De Proef Flemish Primitive

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

Wow, why is this beer rated so low?? Do I not get this style, or am I missing something. The pour is hazy straw with aroma of tart citrus, hops, Brett, and horse blanket. The flavor is very citric-spicy, with barnyard elements plus floral hops and some fruit. Nice complexity and balance.

The Gathering. Sweet. Funky cider notes. Interesting. Too sweet. Too sweet.

Bottle @ London Gatherying, Nov 05. Sour and fruity aromas. More oaky fruits coming through in the taste with a mildly sour flavour. Fairly clean and quite nice.

Bottled at the Chris_O Beer, Cheese and Curry powwow. A slightly hazy golden coloured beer with a whitish head. The aroma is funky and lemony, a bit like a Saison. The taste is more of the same with good spicy, peppery hops. A nice fruity citric beer.

Bottle at Chris’. A blondish, well crafted fruity beer with some complex sour notes. Deserving of a full rating at some point in the future.

Reinart Flemish Wild Label. 750mL bottle shared on 11/6/2005, not sure of the date, probably 04 or 05. Pours a light caramel-orange tinted gold body, plenty of white head that is well-retained and provides light lacing, but for this strength and sweetness, it should lace better and be better retained, I think. Unfiltered and lightly hazy as well. Aroma shows sweet toffee and caramel, with a slight brett note. It would probably be less slight if there wasnt so much sweet malt. Bits of dry fruits (apricots, peaches, tangerines) and a light vanilla cream-like note as well. Other than the light brett, it’s fairly clean. The flavor shows brett right off the start, but again, is quickly enveloped by sweet caramel and toffee, with a mild vanilla and orange liqueur flavor. Mouthfeel is fairly tight, but the high amount of residual sugar in here contributes a light stickiness that is detracting from what I feel a wild ale should be. Low alcohol apparency, even at 9% and a very clean yeast (non-brett yeast, that is). Well-constructed, and the brett adds a noticeable touch of tartness, in passing, but I’m not getting all of this cheesey/funk that I see in other reviews. Could see this improving greatly with proper aging. 8/4/7/3/14

2/18/2005 Spoon Whacker lable. Pours a hazy, light golden-yellow body, with some fluffy white head. Notes of lemon, grass, hay in the background of the aroma, but up front, to my delight, is a ton of brett character. The vapor from the bottle upon first opening is just a pure shot of wild yeast decadence, quite unmistakeably queuze-like. Band-aids, wet hay and straw. Taking in more of the aroma, there is a quite detectable note of alcohol, which detracts from the experience, and some light dough notes, reminding me of a doughy, alcoholic, perfumy trippel. Flavor begins with tart, wild yeast, lightly chewy consistency and some angel-food cake notes. Alcohol grows on the palate, just like in the aroma and some sweet honey flavored pils malt is quite detectable. The more I drink, the more the barnyard qualities fade and I’m left with a yeasty, phenolic, trippel, or perhaps, a Strong Golden Ale (though not overly spicy). However, I cork the beer and save it until the next day. Upon trying it the next day, it seems about the same, unfortunately, though some alcohol has died off. With the last quarter of the bottle to go, I vigorously swirl the bottle and infuse all of the sediment in to my last glass.
WOW. This is splendid! I’ve never seen a beer change so much for the better on the yeast pour! The nutty-dryness of the yeast halts the alcohol’s sharp effect on the palate, while some funky notes are renewed. Wonderful, smooth texture from the yeast, with light malt notes and just a much better balance. Not bland in the least. Score is an average of the yeast-pour and the non yeast pour. Definitely going to go get another bottle and see what comes of shaking up the yeast on the very first pour. 7/4/8/4/15. Total score an average between the two labels.

Bottle at London Gathering Nov 05. Bit of dirty gold colour with lasting off white head. Bit of sourness, bit sickly in mouth then goodish hops on the end. I did not get what others did out of it.

Flowery, perfumey bliss. Just the right touch of bitterness, flower petals, spice, and malt. Not as "primitive" (sour) as expected, but quite Saison-esque in nature, with pepper, flower petals, potpourii, and other herbal goodness imbued in liquid. Quite a tasty treat.
Earlier Rating: 5/7/2004 Total Score: 3.8
Ahhh yes, this beer is imbued with that classic sour apple peel and rind-of-Brie-cheese character I love in lambics, sour ales, and the occasional saison. This reminded me a bit of Beatrix. The sour apple and cheese rindy, musty flavors led to a crackery, spicy phenolic finish. A touch of alcohol was noticed. The elements work quite well together- a nice change of pace from more typical fare.