De Ranke XX Bitter

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

0,33 bottle. And yep, this is a great beer. Pours hazy orange with medium head. Aroma is spicy. Extremely hoppy, dry and really bitter, long finish. Fantastic!

Pours hazy golden with big rocky head. aroma is a spicy hay like smell with some sweet candied notes behind. taste is spicy up front with some sweet candy behind. midway i get a sort of cider hay taste. finish is very dry bitter with very nice lingering effect. pretty nice but nothing next to houblon.

Fantastic Belgian Ale. Hoppiest in Belgium indeed. I really, really like this beer. It has that barnyard character that it purports, but also a very nice full body for a golden ale. Very smooth, a little one demensional, but sweet golden notes do pervade, along with the yeasty characteristics to blend with the grassy hoppiness and create a very good, long finishing beer. Yum. The brett really dominates the nose, which is actually not off-putting to me for some reason.

From a 750. dirty, chewy light flavored hops with begian yeast thrown right in there, this beer was always known to me as "the hoppiest beer in belgium" and that always used to piss me off. But now I understand.

Hazy burnt orange with foamy off-white head. Aroma of piney hops and yeast. Flavor is hops, of course. Pine, grass, citrus and a slight appearance by some sweet malts. Refreshingly bitter and dry in the finish. Nicely done, tasted like a fine English pale ale.

This is a very, very good ale from Belgium. Kind of a cross breed of a Belgian wheat beer and English ale. Very hoppy, dry and wheaty with a lovely sweet bitterness. Excellent!

Cloudy deep golden pour with spritzy carbonation. A lofty, rocky, popping white head forms, enduring throughout the quaff. Lacing is everywhere, like the head exploded, like it’s glued to the inside of the glass. Aroma seems like stumbling into a secret library, with dust-plastered books, antique furniture and a stoic staircase that the aroma winds up and down. Notes of yeast are musty and ancient. Hops are generous in quantity and zest, alive with scents of oranges fallen from the shady grove trees, clouds of lemon merengue and unkempt beds of daisies and daffodils. Also noted is a farmhouse funk character that seems to bridge the gap between the tart yeast, spice from hops and fruit and floral dashes. Tremendous up to this point. It gets even more exciting upon first satisfying sip. The hops are now predominately grassy in nature, the musty yeast provides the musty citrus twang. Funk notes arrive late, along with medium high bitterness and light sweet notes. Spicing is moderate, alcohol only slightly noticeable. Such a unique beer. The finish is dry and hoppy, then funky, with great length and thirst quenching power. Mouthfeel is very lively but has substantial body, with mild acidity and near-perfect carbonation levels - just enough to make it animated without compromising delicate nuances. A benchmark for a still rarely encountered style. Older samples have showcased a remarkable retention of the hop profile and a mild but more expansive brettanomyces and farmhouse character. A wonderful beer from a great little brewery. I prefer this beer bottled; draft samples have proven too fizzy, a departure from the subtle complexities resulting.

Bottle at Erasmus Bruges. Funky, hoppy nose. Very pale color. Extremely bitter (duh!) and highly hopped. This beer smooths out and gets better as it warms. Very easy to drink at 55F. Well done, unique beer.