De Proef Flemish Primitive

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Lochristi, Belgium

From a 750mL Bottle, Pig Nun, Fall 2004. Pours a cloudy pale gold color with a fleeting finger of white fizzy head. Mild pineapple and mango brett aromas mingle with some more earthy, musty barnyard funk. There’s definitely an intriguing pedio character coming through as well, manifesting itself as a sweaty, relatively young soft goat cheese. A gentle wheat creaminess and light citrus lemon zest accompanies. Medium bodied, lightly carbonated mouthfeel that falls apart quickly with a flabby, fatty texture. Stale wheat flavors and restrained musty horseblanket up front on the palate with a touch of acidity. Could use more sourness to help sharpen up the flabbiness of the palate some. Some of the funky cheese characters come through on the back end, along with some stale hay flavors. Interesting brett characters; these are the best part. Unfortunately, the rest of the beer doesn’t seem like a solid enough foundation to let these dimensions carry this trait enough for the overall impression to be high.

Demon Fish...cloudy gold yellow. Lasting, small head. Light spice and tropical fruit aroma. Brett, earthiness, lemon zest, celery, white pepper, guava rind, flowers, old hops, big funk. Someone mentioned a stale British IPA and I can sort of see that. Decent and different but not delicious for me this time...some of the early batches seemed more distinct and tasty.

Thanks to whoever brought this to the Hotel Tasting before the Brewer’s Jam. Fairly clear, light orange body. Funky spicy aroma. Tart, with and underlying sweetness. Gets better towards the end of the glass.

Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale. Legendary Cunning Fox. Cloudy gold with nice off-white head. Brett, earth-funk and barnyard on the nose, with light citrus. Earthy wet straw and Belgian yeast with carbonated sour light fruits on the tongue. Seems to lean much more toward a true Flemish or even Saison more so than the typical candyish Belgian Strong. Medium mouthfeel and fine spritzy bubbles and sour chasing all. Soft and bubbly at the same time. A complex and fine beer.

A golden pour with a light white head. All I get on the nose is Belgian yeast. A bready flavor boosted by a fruitiness. Carbonation was a bit over the top and the palate was a tad thin. A good example of the stye and very drinkable.

Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale. The aroma was bready with citrus and a well done brett aroma. A subtle yet substantial Belgian yeast spice characteristic was present which was dominated by peppery phenolics. A sweet tropical fruit ester lingered in the background of the aroma. Also present was a floral and herbal nature. The beer poured into the chalice crystal clear pale golden with a white moderate head which lasted well to lace the glass. The flavor was nicely achieved with a sage herb presence coupled with a Belgian yeast spice and a strong earthy and peppery flavor. The brett in the aroma came through in the flavor as well with a citrusy and bready presence. The sweetness in the aroma was malt based in the flavor, but was quickly trounced by phenolics and an earthy hop presence. The bittering was substantial and some alcohol was along for the flavor ride. The spices and herbs were nicely complex. The finish was dry with lasting tropical fruit, citrus and peppery spice long into the aftertaste. The body was just above medium and with a moderate level of carbonation the beer was creamy on the palate. Some alcohol warming was notable post consumption. A really nice Belgian Strong with well achieved flavor complexity of both esters and phenols. 750 ml bottle. Since when does a beer with at least 8 different versions of a beer not have different entries?

Not sure which bottle this was. Bretty, fruity, cat-piss aroma. Tomato and celery, garlic salt. Very unique in that regard. Cat piss is strong in the flavor, with notes of spinach, celery, very dry yeast. Totally different, would be much more enjoyable if it didn’t smell like a litterbox!

Bottle, thanks to eyedrinkale. Light gold color with white head. Aroma of funky earthy malt, some lemons and yeast. The flavor is similar, slightly sour. More like a saison than a belgian strong, but pretty tasty nonetheless.