Alvinne Melchior

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

On tap at the Brick Store. Pours a bright, opaque yellow-orange with a large fluffy white head that shows great retention and lacing. The beer was described to me as an ale brewed with mustard seeds though the dominate aroma and flavor throughout, for me, was apples. The aroma was very sweet with the aforementioned apples with a hint of tartness. Maybe a hint of mustard if you really try to find it. The flavor is a complex blend of light fruits with green and red apples, pears, apricots and a little bit of hops in the finish. The mouthfeel is very smooth with good carbonation. Exceptional drinkability given the ABV. I enjoyed this beer and it was like no beer I have had before. Recommended.

33 cl. Blood orange-colored with mid-sized solids afloat throughout; almost resembles a broth. Small, lasting head leaves a frosting all around the glass. Sweet-n-spicy aroma is hard to peg, but seems akin to earthy spiced apple-pear, and maybe some brown sugar. Flavor is baked tart apple and pineapple with a twist of orange-lime, cherry, and a sprinkle of caramelized brown sugar. Light musty leather, pepper, oak and evergreen resin slide in at the finish for nice balance. I detect no alcohol except for some slight warming and a bit of aftertaste. Medium body is softly carbonated and finishes slightly dry. Interesting brew with some unique flavors; would never guess mustard seed as the only spice is this one.

Pours dark organish wiht a mostly receding off-white head. Aroma of orange, phenols, pepper, and grasses. Tastes is spicy, hops, orange, spicy phenolic notes of pepper and coriander. Full bodied, light carbonation.

Bottle from PP bottle shop. Another >10.1% rating woohoo, and a mustard beer at that. What a mustard beer? That’s what I said. Color is a yellow amber. Little chunks floating in the beer. Interesting aroma. I suppose that could be the mustard. Possibly a little bit plasticy. I think this aroma is directly related to the high alcohol content. Very bready aroma. I give it an 8, just because it is interesting.
Thin wispy head dances on the surface. There is a little bit of pleasant tartness, like a sour plum. Leans a little sweet. Lots of bitterness, like the skin of a plum, maybe some grapefruit. OK beer, but Kudos for being interesting.

Pours a thick, still blonde. Too aggressive. The shit floating in the glass looks like poppy seeds, and assumedly these are the mustard seeds. Soft and bready aroma, calmly spicy and herbal; cardamom, mustard seed, musk. A thick almond-like sweetness lends an unexpected tempering creaminess that quiets the pungency of all this salt and spice. Glowingly complex, dry and attractive, and forcefully executed strangeness in the nose. The spiciness of the mustard seeds is really evocative and creatively placed, to provide an odd spark on the surface of an already well built pale malt and herbal hop belgian beauty. Nice!

A fat perfume and musky spice flavor, washed in alcohol and paced in the chewy bread of malt. A surprisingly firm ester-ridden base flavor of overripe banana and clove and pears, which provides a better rendered base for the mustard flavoring than might be expected; presumably, a smoky, earth and meat-driven malt flavor would be most salient, but this floral hop and delicate malt flavor really pulls it off well. The crispy pepperiness interacting with near-cloying alcohols tends shimmer a little too hot, but it really stays clean, misty and floral for the most part, amidst lots of raisiny sugar and all the wild spice impartation. It’s cool how rounded the flavors are, despite seeming so randomly applied.

Full and velvety palate, sparkly and soft, but with bite. The mustard seeds lend an indescribable spunk to the texture. A sweet-spicy amalgam of bubblegum, anise and hot mustard carries out a violent kick in the back of the mouth at the finish, though the original fruit, herb and malt flavors are substantial enough to outlast as it extends, while it becomes thoroughly dry, and even rubbery in texture. An adventuresome effort; certainly a journey equally valuable for the scenery it offers as for the reward it promises. I want more awesomely weird beers like this.

THOUGHTS: Great beer. Hid alcohol incredibly well. Just the right amount of sourness to keep it fairly easy to drink. A little disappointed because I thought the mustard would be more prominent. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a murky,light to medium orangey brown with small to large body particles of an average to thick density. It had a small, off-white head that mostly diminished. The aroma was moderate to heavy malt, sweet, fruit, a little sour fruit, maybe fig and then light musty yeast toward the bottom of the glass. The initial flavor was moderately sweet and lightly acidic; while the finish was lightly sweet, very lightly bitter, and sour with an average to short duration. There was fruit, a little spice that must have been the mustard and then real mustard taste on the last sip. The light to medium body was sort of syrupy then dry with fizzy carbonation and a light to moderate astringent and very light alcoholic finish. The alcohol was actually felt more in the chest than in the throat.

Hazy orange-golden with a nice, dense head. The aroma has sweetness, notes of malt, caramel, candy sugar, citrus and raisin. The flavour has a rather strong sweetness, notes of candy sugar, caramel, malt, light raisin and other fruits, and it’s nicely balanced by a refreshing, citrussy bitterness and sourness. It’s a nice and charming beer, that hides the 11% dangerously well.

33cl, from De Hopduvel Gent, very complex, hoppy, heavy, yet balanced, cloudy, good head, very good Winter brew