daleharshman (207), San Diego, California, USA
| 4.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Nov 5, 2009 11.2 ounce bottle from Whole Foods in Hillcrest ($4.99). What the...?!?! Absolutely came gushing out of the little bottle and I lost about a third of it. Anyway, pours a murky apricot color with (of course) big white head. Aroma is bready malts, yeast, spice, some fruit (banana, citrus). Flavor has a noticeable hop "bite" (lemon, other citrus) but with very balanced rich malt flavors. Also some spice and yeast. Finish is dry with a nice mixture of sweetness and bitterness. The aroma is more consistent with the tripel while the flavor is a nice combination of the two. Probably the best marriage of the two styles that I’ve had. Very good.
WisconsinBeer (536), St Paul, Minnesota, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Jan 2, 2010 Bottle. Pours a hazy deep yellow with tons of sediment floating around and a medium head. Flavor is yeasty bread, bananas, candi sugars, and ripe fruits. Mild and smooth with just a hint of Euro hop finish. Deep and intriguing, the flavor profile just goes on and on. Could drink this everyday without a problem. ricke (257), Malme, Sweden
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 16/20 | Jan 2, 2010 Serving date: 2009-03-24. Served in tasting glass.
Pale yellow color, somewhat straw colored. Slightly hazy. Big white and thick head. Good head retention. Some lacings.
Plenty of floral hop aromas. Decent amount of sweet fruity aromas as well (banana, lemon peel, grapefruit). Yeast. A slightly sharp smell, but very pleasant.
White bread and biscuity malts in the taste. Yeast. Some spices and herbs. Plenty of grass and earthy notes. Very big and quite bold hop flavors that blend beautifully with the malts and "Belgian" yeast character. Pleasant bitterness in the finish and faint spicy alcohol. Some flavors are a bit sharp, but all in all a very nice taste.
Medium body, plenty of carbonation. Slides very easily over the tongue.
I liked this one. It manages to blend a rather aggressive and bold hop character with the sweet, fruity and yeasty character of the Belgian pale ale style in a great way.
Serving type: bottle
(Copy of old Beer Advocate review)
gary07734 (412), Tyne & Wear, England
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Jan 1, 2010 75cl bottle into trappist glass, pour is hazy pleasant gold with a huge foamy white head that lasts. Aroma is herbal and resiny hops, taste is yeasty at first, then a lot of hops, mainly herbal and coriander flavours, then a strongly bitter herbal and dry finish. Very nice. Pinball (3011), Allerřd, Denmark
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 | Dec 31, 2009 75cl bottle shared with friends.
cloudy yellow, smooth, fluffy creamy white head.
flowery and spicy and quite hoppy aroma. vanilla. nice. good balance between hops and fruity sweetness.
ver well blended and rounded.
flavor is very bitter, spicy sort of bitter, or vomit sort of bitter. it’s like the english hops are way stronger than the rest, so quite unbalanced. Chalsk (27), North Caldwell, New Jersey, USA
| 4.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 10/10 | 5/5 | 10/10 | 5/5 | 19/20 | Dec 30, 2009 An excellent beer. Notes of grapefruit and malt hit the nose. The beer has a great haze with a thin pillow head. The carbonation is perfect on the palate, a medium to full body. A subtle sweetness upfront as the beer quickly moves to bitter with a dry, foamy finish that leaves a slight sweetness on the tongue. Just a great beer. Papillon (216), Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
| 4.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 9/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 18/20 | Dec 29, 2009 750 mL Bottle. Murky yellow body with a big foamy white head that settles to a persistant rocky layer that clings to the glass in soapy clumps. Intensely hoppy on the nose with a bouquet of grapefruit peel, grass, wildflowers, and an innuendo of pine. Light sweet malts and a bold hop expression dominate the flavor; there is also a faint innuendo of honey. Grapefruit peel aftertaste, and a linger of hop bitter in the finish. Hop Lovers rejoice! Hansen (2357), Randers, Denmark
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Dec 25, 2009 Orange coloured and hazy. Has a huge, white head, frooty. Lasting. Heavy hoppy aroma, metallic, grassy. Flavor starts moderate bitter and finish heavy to harsh bitter. Dry texture. swiseman (210), Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
| 4.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 5/5 | 18/20 | Dec 23, 2009 shared a bottle with a good friend at the Garrison. definitely a unique beer as clearly an IPA, but lots of fruitiness in the finish. While not an ideal IPA (a bit light on the bitterness) or a Belgian (hops masks many of the subtle flavours), it satisfies both needs at the same time. certainly a must-try for lovers of both styles.
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