Bière Darbyste

Brewed by Brasserie de Blaugies
Style: Traditional Ale
Dour-Blaugies, Belgium

750ml bottle. Poured a medium and cloudy golden color with very large sized white head. Aromas and tastes of yeast, fruits, with very light dark fruits. I found the aromas and tastes to be on the weaker side with nothing really standing out. Thinner body with a soft mouth feel that left nice and dry.

2005. Hazy gold. Huge, billowing, dense, off white head has laid claim to its territory and is going nowhere without a fight. Nose is zesty, sour yeast - that is all that breaks through the granite layer of foam. Same yeast flavor up front with definite fig, grainy malt, dried fruit, candi sugar?, subtle hops?- wasn’t expecting either - bitter, yeasty finish and aftertaste. Full body, lively carbonation. Tastes like a fig saison. Very good, unique brew.

2004 Cork date, Sampled January 2006
Pours a hazy, perfectly amber color that is topped by a frothy, three-finger thick, light tan colored head. This beer is incredibly carbonated and the head starts to form a rocky surface as it falls slowly down. The aroma is quite fruity with definite notes of fig, raisins, and even some notes of plum. There is a light spiciness underneath the fruit, including a slight note of ginger, perhaps some orange zest, and a bit of clove. The aroma is predominantly dominated by the fruit character, I was quite surprised by how evident the fig is, it is quite nice.

The first sip foams up and is generally lost in a frothy mass of bubbles. So I just released a bit of the excess carbonation. The beer is quite light on the tongue. There is a light sweetness up front, which plays up a soft fruity character. Unlike the nose, I would not necessarily associate the fruit flavors with figs. I do get notes of red grapes, and perhaps some currants and some notes of apple, but not much in the way of figs, except a solid non-descript fruitiness. There is a bit of spiciness here as well, though it is definitely not quite enough to balance the fruit notes. There are notes of subtle ginger, pepper, and some notes of clove.

In the end this beer is just not quite complex enough. The fruit character is nice, but it needs a bit of complexity somewhere to balance the fruit out, obviously a bit more spicy Saison-like yeasty notes would be more than welcome. This beer is still quite tasty, and certainly drinkable, it just seems a bit too one dimensional.

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Lightly hazy deep golden. Abundant carbonation (duh!). Nose is pure Blaugies dust, hay, flinty steely dry, touch of iron. Faintest whiff of fruit. Ernest is spot on with the cantaloupe and hints of grapes. Medium dryness, not as dry as the Epeature from Blaugies. More minerally water/earthy yeast character so distinctive of Blaugies. Some surprising hoppiness near the finish. This stuff is so simple, yet so elegant, in a rustic sort of way. This is the kind of beer that makes me buy crusty bread, good cheese and good sausage, and sit back and relish in the sensual pleasure of life.

Sampled at the Milwaukee YEHa!05 courtesy of MIBRomeo: Hazy dark bronze pour has a lightly-lacing white head. Sweet, lightly fruity citrus and Belgian malty and yeasty aroma. Starts with tart, sour fruit backed with a malty base and a dry, tart finish. I’m not a big fan of the tartness, but with a little more balance, this could be quite nice.

Hazy amber with a great head, looking appetizing as all the Blaugies beers (giving the same excitement when uncorking also).Vinous aroma, almost geuze-like, lemony freshness meeting oak woodiness. Lots of lemon flavours, some yeastiness, oaky vanilla, talcum-powder dryness like in a Girardin. Very fizzy, prickling the tongue. Complex, yet refreshing. One of the beers that convinces you of the supremacy of Belgian brewing!

Very hazy orange/amber with a thick, lasting off-white head. Nice sweetish aroma. Some spicy corianderish notes. Fairly full-bodied and quite yeasty. Some sweet cherry and light bubble gum in the finish. Slightly tart, dryish finish. Pretty tasty, but I don’t really get any figgy character at all.

Golden-beige colour, very hazy, big head. Yeasty, slightly figgy/fruity aroma. The palate is quite yeasty as well, with an underlying fruity sweetness. Not hugely different, nor expressive, just a decent Belgian ale.