Alvinne Gaspar

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Heule, Belgium

Gold. Large, dense, rocky white head. Aroma is grassy, spicy, floral, yeasty, fresh grains, light malty sweetness. Same flavors- a ton of euro hops over some mildly estery yeast and lightly sweet malt. Medium body, well carbonated, but it matches the flavor profile. Very good.

My Bottom Line:
A vivacious earthy, spicy hoppiness spreads throughout the French toast illusions created by the alliance of bready yeast and lightly caramelized malts in this superhopped Belgian Strong Ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A stupendous head of foam resides atop the amber-laced honeyed gold; when the monstrous yeast shot is added though, an opaque beige murk appears, greatly diminishing this beer’s visual appeal.
-The furious carbonation does produce an inspiring appearance, but it tends to dominate the mouthfeel if you don’t let the beer breathe long enough.
-Alcohol is well hidden in the flavor profile.
-Orange zest seems to decorate the French toast sweetness.
-Noble hops colour the nose with their usual sagacity, but create an atypical aroma when paired with this yeast.

Bottle.

Bottle. Amber beer with a huge cream-colored head. Spicy, grassy, hay, yeast aroma. Bitter hop flavor with grass, spice, hay, and yeast. medium body. Lingering bitterness with yeast and noble hops. Full IBU’s don’t always come through.

A decent but boring Belgian strong. Aroma was nice. Nice hoppiness with a hint of fruit. Pour was a murky orange with a one finger white head. Taste was nice and bitter. A great suprise for a Belgian beer. Problem is the taste is too weak. Mostly herbal hops with a hint of sweet malt. Crisp and clean aftertaste that leaves a nice bitterness in the throat. Great suprise.

This Belgian Strong Ale pours a medium orange gold color from a 33cl bottle. Large sized white foamy head, with nice lacing and good retention. The aroma is popcorn and herbal, a touch floral hops. A medium bodied BSA. The malts are fruity and sweet. The hops are herbal and floral. The malts are sort of overwhelmed by the hops in this beer. Its still has that Belgian quality to it, but it nearly over the top with the hops. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and dry. Aftertaste is slightly bitter.

Billed as a Belgian DIPA, this beer succeeds where others of its type have failed (i.e Chouffe Houblon Dobbelen & Urthel Hop-it). It gives you a true Belgian Ale upfront thats backed up with lots of hops, which are not the only aspect in the forefront of the beer and are not palate assaulting. This beer pours a thick deep orange with golden highlights, no clarity at all. The medium sized head is strong and never fully fades, always staying there, covering the surface. The aroma is a beautiful bouquet of perfume, pineapple, and flowers. The pineapple is very original and seems to be a nice interplay with the hops and the yeast. This is all very thick and deep, as if mud could be made out of these elements. Taste starts with a bitter, hoppy-floral, thickness thats glued together by a thick unflavored dough. The bitterness stays present throughout the flavor, growing stronger. The flavor finishes light spicy and faintly citrus-y, with a long lingering bitterness. My one complaint is the bitterness really overtakes some the subtle flavors as the beer sits. The mouthfeel is very thick with just enough carbonation breaking through. It’s definitely hoppy yet full of thick Belgian qualities, which I have never found in another beer. For me, the few predecessors of this style failed because their beers took too much of the hop character and not enough of the yeasty/Belgian aspects. Here it is the opposite. Thats 2 for 2 by Alvinne, I cannot wait to try more.
33cL bottle, long stemmed, short cupped , slightly bulged Kasteel goblet glass.

Bottle. Poured a light amber with a thick frothy head that had a volcano like bubbly quality from the bottle. Took a long ass time to pour. The aroma was that of a bar floor the next morning with a touch of hops. It was not very hoppy, maybe I was expecting too "American" of a version.

(Bottle) Pours a cloudy burnt orange body with an aggressive creamy beige head. Aroma of orange peel, dill weed, caramel, and dried apricots. Flavor of floral/light pine hoppiness, lemon grass, ripened bananas, apricots, and baked apple with a dry, somewhat bitter finish.