Baladin Erika

Brewed by Le Baladin
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Piozzo, Italy

Objectively speaking: Pleasant heavyweight that feels much lighter.
I like: Very well extracted honey. Perfumey and enticing aroma.. Masked alcohol. Agreeable spiciness. Competent toasted malt background. Original yeast signature.
I dislike: This would not stand out in a mass of great beers, but is delivious on its own.

Io non ci ho sentito la mielosità tanto però comunque ottima. Chissà che baccano che abbiamo fatto ieri sera qua sopra belan ghgh

Dégusté au mondial avec french tickler. Bière de couleur miel brumeux avec un mince collet collant. Arômes de bananes, citron, houblon, miel et sel. Gout de miel, poivre, raisins et sucre.

Dégusté au Mondial de la biere 2009 avec Pyrozoid. Apparence caramel / orangé , brumeuse avec grumeaux, mousse beige pétillante. Aromes de beurre, caramel, mangue, miel, pain sucré, scotch, sucre a la creme. Superbe amertume, bonne equilibre, cremeuse et corps de haute densité. Gout de caramel, miel, pruneaux, raisins, seigle, sucre brun.

White foamy full lasting head. Light orange colour. Aroma is malty, fruity with citrus and apple notes. Flavor is malty too, fruity with apricots, honey and floral tones, ending in a long malty finish. Light to medium bodied.

My Bottom Line:
Honeyed sweetness caresses nourishing cereals, as herbal ideas carefully spice up this tight and buxom strong ale.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A sheet of foam decorates the clear golden.
-Alcohol is not an issue at all in the flavor profile.
-The herbal signature is at once curious and familiar. As if Saaz grew in the Laurentian forest.
-This is not just another brewer that likes to play with strange ingredients; Baladin creations are skillfully put together and well thought out recipes.
-The finish is somewhat quiet and lightly sweet, a pleasant souvenir of part of the flavor profile.

Bottle.

In short: A smooth, fluffy and yeasty Belgian Blonde Ale. Highly drinkable.
How: Bottle. Sample at Mondial de la Bière 2008
The look: Clear dark blonde body topped by a large white head
In long: A pleasant fruity meringue nose. Very yeasty beer, soft fluffy body with honeyed peaches, honeyed bananas and honeyed other things. Very round and smooth. A strong herbal feeling. Dry finish. Well balanced. Alcohol well concealed. Despite a 9% abv this felt more like a session Belgian Ale than a Belgian Strong Ale. After so many disappointing Italian beers, finally a good one, Eurika!

Small yellow head, persistent over fully hazy ochre-orange beer. Sweetish, spiced, but not specificaly honey; garden herbs. Dry, fiery malts taste, less sweet, unless in the finish. Sugary, but not at all like candi sugar. Cristallized malts. Well bodied, very slick, near syrupy. Generally speaking, this beer is too sweet for my taste. But it has a strong character, and it represents more than just an ordinary, syrupy beer.