Hapkin

Brewed by Brasserie Union (Alken-Maes / Heineken)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Jumet, Belgium

This blond beer makes me think of a less bitter variant of Duvel. Hapkin is a Belgian beer that I’ve discovered lately, and which I will drink a lot more in the future.

Bottle. Sweet peach and grassy hops aroma. Hazy orange amber color with giant white head. Smooth creamy malt up front followed by a strong grassy hops flavor. Has a metallic and sour milk finish that’s a bit unpleasant.

A big blonde girl with a serious disposition. Pours deep gold with huge, white head. Flowery-hoppy, sweet, light-malty nose. Mild, fruity sweetness quickly disappears into a semi-serious bitterness and some fizziness on the tongue. A touch dry. I had taken it for a Duvel clone, which I reckon it is, but I found it slightly less sweet, slightly less fizzy, and slightly more full in the mouth. Happy to try it again.

Bottle, bought in Belgium. Opaque with a foamy, big head. Sweety, yeasty aroma with a faint hint of strawberries. Sour-bitter-sweet taste. Almost takes shape but reamins subtle: coffee, milk chocolate, with a creamy, oily aftertaste. Dry, fizzy salty, mouty.... interesting beer!

Bottle coutesy of hellbilly @ Mesa Gathering. Skuny aroma but not that bad as road kill smell. Gold body with white head. Sweet grian yeasty bread flavor. Not bad for a beer that was 4 years old.

mesa gathering. bottle BB abde nov/2003. this was over four years old so i wasn’t expecting much....pours a rich golden yellow with a ton of yeast floaters. aroma has the alcohol evident with orange, honey and dried spiciness. lots of carbonation with a medium body and borderline rich mouth feel. the complexity of the flavors has pretty much diminished at this point...it’s very heavy on honey. almost mead like with apricots and yeasty spiciness. there’s a dry light skunk in the finish which i assume is old hops. spices linger. wish i could have it fresh to compare.

Huge, explosive mouthfeel and coats the whole mouth. Nice level of astringency the whole way through. Fresh grain present too. Quite good.

Bottle, 33 cl. This was lont time ago i’ll taste this beer. Light hazy golden color, white head. Aroma hops, fruity, and bit spices. Medium body. Taste fruity, yeast, good hops, bitterness. Good dry-bitter aftertaste. For me it stills better than ’Duvel’.