De Ranke Guldenberg

Brewed by Brouwerij De Ranke
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Dottignies/Dottenijs, Belgium

Draft. Amber beer with a whitish head. Malt7y, bubblegum, estery aroma and flavor. Lingering malt with some metallic notes, spice, and yeast. medium body - maybe a bit thin. Don’t bother.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry, blankboy, tupalev & jerc - courtesy of HogTownHarry. Hazy deep golden with a wisp of a head. Aroma is like an old used bookstore - sounds weird, but it was really nice! A hint of lemon in there as well. Flavour is similar to the aroma, really interesting and tough to describe. Definitely some floral and lemon notes in there, lots of mustiness, some yeast in the finish - just really good!

11.2 oz bottle, bottled April 04. Pours a golden honey color with a surprisingly tiny head that does not stick around. Primary aroma is honey and it smells excellent. Sweet, fruity, a bit syrupy but in a good way. Apples. No hop character present anymore. Taste is sweet, tingly honey with some fruitiness behind and a crisp dry finish. Really excellent beer which has matured very nicely.

Bottle (750ml) shared with HogTownHarry, GregClow & jerc -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a hazy orange-copper with an average size diminishing white head. Aroma: Whoa, that’s a weird one! An odd sweet malty/spicy combo with some light sourness, fruit and Belgian yeast. Flavour of Belgian yeast, sweet and malty, light spices, citrus and a bitter finish. Alcohol is fairly well hidden. Average bodied. Doesn’t knock my socks off but it’s good.

2008-03-04. Hazy yellow body with a modest white head and lacing. (3+) Bizarre first aroma quickly evolves to citrusy, pine needle something. Light notes of yeast. Light spicy citrus in the flavour, dry lemon seed finish. Pale malts and ephemeral impressions of I don’t know what in the middle. Average palate is soft and pleasant on the tongue. 7/3+/7/3/15 - 3.6
Bottle won by Mabel at Zythos, shared at our hostel in Brussels <P>June 2007. Hazy golden amber with a moderate fluffy white head. Aroma has a floral, yeasty, musty/dusty character with underlying notes of dandelions and muted fruit. Unique flavour is not at all white I anticipated – perhaps it should have been, since it echoes the dusty and dry tone of the aroma. The impression of dandelion returns with a more lemony character in the flavour, accented by touches of grass or straw. It recalls ambiguous memories of Fantome. Average palate. Very interesting. 7/4/8/3/15 - 3.7 Tasting at HogTownHarry’s

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy, GregClow and jerc, my bottle. Hazy amber, average white head diminishes to a small drool. Dry - DRY! - aroma, dusty, musty - like an abandoned house or a used bookshop, some fruity malt emerges after a bit, and soft floral hops dominates after a bit. Taste is similar, sweeter, not as musty, floral/bitter finish. Light slick body, softly astringent, weakly carbonated, has a quick finish but a lingering background musty aftertaste. Very interesting, but the aroma is the highlight.

Apple and yeast nose. Slightly hoppy, somewhat tart, malt sweetness. Citrusy too.

Bottle. Nose is yeasty esters, lighter fruit notes of peaches, banana, cherries. Opaque cloudy pale orange with a bit head. Spicey sweetness, lots of hop presence with hints of aforementioned fruits. Orange peel dryness, generally a lot of citrus. Very Enjoyable.