Malheur 10

750 bottle purchased at Liquor Max in Loveland, CO. Pours sparkling and hazy yellow with a huge frothy, white lasting head, excellent lacing. Aroma is average malt (grain, hay, straw, meal), average hops (herbs, grass), average yeast (barnyard, earth) with notes of light alcohol and dust. Medium bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation and a bitter finish. Short duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

Appearance: Pours a hazy blonde body with a huge, long-lasting white head. Smell: The bright aroma is flowery and certianly lemony, but there’s also a pleasant yeastiness to it. Taste: Initially, a sweet pilsner malt taste with a light, honeylike sweetness and notes of zesty lemon and apricots. Only very minor hints of banana and apple. A nice hit of spicy, peppery hops along with a hint of ginger in the finish. Lemony, hoppy aftertaste. Oh, and with each sip, the beer grows evermore spicy and warming. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Moderate carbonation. Nicely warming. Drinkability: For a 10% abv brew, this beer goes down exceptionally easy. Especially in the middle of August.

A beautiful orange color which glows in the glass, topped by a foamy, uncontrollable head with ample lacing. Aromas are a bit cidery, with apple, herb, pepper, and hay. Rich on the palate, as advertised, with an aggressive profile of drying alcohol, pungent hops and rhubarb behind tight carbonation. A good example of the style, very strong, but with delicate touches that show craftsmanship.

I just love the way Belgian Strong Pale Ales come out of the bottle looking all foamy, begging me take a sip before I can finish typing up notes on how they look. Malheur 10 had that classic Pilsner float appearance down pat. The aroma was mild with a lemony and floral scent promising a subtle puch to come, so on to the first sip I went. The taste sweet, tart, earthy, and a little more bitter than anticipated. There was a lot of interplay between the dry, fully attenuated malt, the dusty yeast, and aged hops. The peppery hot alcohol was a lot more up front than the likes of sneaky Duvel, and there were no pretensions on this being a beginners drink. Mouthfeel was medium full and warming. This was a classy golden ale all the way. I will now be picking up more of their offerings, as one 330 ml bottle just won’t do.

On the golden side of the belgian strong spectrum. My first impressions are of a spicy, malty and wheat experience. As it warms, the sweetness sets in. Nice spicy aroma. Smooth syrup and slight licorice flavor. Full bodied with some citrus flavors to finish. Honey is a great word to describe the flavor too. Getting some cloves and a hint of banana.

Pours a dark yellow orange hazy color with an absolutely huge amount of froathy billowing white head that literally fills my trappist glass to the brim. Looks absolutely delicious. Aroma comes right after you very strongly: tart citrus fruits, banana, dough, cloves, some slight toffee to round it out. Flavor is definitely honeyish and sweet, banana, and a bit of earthiness. Heavy mouthfeel. Overall, looks and smells better than it tastes, but still pretty decent.

Pours a deep golden straw color with a big white head. To me, this is very funky on the nose. It’s very citrusy (lemons and oranges), but there’s a moderate amount of "rot" to the fruit, which works well here. There’s some cloves, sourdough bread, and a slight hint of white chocolate. Deep earthy taste at first, but there’s more to it. It’s like a strong pilsner malt taste with more sourdough bread notes. A slight bit of pepper as well. Finishes with the same flavors, but slightly drier. The fruit comes back a little bit, but it’s not dry enough, and/or there’s not enough hops to this. It’s cloying but without the syrupy body that should necessitate cloying, so it feels off. Highly carbonated body, but it feels creamy and medium to light, while the flavor lays on the throat heavily. No traces of any heat. Good stuff, but great aroma.

33cL bottle, BB March 13 2009, overflowed my Gulden Draak snifter on 7/30/07. Yeah so after desperately trying to induce foam on my last 2 beers tonight, I try the same trick with this Malheur. Big mistake. Big Huge rocky white foam just erupts into my glass spilling over and forcing me to suck a little foam. I let it die down a little and proceed to pour a beautiful muffin top-like head above the wonderfully golden colored beer. Smell is ripe fruit with rock candy and a slight notice of herbal hoppiness, everything I look for in a great Belgian blond. Flavor is a fantastic balance of malt, sugar and hops. Seriously, this is up there with Duvel for the "Most Deceptive Use of Alcohol in a Belgian Golden Ale" award. Color me surprised, I was fully expecting a banana tinged syrupy mess with this.