Half-Assed Reviews - 3/29/10

So I think I might do something from time to time called "Half Assed Reviews" wherein I put quick notes on a handful of beers I've recently tried. While I enjoy some of the in depth reviews, it's a bit of a pain to do with every single beer I drink, as I have many during the course of a 24 hour period. However: there are still a handful of beers that I have enjoyed or disliked, that I simply didn't have time to give full review, was not in the right location to give a full review, or I just flat out didn't feel like getting off my ass and giving them a full review. I figured if I found some gems out there or even some stinkers or underwhelming brews, I should at least give you a heads up. I obviously won't be as detailed in my review, but seeing as how I'm uncomfortably intimate with what I drink, I can assure you that many of the beers I try are fresh on my mind for sometime. (Also I will put some beers on here that I've already had, but I just recently gave a go around to, again. But, there shouldn't be anything on here that I haven't had within the week) So.....here goes:

Flying Dog Brewery - Snake Dog IPA.

7.1% abv. Poured from a 12oz bottle into a pint glass. A good balance of malt and hops so you don't get killed with bitterness, but the taste just simply isn't all that good. The 7.1% is hidden pretty well and it's actually quite easy to drink. A decent pale ale, or I guess this is an IPA....but nothing to write home about. If it's on sale or special at a bar go for it, but if you have other choices, there a is a bunch better.
Half-Assed Verdict: 6.5/10










Southern Tier - Oak Aged Unearthly IPA (Imperial IPA).

11% abv. Had it on tap at the International Tap House, it was served in a chalice. The regular Unearthly is just an IPA on steroids (so a super hopped pale ale), and this is that same beer, just aged in oak barrels. I found an article listing the original Unearthly at 153 IBUs(!), which is insane and might actually scare me away if I saw it on the label. Regardless, this is an absolutely fabulous beer. Sure, it's HUGE, and it's not something you want more than one or two of, but it is extremely well crafted and extremely tasty. I don't know how to describe it, but the intense hop flavor is present in that there is a TON of hops, but it's not intense in the sense that it is knocking you on your ass and making your lips pucker with the bitterness. There is a good malt backbone (which I think helps keep the hops from killing you) but it doesn't turn into a syrupy mess that some imperial IPAs often become. It's fabulously balanced, and what makes it even better is that the oak gives you a nice, dry woody sort of finish as opposed to a big, bitter, hop bite. It never really feels like it's too much and when you're done drinking it you'd swear that both the 11% is a lie, along with the huge IBU level. I believe this one is only found in 22oz bottles, and I can't imagine it'd be available anywhere without a top notch beer selection, nor will it be cheap. But.....if you happen to see it at a bar or you want a nice treat, it's worth it. Even beer lovers that aren't huge hop-heads (like me) can appreciate this. But, buyer beware, the 11% will hit you, and hit you hard.
Half-Assed Verdict: 9/10

Guinness "Imported" Extra Stout.

6% abv. 12oz bottle poured into a simple pint glass. Now, for all the folks that have the wrong idea about Guinness, this is a beer that does not have the same "thick" consistency that you would find with Guinness Draught. The Draught is that way because it's tapped and served with nitrogen as opposed to CO2 like most beers. The Guinness Draught you get in cans has a little nitro-widget in there as well that tries to replicate getting one off the tap. This beer here, the Extra Stout, is an example of a Guinness product that has a consistency more like what you are used to, because of the presence of CO2, and not nitrogen. Moving on, this is a solid beer that pours the same dark brown/almost black with a really nice chewy tan head. You're going to get the same flavors you get in the "normal" Guinness, but there is obviously the more airy consistency on your tongue because of the lack of nitrogen, and there is also a much more noticeable sweetness, as well as a stronger roast. While not as smooth on the tongue as the draught Guinness, this is still on the "smooth" side, but somewhat heavier, as well. The finish stays with the roasty-coffee sweetness and there isn't the lingering roasted bitterness that comes with the draught Guinness. This is a nice beer, and while different, very much drinkable, like its popular draught cousin. A quintessential stout, and something that would be good to try if you want to move from nitrogen-draught stouts, and onto something slightly different.
Half-Assed Verdict: 7.5/10

