything else. Slighty metallic aftertaste. 

  On the body is quite thin, with an average carbonation. 

  Now, I like Palm and for a moment I thought it could replace my usual lagers and pilsners that I drink after a long day at work, but after having it continuously for almost a week, I find it a bit boring, to tell the truth. Still, a good beer to break the routine every once a while.

3.23/5

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

Orval

ABV 6,2%

I got this beer at my local liquor store without knowing anything about it. It was just another option among all the other beers on the shelf. After coming home though and reading all those positive reviews, I was looking forward to drinking it. Instead, for a bunch of reasons, it stayed in my fridge till now.

A uniquely shaped bottle of 330 ml, with just one small, modest label mentioning the beer's name and other info, around the neck of the bottle. Poured into a chalice, after letting it warm up a little bit, since it has a recommended drinking temperature of 12°-14° C. Dark amber coloured, with a two finger head, white in colour, with some yelow spots every here and there.. Foam is thick in texture. Quite a few bubbles rising to the surface. Head has an average retention.Once most of it is gone, a thick enough part stays behindand covers the surface. 

Aroma was quite complex when I sniffed it the moment I opened the bottle, with the most obvious smell being a fig aroma.. After smelling it from the glass, I sense plums, pears, some light caramel aromaand maybe some old redgrapes. Great aroma.

Taste is great too, somehow in the middle between fruity sweet and hoppy bitter, with the scale turning on the bitterness' side when it comes to the aftertaste. It's very difficult to name some flavours exactly. There are fruity flavours, some clove too. Now I perceive some white wine flavour and some spices too. This beer is so complex, to the point you get another flavour with every sip. Alcohol very well concealed.

Full body with average carbonation, a bit tart on the palate. 

Overall, a fantastic beer. Its complexity makes for a great sipping beer. Those monks are doing a great job at their brewery.

4.25/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Budweiser

ABV 5,0%

Another one included in the BEERS OF THE WORLD package. First time I had this beer was last March in Mexico, imported from the United States. This one I 'm having now was actually brewed in England and it has some differences from the "original", with the label being the main one, where it's written Bud instead of Budweiser, to differentiate it from the czechish Budweiser I suppose.The one I had in Mexico, I had straight from the bottle, so this is a nice chance to re-review it, taking it's actual smell and overal appearance into account this time.

Pale golden yellow colour, with two fingers of froathy head, with great retention. It surprised me here. Enormous activity in the glass, with a continuous stream of countless bubbles feeding the head.

Not much on the aroma front, not bad, but not anything notable either. Just, neutral, except from a faint rice smell.

Hmm, "meh" taste. I don't mind the rice taste in a beer, on the contrary sometimes I like it, but  this one has it so subtle and flat that goes almost unnoticeable.

Very thin on the body and very light carbonation.

Back in Mexico this beer was a great break from all those corn flavoured mexican beers. Back here though it's just a below the average beer. I can see why it is so popular in some places though, it's very drinkable on a hot day and if you just came back home from work on a summer evening, this is a great thirst quencher. If I was living in such a climate myself and the price was right, I would certainly keep a bunch of those in my fridge. 

2.4/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Pacifico

ABV 4,5%

Part of a BEERS OF THE WORLD package. I had this one before during holidaying in Mexico, only from a can back then. 

First things first, a long neck bottle of 355 ml, best before 2013, ABV at 4,5%, with only a front label. Ingredients are written in german on the label and except from the usual water, malts and hops, includes also rice and papain. 

Once poured it gave me a golden yellow beer, with one finger of head, with an average retention. Head leaves a thin layer on top of the beer once gone, no lacing whatsoever though.Medium activity in the glass, in the form of bubbles. 

The smell was quite sweet and mostly of malts. I can't really smell any rice grains, but at least it doesn't have the corn smell I had experienced when I drunk it from a can. Corn is also abscent from the taste, it's so much different from the one I had back there. This one has a sweet malty taste and is as easily drinkable as any other lager, with a very discreet bitter aftertaste.

Thin on the body with moderate carbonation. Dry on the palate.

To conlude, this was so much different from the one I had from a can, I would prefer it over Corona and Sol  any given time.

3.1/5

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