North By Northwest Guldenbiere (2005, 2007 and later)

Brewed by North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Austin, Texas USA

Boy, I got pretty excited as the waitress walked across the room toward me with this on her tray---it looked great from afar in its tulip glass. Cloudy golden color. Thin white head. Looks almost like a hefeweizen, not a typically fizzy Belgian strong ale. Smells very sweet. Has a delicate aroma of spice and maybe pear(?) I was really surprised because I expected the alcoholic content to affect the taste in the way a Rochefort or St. Bernardus does, but this was absolutely sublime. Excellent! Dare I say it-but it reminded me of an amalgam between a creamy wheat beer and a Belgian white ale. Very impressive--really good stuff!

Bottled, courtesy of DenverLogan. A slightly hazy orange beer with a lazing huge orange head. The aroma is sweet spicy especially cloves, combined with notes of fruit. The flavor is sweet - a bit too sweet for my liking, with notes of peaches, leading to a very dry spicy end. Good for being a US produced Belgian Ale.

Beautiful clear golden body with a huge whipped cream like white head that lasts trough the beer. Beautifullll; The nose is beautiful as well, huge with both malt, hop and yeast showing in a very pleasant balance, the only down side is the kaffir lime being a bit to up front, it is the very distinctive aroma of its leaves; Huge perfect big bubbled carbonation in a perfectly textured pleasant body, balanced with a small amount of lemon like fruity acidity, the body is great but could be a little deeper and a little more complex; Long evolving finish, it changes from fruity acidy, bitter to a little fruity sweet, great balance and great depth, the aromas of the finish are great but in the late finish there is a little to much sweet ginger. What an amazing beer, one of the most drinkable beers I have ever had. Thanks a billion Walt for this one!

Bottle that I got somehow... I think in beer swap 2.0..and I think it came from Lumpy. Thanks. Man, they arent lying about the corks. Sonofabitch broke in half, but the beer did not get a bunch of cork in it. Finally once it started moving it about blew my hand off exiting the bottle. Pours a golden color with a thick white head that fizzes away very quickly leaving just a line of bubbles around the rim of the glass. Smell is sweet and fruity with some sour notes. Taste is light and lively with plenty of carbonation. Not really rick, a pretty nice session type beer. Reminds me of a sweeter version of hennipin. Very nice stuff Thanks!

Bottle, hopscotch post-GABF 2006 tasting. Body is hazy medium yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain, cookie), lightly hoppy (flowers), with notes of lemon/lime juice, apricot, SweetTarts candy, alcohol. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, soft/lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Pleasant, mostly unassuming. Needed better balance in the mouth (kind of plain and sweet).

’06 GABF tasting. Light golden, hazy color. Aroma is slightly funky, light spice, wood, yeast. Very dry, hints of sweetness. Taste is full, spicy. Traces of citrus. Perfect yeastiness, sweetness balanced. Mild sourness. Kaffir. Ethanol completely hidden. Body is soft, malty. Moderate carbonation. Yum!

Bottle...GABF RB Tasting ’06... Murky straw-colored ale with a small, frothy, white head. Good retention. The nose is a blend of breadsy, citric, fruity and earthy malts, hops, esters and phenols. Sweet, fruity flavor with good tanginess. Medium-bodied and lightly creamy with almost no carbonation. Finishes warming and lightly sweet. Thanks to 1FastSTi for sharing the bottle!

cloudy straw colored pour w/ a soapy white head, light fluffy palate, aroma of lightly sour bread some spices, and some earthy tones. Flavor of sweet grains, some hot alcohol lingers and almost a honey. Decent.