Duvel Groen

Brewed by Brouwerij Moortgat
Style: Belgian Ale
Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium

Poured at All Bar One into Duvel glass. Flavour is citrus hops; lemon and pefrume. Very light. Heavy malt and yeast. Nowhere near as good as the normal Duvel. Very sad really in that aspect. Still you get the classic Duvel yeast texture. An easier going Duvel with medium low mouth feel. Not too sure on how they keep their kegs in All Bar One but love to try this closer to home to see the difference. A good beer but not a masterpiece.

Draft @ Toronado. Pours a bright, light golden color; huge white head with perfect retention and fine-bubbled lacing; great pour. Nice amounts of honey, white pepper, and basic mineral bitterness; nicely balanced; very yeasty, peppery. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: again, lots of peppery yeasty notes, light honey, light esters; like regular Duvel, a solid, dry, peppery Belgian ale; very nice and balanced; ideal for pairing with food. Nicely dry finish: lasting bitterness, dry toasty malts, and white pepper.

On tap at Monk’s Cafe in Philly, PA. Pours a crystal clear, golden body with a light rising carbonation. Big and rocky, white, two-finger width head that slowly collapses and leaves a good amount of lacing. Aroma is lighter more vague than I anticipated. Sweeter malts with some bread, a light fruit, some yeast, and a trace of grassy hops. Flavor is similar, but with a better hop profile that the aroma. A semi-sweet, pale bread malt with a very mellow yeast spicing. Good amount of lemony grass and flowery hops that stick out noticably thanks a thinner body. Finishes dry and crisp with a moderate aftertaste. Prickly carbonation. Overall, a lighter Belgian Ale with a tasty grassy, crispness. A light fruitiness and malt profile balance this nicely. Glad to have tried.

On tap at the Bavarian Lodge, Lisle, IL. and dispensed to a Duvel Green tulip. The color was a lightly hazed golden hue, with a white, rocky, meringue-like head and sheets of web-like lacing. The aroma was a hint of Belgian yeast, Pils malt, some grassiness, and a light lemony note. The flavor added a subtle hop bitterness and a little tartness. The finish was dry and clean. A nice, younger brother of the original with more sessionable qualities.

On tap in it’s glass. Golden body and a fluffy-rocky white head. aroma of bread, grass and Candi. Taste is hoppy, grassy, citrus, straw, hay and bread. Lively bubbles. Dry.

On tap @ The Daily Pint, served in its Duvel Green tulip. Clear pale golden with a one finger white head, fair retention. Belgian yeast with some banana yeast and hay dominate the aroma with some underlying lemon and doughy yeast notes. The flavor is some stale pale malts and even a tinge of wet paper, with more bitterness than I figured it would have--peaked at a 3 and the finish was dry. The sweetness in the aroma is understated in the flavor as well. There’s a little bit of white peppery in the finish. Medium prickly carbonation with a light to medium body. Meh--the regular is much, much better.

I am a big fan of regular Duvel, and this beer seemed to me a pale imitation of my familiar favorite. I was a little disappointed with it. Appearance was a hazy straw yellow, but without the towering fluffy head I associate with bottled Duvel. Aroma is light and vaguely biscuity, but lacks the assertive spiciness of the original. Flavor is inoffensive, but extremely mild, and lacks much of substance. Sort of reminded me of "light" beer. Mouthfeel was a touch thin. I’d forgo this one - go for the original. I tried this on-tap at the BXL Beglian Cafe in midtown Manhattan.

On tap at Mc G’s. Pours clear golden with a nice white head. This one is simply a smaller version of the classic and very sessionable. I had a couple and enjoyed it very much.