De Ranke XX Bitter

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

High time this rating got an update: First had a bottle that I think was a bit of a teenager—not fresh enough to show off how nice the hops were, not old enough to be dry and funky. But having had several more bottles of this since my first taste of XX, my opinion of this beer gets higher every time I try it. One particularly nice bottle at Dickies Grillhouse in Brugge sticks in my memory. So much lovely herbal minty hop character. A modern classic. (Previous Rating: Bottle. Cloudy straw yellow with an abundance of long lasting white head. Soft, minty-clean hop aroma. Toothpaste. Light body, firm carbonation. Brisk clean bitterness, pepper, lemon, rather dry and short flavor profile. Becomes a little chewy. An unusual beer. On it’s own, it struck me as kind of off balance. But with a lamb roast, it might be just the thing. 6/4/5/3 13)

Slightly hazy yellow, creamy white head. Sweet yeasty, berry-like nose with some spices. Flavor is there and then gone - sweet lemon candy then bitter.. then a slow fade back into lemon.

Bottle, Oude Arsenaal, Antwerp, Belgium, 04-10-06. Poured a warm golden colour, with a good white fluffy head. Aroma was very hoppy and a bit yeast as well, taste was also refreshingly bitter with hops dominating, long lingering finish, most enjoyable.

Golden a little hazy body, white head; Warm nose with some depth, pleasantly bitter of both malt and hop, aromas are mostly grain and pine; Great balance between carbonation and texture, fresh and bitter; Quite long finish with a bitterness that grows with the length, again both from hop and malt, and again in a very nice balance: resin, dry pine, behind it some fresh sweet flowers. Very, very nice beer, one of my true favorites.

I´ve been dying to sample this beer, so I had great hopes. Aroma is very hoppy, floral with some spicy notes. Hops hit you right on the tongue, bitter (surprise?) finish. A bit of an american taste to this, but way more balanced then it´s american counterparts. Nice beer, but somewhat lacking in character

For no reason in particular, my expectations were not high for this brew. I think when I see that something is "the most of such and such", I get nervous that it might be a marketing ploy. I was pleasantly surprised, however. It was somewhat light on the tongue, but not overwhelming I felt. The color was cloudy and there seemed to be many remnants of hops inside the brew. In the future I might try it again, though it wouldn’t be first choice because I think I enjoy the stronger flavored brews. On a side note, I’d be interested to see how this one would be after it was laid down for a while. Via the label it looks like it can sit for about 5 years before you’d want to throw it overboard.

NOT so bitter but good in tatse, national in all the features. Good foam, good aftertaste and very drinkable always.

33 cl bottle. Yeast at the bottom. Unclear dark golden colour with a big fizzy head. very high carbonated when I open it. Very hoppy aroma with a touch of yeast. Tasty flavour of soft hops combined with a little yeast,fruity and bitter/dry finish.