New Belgium - Ranger IPA

Well, I'll be honest, I've never "disliked" New Belgium, per se..... I have just thought a number of their beers (of all styles) have been a bit dull and watered down. None of them are bad-tasting or anything of that nature, but just a bit dumbed-down and made "easy to drink". I went into this one thinking the same thing, and while I've had it on tap before and was underwhelmed, I figured I'd sit down and give it a good taste, and ultimately a second chance. While still not amazing, it was a touch better than I remember.

I picked this up at Friar Tucks in a build your own six pack. As it is a New Belgium product, I imagine this is available at most liquor stores and probably a ton of super markets in the St. Louis area, as well as all over Missouri for that matter. You'll probably see it for around 8 bucks for a sixer.

12oz bottle in this case, poured into a basic pint glass. Bottle says it's 6.5% abv. The bottle also says it's 70 IBUs (that's a measure of the hop-bitterness) and that it's brewed with a combination of simcoe, cascade, and chinook hops. I'm a beer nerd, but I'm still not down with the specifics of what hops have what characteristics.

Pours a fairly clear rosey/amber/brown. A good amount of carbonation gives a pretty significant 2 finger head after a somewhat aggressive pour. A good amount of foam remains after a minute or so, and I will have to say that there was some pretty solid lacing during the entire drinking session. Looks a *touch* light for an IPA, but we'll see. Remember what I said in my previous post about tasting your beer, and how lighter colored beers might be lacking malt? Well, that will come into play here.

The smell is on the sweet side, but not a heavy sweet. This is a citrusy-grapefruit kind of sweet. Very floral, leafy, piney as well. There is definitely a bitterness there (with the pine) and you can get a bit of the alcohol in the nose, also. I'm not getting any sort of malt notes here, just a light, leafy-floral thing. It's a good smell, no doubt, but I'm not sure how it will translate to taste.

The first drink brings a big bitter bite right up front with a somewhat astringent finish. A little warmth and a few more sips allows the grapefruit notes to shine through. As it gets warm the grapefruit notes are extremely present, and the bitterness is toned down just a touch. The finish is still bitter and dry with the pine and leafy-ness that I picked up with the first smell. All this is somewhat mellowed out and dulled with a bit of warmth, but it never turns to a heavier sweetness that would make me assume any sort of malt significance. It's fairly light on the tongue. I guess I harped on the grapefruit in it enough, but it's a pleasant presence.

It's not a bad taste, it's bitter like you'd expect out of an IPA. The grapefruit and pine aren't extremely overpowering, and are typical of this style, but it needs a touch of malt to bring everything together and not have the bitterness sit on your tongue as long as it does. I kept waiting for something else that just never came. And while this is a touch better than most New Belgium offerings this is the ultimate issue with their beers, in my opinion. Let's say there are 4 characteristics that make a certain beer a great version of a certain style, but NB always seems to be missing one or two of those characteristics. They'll take 2-3 characteristics and do a good job with them, and make it taste good, but it will be like they left out something else completely. I understand that an IPA is about the hop-presence, but a top notch brew still achieves that balance. The grapefruit and the pine in this brew are good, so is a not too overpowering bitterness. But without the sweetness of some malt to give it some balance, and a bit more weight on the tongue, the bitterness lingers until it turns into an unattractive astringent, chemically quality. Now, it's not, like crazy harsh, just a bit more than it should be.

Overall this is still a good beer, and something I wouldn't mind drinking again. I just get disappointed that NB never seems to be able to take that extra step that makes their beer well rounded and complete to the point where it is a "very good" beer. As usual, this is a "good beer" that is just missing something.

