Lefebvre Floreffe Prima Melior (Meilleure)

Brewed by Brasserie Lefebvre
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Rebecq-Quenast, Belgium

draft at In De Wildeman in Amsterdam - Pours dark brown with a thin, lingering, off-white head. Aroma is malty with dark fruit. It tastes sweet with notes of anise, caramel, and dark fruit. This medium bodied beer stays sweet right into the finish without getting syrupy. Very nice.

Sample at 3rd Annual Great Austin Belgian Beer Festival on May 16, 2009. Losing memory for the review (too many samples by this time), but I did manage to write down the numbers. Dark, great lookin’ head. Nice dark brown color. Sweet aroma, hints of licorice and spice. Great brew!

Pours a rich ruby color with thick plumy off-white head with big gobs of lacing. Aroma is of light yeast, dark fruit, and Belgian spices. Taste is of dark fruit (figs, currant, grape) and some yeast and belgian spice. Alcohol is well muted with the dark fruit and yeaest working well together. FOr $4.50 it’s a steal.

Interesting beer. The foam is beautiful. The aroma is also very good, flowery. It’s sweet, but also has a little of the Flemish red sourness. Also some liqueur with cherries and coffee.

33cl bottle. Pours very dark red with a tan brown head. Dark red fruit nose. Cherries & black currant. But also coffee in it and something reminding me of rubber or tobacco. Mouthpunch of a palate due strong carbonation. Hardly anything to grasp on the swallow, then lingering caramel sweetness finishing chocolate mint dry. Either this is perfumed or it’s lacking body for it’s promising nose.

I wanted especially this one and, as I live in Idiot-beer-laws-Quebec, I had to buy the 1/2 Meter Bier package, with 3 beers I’m not interested in. 26,95$ at S.A.Q.... Good thing this one was there, although I am not too sure in what category of Belgian Ale it would fit in (even though I don’t care much for categories; my tastebuds like good tastes, that’s it!). But blindtest me on this one and I would say it is a Scotch Ale... And a very fine one! The aroma is all in caramel sweetness, with notes of licorice; lasting thin foam layer. Warming but not overpowered, well-balanced. Taste is pretty sweet for sure, with notes of spices, bitterness having fun with all the pleasant subtilities in the aftertaste. Rich and creamy texture. Excellent, even better than I thought it would be. A very good belgian scotch ale !? From afar the best beer of that 8 bottle package!

750 ml bottle. A hazy dark ruby beer with amedium sized, lacing and fast disappearing light brown head. The aroma is strong, powerful and malty, with notes of caramel and much fruitiness (dark fruits, cherries, peaches) and some sugar and spices. The flavour is very sweet, with light acidity. Intense and flavourful, again fruity, with some toasted hints. Medium to full body, lively carbonation, long finish with light to medium bitterness, lightly alcoholic. Quite complex and drinkable, very nice.

Pours with deep mahogony hues, hazy, with a short lived tan head. Aromas of candy sugars, sweet sherry, ripe berries, ocean breeze, raisins, and port wine. Smooth, full mouthfeel with moderate sweetness and flavours of preserved stonefruit, raisins, and floral candy. Quite sweet, but very smooth and drinkable. Would probably be much nicer in a better condition (suspected slightly heat affected).