De Koninck

Brewed by Brouwerij De Koninck
Style: Belgian Ale
Antwerpen, Belgium

on tap at D.B.A. in NYC. they called it "Bolleke" probably because that’s what it said on the tap handle, but I thought that the name refers to the ball shaped glass, not the name of the beer. color was brownish-amber, mostly clear, large tall tannish head, ironically served in a snifter after all. aroma was caramel malt and earthy bitter hops. flavor the same, some caramel malt, earthy hops. nice session belgian ale for the californians who wish they were in London, or vice versa. did that make any sense?

Clear amber body with a creamy tan head and big lacing. Aroma is very sweet rock candy and dark fruit. Flavor is very subdued rock candy, raison and doughy. Short somewhat fruity finish. Light bodied, thin texture.

Tap at Grand Cafe, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (Schengen). Chestnut, thin white head. Lively malty, refreshing and cool. Mouth is slightly brackish biscuit, malt, some fruitiness. Refreshing with a lasting maltiness in the finish. Quite good.

11.2 oz. brown, longneck bottle. Freshness date is of 05/12/05. Poured out a deep copper color, with a minimal head. The head was tan in color, and it faded quicker than it started. It left a smattering of foamy bubbles around the rim of the glass. Aromas are very weak, it’s really hard to pick out anything above the background. Slight stale malt aromas. No hops aromas or flavors either. Mouthfeel is thin, flavors are weak. Tastes like a stale Budweiser. Not much worth trying again. I know I won’t be buying it again.

Bottle, a fathers day gift from numba won Son: Hazy peach-amber color with a small fading eggshell white head. Aroma is candi sweet with over-ripe fruit. Flavor starts sweet and fruity (apricot) followed by light caramel and a lightly dry finish with just a hint of bitterness. Medium body is sticky with moderate carbonation.

330 mL bottle from LCBO. App.: light reddish amber with a fluffy, off-white head. Aroma: yeast, spice (clove, allspice), fruit (cherries and apples), and flowers. Palate: med. body and med.-full carbonation, slightly sharp. Flav.: malty, a bit fruity (grapes and cherries), a hint of sweetness. A bit of the spice and flowers come through too. The flavour didn’t live up to the nose.

Hard to believe I’m rating the same beer given the 61% percentile. Rocky head dies down very quickly. Darkish amber in colour, very clear. Nose is malt driven and fits the commercial descriptor well - a text book example perhaps. Palate is a let down, just a bland mixture of bubbles and faint malts. Hints of the Belgian Ale surface early but disappear quickly. Needs to delivery more obvious malt flavour.

Murky orange-brown. Some lacing, quickly receding head. Brown sugar, caramel, yeastiness in the nose. Toffee, bread dough, malt in the palate. Inoffensive and good.