Verdict: 6.5/10

How you should drink good beer - Tasting.

I know not every person takes a new beer and sees it as a possible religious experience as I often do. I also understand that not every time you have a beer it's you by yourself on your couch with a laptop or notepad to figure out every detail of what you're drinking. I'm not retarded. It's obvious that this is a hobby of mine and I enjoy it so much that I often pay very close attention to what it is I'm drinking. There are times, of course where I'm in a situation where I can't nerd it up to the point where I can do everything I want when trying something new, and that's fine. Not everyone is as lame as I am, and they don't feel like hanging around me while I go off into the corner to sniff my beer for 4-5 minutes. So while there are things I do when trying something new, I'm not saying it's some sort of guide that you or I should follow, but it's nice to do if you have the time and you're in a place where looking like a tool won't matter.

What I'm saying is, is that I figure if you're reading this you have at least a modicum of interest into getting to know your beer better, so why not give you a few tips? These will not only help you figure out what your drinking, but it will allow you to compare brews with one another, and better yet, figure out what it is that you really like about a certain beer, and what separates what you think is a "good" beer from what is a "great" beer. This will allow you to get past the first impressions of what you're drinking and maybe give you a more specific idea of you're looking for when you spend a few extra bucks for something good.

(caveat: once again, don't do this shit when you're with your boys at the bar watching the game, or knocking back a dozen or so brews at a tailgate or a bbq.....you'll look like a douche. Do this if you're at a place that focuses on good beers, or you're having a night staying in where you're just going to have a few top notch bottles. Also, I'm far from a beer expert, so I'm sure there are pros out there who may take an issue with how I do my "thing". Oh well.)

Assuming you try to follow some of the basic ideas I had in serving your beer:

THE LOOK: Take a minute to see what's atually happening right after the pour. Is there head, how much? Does it last for more than a few seconds....during the entire drinking session? Is there "lacing" as the head reduces or as you drink? Lacing is the white crap that remains on the glass as you drink. The glass pictured is an extreme version of it, but with a good, clean glass, a lot of the top notch beers will give you some pretty good lacing. Take a look at the color of the beer.....is it opaque, translucent, clear as a bell? Color is often based on the malt that's being used, as in both the amount of malt in the beer, and how much roast is put on the malt before adding it to the water when starting the brewing process. While there are certainly beers with a high level

of hop-bitterness that are "dark", a closer to opaque brew generally has a higher level of malt than usual, sometimes it may be to just balance out a high level of hops.

THE SMELL: Yes, you may look like a gigantic tool when doing this to your beer, but that's too bad. At a good beer bar nobody will really care, or if you're alone it shouldn't matter if you shove your nose into the top of your glass and take a few big whiffs. I do, though, recommend a good sniff. A good couple of sniffs right after the pour will give you a pretty good indication of what you are about to drink. A lot of high end beers have all sorts of hidden flavors and complexities that you might not notice if you take a swig right away when the beer is colder. There are tons of times where I find stuff in the nose of a beer that I may not pick up in the taste until I'm about halfway done and the beer is a bit warmer. Some beers give you weird notes in the smell like bubblegum, banana, cloves, raisins, cherries, blueberries, wheat, hay, fresh cut grass, pine, and many more. Don't freak out, if that's what you smell....then that's what you smell. You may not taste all that shit at first....maybe never, but you'll be surprised what you'll find as the beer warms up, and that your nose didn't fail you.

