De Ranke XX Bitter

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

On tap at Zeno’s. Light woody-citrusy notes with dry hops and light pilsner malt. A bit of tart fruit. Medium golden clear with light haze. Light off-white lacing head. Medium body with light medium carbonation. Nice bitter Belgian ale with pilsner malt light sweetness and mild bitter finish. Well balanced drinkable ale. Nothing extraordinary but a pleasure to drink.

Bouteille 330ml. De couleur dorée et voilée. Nez de levures fruitées (agrumes et zest, notes de pêches, traces de pommes), moyen de houblon herbeux (herbes fraîches) aux notes florales, dépices (coriandre, petites notes de clou de girofle et de poivre), malté de pain avec des petites notes de céréales. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-fort et une texture légèrement crémeuse. Goût moyen-amer de houblon herbeux, légèrement floral et aux notes citriques (pamplemousse, une amertume présente durant toute la gorgée) accompagné dun goût de levures fruitées (agrumes aux notes sûres et leur zest, faibles notes de pêches) et dun goût épicé (moyen de poivre doux, léger de coriandre) lors de lentrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un moyen goût malté de pain avec de faibles notes de biscuits puis en finale lon retrouve un regain d’amertume assez asséchante de houblon plus herbeux (herbes mouillées), légèrement terreux et citrique ainsi que des notes épicées (poivre et notes de clou de girofle). Post-goût moyen et plutôt sec, moyennement amer de houblon herbeux, légèrement terreux et aux notes citriques, avec un goût de levures fruitées (zest dagrumes).

courtesy of fishingnet. Pours cloudy golden with white head. Aroma of floral and herbal hops. Fruity with grassy yeast. Taste was exeptionaly smooth with mouthfeel that was similar to the aroma. Aftertaste has notes of light hops bitterness.

It is bitter but delightfully so, my partner disagreed with me but that is nothing new. Drank real well but just no depth in the body, aroma was average, appearance fine, just no complexity in the taste.

Poured a hazy gold with a thin off-white head. The aroma was grassy, hoppy, and a bit of yeast came through. First sip was great, very bitter (duh). I love hoppy beers but this was somewhat over the top. A little more balance would have been nice. Pretty awesome overall.

Opaque gold with a full, soapy white head. Nose has some salt, lemon, faint hops, earth, spice, and lactic notes. Overall rather refreshing. Lots of lemon, hop, and earth in the flavor. Moderate body, very dry, carbonated yet crisp and refreshing through, long finish of bitter hop notes. Nice beer.

Bottle @ Cafe Duvel (Pressklubben) Clear with some yeast. The head falls togheter and leavs a little lacing. Nice yeast and hopps!

11.2 oz bottle poured into a Duvel tulip. Very pale peach-flesh color with a dense white head. Completely opaque with yeast and maybe some chill haze. Lots of filmy lacing. Aroma is gentle and subtle, with no real outstanding feature. Nice noble hop nose with spicy and mildly citric notes. Flavor is toasty and yeasty up front with some nice lemony hops and a medium bitterness at the back of the palate. Carbonation is very high, to the point where I think I’d enjoy it more after a few minutes of letting the Duvel etching force some of the CO2 out of solution. Lovely dry finish and good drinkability.