De Graal Quest

Brewed by De Graal
Style: Abbey Tripel
Brakel, Belgium

Draft at Hasselt Bierweekend. Orange-tinted gold beer shows a creamy white head. Hoppy nose is green and dank and fresh, but also lighter fruity notes of orange and tangerine. Taste is disappointingly sweet, mouthfeel disappointingly thin. Bit of alcohol warmth too. Smells nice, though.

(Bottled) Hazy yellow color with a medium, firm head. Aroma of pale malt with some acidity and mild fruity notes. Flavor is pale-malty with a dryish, moderately acidic and grassy bitterness. Alcohol not completely hidden, but not quite burning, either. Medium body with high-n-foamy carbonation. Somewhat disappointing overall, with too much acidity for me to deal with - and some alcohol, too.

De Graal did it again. After the infamous Graal Gember they produced yet again one of those dangerously subtle beers that seem like you could spend an evening drinking them but after three or four you are completely smashed. Despite the 9% alcohol it tastes fresh and fruity with just the right amount of sweetness to go with the taste. It pours a rather bland blond but with a lacy head reminiscent in smell of a bouquet of flowers or a selection of dried fruit. The alcohol is present but way less than one might expect. It’s not a beer for people who like dry and bitter, though

Bottle 33 cl. from Hopduvel. Taste 04.08.09. Hazy golden color, with nice creamy white head. Aroma malts, some spice, fruit. Medium body. Taste sweet, alcoholic, bit spices, good hops, fruits. Alocoholic touch.

Bottle. Hazy gold with a white foam. Aromas are citrus and spices with herbal notes. Some apricot with yeast and hints of sulphur. Flavours are sweet toasty malts with apricot and soft spices. Creamy and quite viscous on the palate. Warming, dry and peppery on the finish. Good.

Medium, dense white head; hazy yellow beer with lime shine. Grainy, and at the same time, lightly smoked aromas; smoked wood, garden herbs and green fruit. Very toasted and very spicy taste, with liquorice out in force, and a very strange flavoursynthesis, part (USA?) hops, part sweetness, spices and fruitesters; always reverting to the toast & spices. Very slick, bit burning MF, creamy texture but medium bodied only. Somehow, it just doesn’t cling together fully. Close, but not the full 100%.

From bottle at The Beer Brothers Zomerbierfestival, Mechelen. Hazy yellow, small head. Fruity aroma with some spice mix; spices dominate in the nose, but on the palate it is all about alcoholic fruitiness. Wins no prizes, but is very refreshing for a 9% beer.

33cl, new brew Anno 2009, from De Hopduvel Gent, complex brew, balanced, clear, good head, good brew