THE TASTE: This is more than taste, it's the feel on your mouth as well. Take a reasonable swig, and don't just swallow it down. I don't know about all that wine-swirling-swishing BS, but letting it sit on each part of your tongue is something I like to do. You probably know that different parts of the tongue pick up different tastes, so that of course applies to a good brew. If that's weird, then with your first few sips, just let the beer sit on different parts of your tongue, and you'll usually notice different characteristics of the beer come through as you move it around. Sometimes things like a lingering bitterness or alcohol presence don't come through when you down it right away........which is probably why it's easy to get girls drunk on Delirium Tremens as they tend to go through it like water. Try and notice all the little stuff going on. See if it matches with what you had an idea of with both the look of the beer, and more importantly, the smell. Did you get all that weird crap that you were smelling, or does it fall flat once it's in your mouth? (ok.....that's a pretty funny sentence after I re-read it) Also, while you don't have to go through this whole process with every sip, try to pay attention to what's going on when the beer gets warmer. A lot of sweetness and boozy-alcohol goodness is hidden when the beer is on the cold side, and before the air gets to it. So don't just think "bitter" or "sweet". Bitter how? Sweet how........fruit, syrup, brown-sugar, candy,...what is it? And lastly, try to think of the taste in three different moments. What's going on when it first hits your tongue, then what goes on after you let it sit for a bit, then what's going on in the finish? Sometimes there's a fourth sensation that happens 2-3 seconds after the finish. There's a lot of beers that are aged in oak-barrels now and often time that really comes through well after the beer is swallowed. Here's another quick-tasting guide from Beer Advocate.

WRAPPING IT UP: (another pun!!) You don't have to do this all the time as it's not always fun to sit and agonize over all these details. But the benefits of this is that you'll really get to know what kind of beer you like and you'll figure out that just because something is a specific style, that you don't like it. You may not like certain IPAs, or certain Stouts, but that doesn't mean you hate all of them. While I'm not going to be lame and say all beer is like a snowflake (yes, I know I just said it), not all Pale Ales are the same, and not all Porters are the same. Nobody uses the exact same ingredients, and yes, things like where the hops are grown, where the malt is grown, and what kind of water is used can make a huge difference. There's more to a beer than just "it's sweet" or "it's bitter" and you'll be surprised at how many times you can find enjoyable characteristics in a style that you previously might not have enjoyed as much.

Cheers, fools.

How you should drink good beer - Serving Basics

The following are just some basic tips and things that I follow when drinking good beer. I say "when I'm drinking good beer" as there's little you can do to drastically effect the taste of a Bud Light or a Bud Select. Hell, something that inhibits the flavor of those beers might actually be a good thing. Also, I understand that not every situation allows you to do this stuff, so I'm not advocating you turn into a gigantic douche at a BBQ or a friend's Super Bowl party because you want a specific type of glass or whatnot. If you're in the right atmosphere and you actually want your more expensive beer to taste the way it is supposed to taste, here's a few easy things that I recommend to get the best out of your purchase. After all, why spend the money on something and not drink it correctly?

(I understand I didn't get to everything here, this was just stuff that I was thinking about last night while I was....yes...... drinking beer)


SERVING BASICS:

If possible, always, and I mean ALWAYS pour your beer into a glass. Your beer will absolutely not taste the way the brewer intended it to taste if you suck it out of the bottle. Find a freaking glass, and pour it into that glass.....not a plastic cup, but a glass. There's not one reputable brewer out there that would recommend their beer out of a bottle/can when a glass is available, which of course makes perfect sense. Why would a brewer not want their product to taste as good as it possibly can?

Secondly: By no means does your beer belong in a frosted glass/mug of any sort. I don't give a shit how many crappy beer commercials you see that get all boner-rific over the coldness of their beer, you are severely hurting the flavor of your beer by putting it into a frosted mug. Not only does your beer being that cold hurt the flavor, but it doesn't take Bill Nye the Science guy to understand that frost = ice = water = diluted beer = compromised taste. If you're looking to just go out and just get hammered on miller lites, then this is fine, but if you're dropping 10+ bucks on a six pack, or 5-6 bucks a bottle at a nicer beer bar then you are just wasting your time. For you St. Charles/St. Louis folks, this is why Trailhead "Brewery" sucks. (notice the quotes around the word "Brewery") Any place that claims they brew their own beer then proceed to serve it in a glass so that has ice floating on the top of their brown ale pretty much lets you know they suck and suck hard. A good brewer spent a hell of a lot of time figuring out a recipe and making that recipe just right, if they wanted more water to be in the beer they would have made it that way.

