Alvinne Gaspar

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

Hey, another hoppy Belgian beer. Well, the last few were kick ass so let’s do it. Not as grassy and citrusy as I was expecting. Instead the nose is heavy with the spiced marshmallow yeast scents, heavy potpourri and flowery perfume scents, heavy with the oranges, and moderately heavy with the spiced cider and pine scents. Light and lively on the tongue, very bubbly, with flavors of orange cream, faint and fluffy pine needles and more pronunced citrus and lemon acidity. Good stuff, hard to classify and hard to describe.

The pour into the recommended tulip had a drawback. It was a good fifteen minutes before I could drink any of the ale. The pale amber body was topped with a large rocky head that very slowly collapsed around the sides, lacing the glass heavily as it did so. The aroma held sweet bready malts, pink grapefruit, bitter grasses, and flowers. The flavor begins with sweet pale malt, but it’s quickly followed by a rush of a flowery, earthy hop bitterness. Nice for me. The finish is a rather prolonged bitter one with a peppery feeling left on the tongue. I like this.

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Bottle.

Pours hazy yellow with a formidable head. Aroma of new carpet and eucalyptus with a bit of outhouse urinal funk. The flavor is wickedly spicy with medicinal menthol, overripe grapefruit, and a powerfully hoppy early side to the finish; those hops are richly earthy. But on the long side of the finish it’s just bitter doesn’t leave me with the craving for another sip.

I was curious to try this one, but I’m not in a hurry to return.

(33cl bottle) Large, rocky off-white head atop lightly hazed amber body. Aroma is medium sweet, orange, spice. Taste is medium sweet, orange/pine. Some hoppy astringency, but it masks the alcohol well. Sharp bitterness. Soft, medium body, light resin. Even West Coast brewers who laugh at the concept of balance in IIPAs would find this hop juice lacking enough malt. Despite this, I find myself drawn to it, the rating equivalent of a rubber necker. Last time I can recall feeling this way was with an overly sweet beer, Avery Samael.

20070809 11.2oz bottle, undated. Light golden-orange color under a lofty, even head of medium sized, slowly receding bubbles. Aroma is nothing out of the ordinary, just sort of a generic Belgian golden with bready malts, phenols, honey, mild grassiness, and background notes of savory spice. There is also an odd baby shit aroma in there that’s none too pleasant, but not terribly obtrusive. Flavor is a bit bland up front, it’s dry overall, although a brisk light honey sweetness kicks in mid way through. The end and finish are thin bodied, full of grassy, herbal hops, and without much lingering flavor. I suppose it’s refreshing and the body is pleasantly light and effy.

Bottle: Pours a hazy orange golden color with a big white head. Aroma, some spicy notes, peppery, yeasty, and some floral notes. Flavor, bready, caramel, spicy and floral hops, pepper, yeast. Quite interesting, definitely the first time I’ve had these kinds of hops in this quantity.

11.2 @ the map room chicago. color is murky orange. the head is comprised of tiny white bubble that stack tall and fluffy. nose is very belgian. yeasty caramel tones, with some spice and notable hop pine. sharp and citric. strong with a strange grainy flavor and long lasting hop bite. a soapy approach and odd tang fade to an aromatic hop finish.

Bottle… Mostly clear, light amber ale with a huge, rocky, white head. Excellent retention. The heavily phenolic aroma consists mostly of fresh bandages and clove with lesser notes of citrus, fuzzy and tropical fruits. Bitter, tangy flavor of fresh cardboard. Awful… drain pour. Medium-bodied and bone dry. Finishes bitter and astringent to crazy extremes. growler provided the bottle and joined me in dumping this ghoulish beer down the drain! Not quite as bad as several beers I’ve liked less and polished off anyway. Right now there are too many other good beers lying around to waste our time finishing this one.