Thirdly: Be reasonable with your temperature. Not drinking your beer at sub-zero temperatures is just something you're going to have to get over. Put on your big kid pants, and realize that the reason you remember your beer tasting like shit when it was "warm" is because you were most likely drinking shitty beer to begin with. Similar to pouring your beer in a glass, no good brewer will recommend serving your beer as cold as humanly possible. Also, regardless of what people say, good beer in Europe is not, anywhere, served "warm". It's not served ice cold, but it's not served warm. There are a TON of good beers that recommend a serving temperature on their bottles, and the "warmest" I've seen is 55 degrees F, which is still below room temperature. A good rule of thumb that I follow is to get your beer as cold as your fridge will allow it. Pull it out, and let it sit 10-15 minutes before opening it. Pour it and drink it slowly, letting it warm up closer to room temperature as you drink it, and try to see how it changes as it 'warms'. Often times you'll find flavors that weren't there at first, or a bit of sweetness that didn't come through at all when you took your first sip of it at 40 or so degrees. With high ABV brews you will honestly miss a lot of the great aspects of the beer when you try to drink it too cold.

Glassware: This is great if you or the bar you are at have the proper glass for the style, but it's not the most important thing ever. In my opinion, a non-frosted glass, and a very CLEAN glass are just as important to get the proper flavor(s). Here's a good primer on glassware from: beeradvocate.com. If you don't have a bevy of different style glasses, a good alternative (which is also in the link) for a lot of the higher ABV beers is to just get a big/oversized wine glass. Air is a good thing for a lot of the "bigger" beers and it will only help open up all the intricate flavors and smells that the brewer intended. I guess you can be afraid of looking like a douche, but if you're just with a few folks hanging out at someone's place, they're probably aware of the fact that you're just trying to optimize the good chunk of change you just spent on whatever you're drinking.

The pour: Head, in any form, is not a bad thing (pun INTENDED). You are supposed to get a good layer of foam on your beer, and some brewers even make their own glassware to support a large amount of foam in their product. (Duvel being a great example) The reason some of you don't like foam in your shitty light beers is because you're more worried about getting more beer in your glass than you are the taste. If you ever start getting the glassware made for specific beers you'll even find that some of them have lines on them where they suggest the head of the beer to start. Most beers will give you the desired head without a super aggressive pour, but I like to do the typical 45 degree angle slow pour, then slowly get the glass upright and finish the last 1/3 or so of the pour a little more aggressively to see if I can get some foam. Don't worry if you don't get any, as there are some beers that simply won't give you a big fluffy head, or if they do, it will dissipate quickly. Also, a dirty glass will inhibit both the initial amount of head, and head retention while you're drinking.

Fruit?: No thanks. I don't go absolutely bonkers over someone trying to put a lemon, lime or orange in their beer, but I really don't want that. If the brewer wanted that stuff in their beer, they would have put it in there. The reason you put a lime in your Corona or other Mexican beers, is because those beers kind of suck. Putting a lemon or an orange in your draft beer just adds acid to it which is going to compromise the head you got with your pour, as well as the overall taste of the beer. Once again, I don't go completely apeshit over someone putting a lemon in their beer (although it makes less and less sense to me), but for god sakes, don't assume I want the same......ask me first.

I'll get to what I do to taste beer in the future (as you can be surprised at what you can find when you really pay attention to what you're drinking) , but these are just some small things I was thinking about that can have somewhat of an effect on the quality of your brew.

Schneider and Sohn: Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

This is a bit of unique style, an "Eisbock". Read HERE for a bit of an explanation. In not so technical terms, it's basically a ramped up doppelbock, but not because they add a ton of extra ingredients to it, but the extraction of the water through freezing essentially just makes it more concentrated. This gives it high malt levels, high levels of sweetness and booziness, and some of the highest ABVs of any style (this one is 12%). I'm not 100% sure if all eisbocks are made with wheat malt like this one, but this one is a wheat doppelbock that's made in the traditional "eisbock" style. I don't know what the experts say, but I'd say that some of these styles could be considered extreme beers just because of the tedious brewing process and the higher than normal abv levels.

Moving on......

This was an 11.2 oz. bottle poured into a little half chalice/half snifter looking thing. Like I said, this is 12% abv and it was 4.99 for the bottle which I got at Friar Tucks in O'Fallon, MO. There's a good little story on the back about how they started making the beer as if it was some sort of accident....who knows.

Pours an extremely dark, opaque, brown. A touch of head, maybe a finger of tan foam that dissipates quickly to just a few bubbles. I guess that's typical for something this thick and syrupy. Smells very sweet, very syrupy. You get the typical malt-sweetness that gives you hints of banana, along with a weird touch of smokiness. That I may be wrong about, but it's there. There is also some of that "christmasy" spice type of sweetness as well, ...figs raisins, and definitely the cloves that you would expect in a lot of wheat beers. I don't get much booze on the nose, maybe because it's still a bit cold, but it's not too clear, even though it's obviously a super high alcohol beer.

Taste is very sweet, dark-syrupy sweet, although not as heavy on the tongue as you'd think. There's a bit of booze in the middle, but not too overpowering right now like I was afraid of. Dark fruits, figs, candy-sugar, with the cloves and a bit of bubble come are what comes at the end. Definitely a full, and heavy beer, but not as heavy on the tongue as you'd think. Even though the alcohol becomes more present with the warmth, it's not killing you, which is kind of cool considering this is 12% abv. Overall I'd call it a "good" not great taste. It's really sweet, and really syrupy. But I guess that's the point of this style. Hop bitterness is really nowhere to be had.

This is a pretty good beer, and it's fun to try every once in a while as a sipper on a cold night. But if I had my choice, I'd stick with the Aventinus Weizen-bock, which is what I believe this beer starts as before they take it through the freezing process. I couldn't see myself drinking more than 1 or 2 small bottles of this. The alcohol isn't too overpowering in the taste but you can still certainly feel it after only half a bottle.

Verdict: 7/10

Cathedral Square - Belgian Style White Ale

For the unitiated, a Belgian Style White Ale is basically the Belgian's version of a wheat beer (aka: "witbier"). Also, this beer comes from a new St. Louis brewery, Cathedral Square. I could only find two different styles that they make right now, both Belgian. As it was only $3.99 for a 22oz bottle, I figured I'd give it a shot. And yes, I'm very aware there is a picture of Toby Flenderson, HR-rep for Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company on my TV. He did not enjoy the beer, and I may let him write a guest tasting sometime in the future.

As for the other specs, there was no ABV listed on it, which I figured was probably hovering around 5%, give or take a touch. It was poured into my Ommegang Hennepin glass.

Pours a pretty muddy orangy-brownish color. Not as yellow/golden as I'm used to, and overall, somewhat darker than you'd see with say, a Hoegaarden. Decent fluffy white head, 1-2 fingers, doesn't last all that long. Decent bit of foam remaining, but nothing really to write about. This one though, is definitely unfiltered, and looks about as thick and chewy as a beer can be.

Smell is pretty typical, but maybe with a heavier dose of wheat malt than I'm used to in a Belgian Wit. Noticeable amount of citrus fruit and citrus peel, specifically orange. I didn't see on the bottle if it specifically talked about orange peels in the brewing process, but I wouldn't be surprised. I'm also getting a touch of bitterness, but I can't tell if it's hop bitterness or malt bitterness. Good smelling beer, but nothing really stands out, in the sense that makes this overly unique.

Initial impressions when drinking is that it's really smooth on the tongue, not all that much carbonation. First taste is a light, sweet wheat that combines with some of the citrusy-orange that you smell. Pretty delicate sweetness there, nothing overpowering (overly-sweet beers suck my ass). A nice touch of spiciness and bitterness in the finish that you'd see in a good witbier, once again, not overly spicy or bitter. Nothing really blows you away in the taste of this beer, but it's solid and pretty balanced throughout. To quote a line from those d-bags in the Bud-Light marketing department, it's very "drinkable". One last thing I would say is that as it warms up, there is certainly a higher level of wheat and the grassy/hay notes that come with the presence of the wheat. Nothing too crazy, though.

I can't write a ton about this brew as nothing stands out, but for their first go around, it's a solid take on a classic, slightly complex style. It's local, and it's cheaper, so I may use this as a go-to from time to time if I want a decent Belgian White. For any of my friends in St. Louis that may be reading this, it's worth a try for only $3.99.

Verdict: 6.5/10

Duvel

750ml poured into a over sized Duvel-branded tulip. 8.5% abv. Got it at the local grocery store (Dierbergs) at only 6.50 for a big bottle. That's pretty much better than you can find at most liquor stores.

Pours a nice, clear-golden that you'd see in a typical pilsner. As is suggested on the bottle and with the proper glassware, you get a massive, fluffy-white 4ish finger head with this. Even after a fair amount of drinking there's a minimum of a half-finger head remaining until your finished, and you'll often get big cottony-globs of foam that last well after the first sip, as well. You can tell there is a large amount of carbonation in this beer, and the clarity of the beer will show the rising bubbles for nearly the whole time you are drinking it.

It smells at first of a pilsner, and you get a a bit of the typical pilsner malts. What you also get is a hint of spicy and floral hops, some notes of fresh cut grass....maybe some hay as well, and a touch of banana which probably comes from the belgian yeast. What's also evident, is a fair amount of phenol-alcohol. While not massive at 8.5% abv, that's still enough to be present with a good whiff. With all this, what's pretty cool about this is that you can tell this is a very crisp, clean beer. Even the nose has a nice bite to it.

The first sensation you get with the first sip is a very sharp, crisp, beer with a fair amount of carbonation that's really evident on your tongue. After getting over that with a few more sips, you get an initial malty, not quite tart sweetness not uncommon to a typical pilsner. There's also a small hint of that banana that you may have smelled. Unless you let the beer sit for a while on your tongue, a quick drink will only allow that sweetness to last for a short while, until a quick bitter hop-bite cleans up. This is followed by the alcohol which offers an extremely dry and clean, crisp finish. Not quite "refreshing", but certainly feels, more light on the tongue then most complex belgian beers. 2 other things should be said; one: as the beer warms up, the malt sweetness that is very short lasting at first tends to linger longer and longer; two: the whole time you are drinking this, you keep thinking that at some point you are going to get this citrus zest/lemony thing at some point or another, but it never happens.

I've had this beer numerous times and it's honestly one of my favorites. I'm not saying it's a favorite as in I'd give it a 10/10 or it's the best tasting beer ever, just that it's seemingly very simple, yet there is still a fun complexity to it, even among its high level of drinkability. It's a top notch brew but it's not absurdly overpriced nor does it come off as some extremely exclusive beer that you need to be experienced to enjoy. It's an extremely straight forward, well polished beer. I'm also not sure I've seen too many versions of this style which is essentially a pilsner with a belgian tweak to it. Boulevard made their collaboration pilsner with the brewmaster from Orval and I was told by the beer guys at a few liquor stores that it was a unique belgian interpretation of a pilsner. Well it was somewhat unique in that the style isn't totally common, but it was their take on a Duvel, essentially. While pretty good, it did not reach the standard that Duvel has set.


Verdict: 8/10