North By Northwest Guldenbiere (2006)

Formerly brewed at North By Northwest Restaurant and Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Austin, Texas USA

750mL bottle, 2006, courtesy of mj. Thanks, Mike! Cloudy, yellowish-honey color; white head with good retention and lacing. Dense, floral-dominated aroma; plenty of fresh-cut flowers, white pepper, and yeast. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: the characteristics are more of a standard belgian golden ale: floral notes, belgian sugar, and yeast; basic chewy belgian beer, a bit of a let-down from the nose. Medium, doughy and yeasty finish.

Bottle conditioned 750ml, thanks to fly. Cloudy light yellow colored body. Fruity citrus and candy sugar nose, with heavy floral dandelion notes, some coriander, and some sweet soapy scents as well. Soft on the palate, creamy and sweet, with more floral saison-esque spice and floral/perfume notes. An interesting spiced Belgian-style beer, sweet and sticky in the finish. Very decent.

Poured from a 750mL thanks to mj. Nice gentle pear and apple nectar aroma. Perfumy, with lavender, light pale malts, and white figs. Kick-ass sheets of fractured lacing rim the glass, over a straw-yellow, lightly hazed pour. Flavor rolls with gently spicy malts, intricate lychee, Asian pear, cucumber and almond. Bits of ginger. Light and refreshing. This is a fantastic use of yeast. Just stellar character. Finishes dry, yet fat and juicy with yeast and nips of hop candy. Great stuff.

Shared at Columbus Tasting 8 bottle via trade from Walt! - Thanks! - Poured golden with a big white foamy head. Aromas of yeast, spice, and a good amount of fresh cut grass. Flavor is yeasty as well with lots of corriander notes and some grassy herbal notes as well. Light and well carbonated with a pleasant soft mouthfeel. Pretty tasty!

C-Bus 8 - Bottle shared by moejuck: Pours an opaque gold with a white head. Aroma, funky and bready, some yeasty notes. Flavor, yeast, bready malts, some light tartness, and some spicy notes. Finishes very dry, pretty solid.

Cloudy deep yellow body, high carbonation forms a fat and stubby, rocky white head. The nose isn’t as expressive as the other version of this beer. In pockets I’d expect to find yeast taking up aromatic space, I find instead a lacking strength with just light esters and spicy phenols. Alcohol is more noticeable in this vintage, perhaps because spices not employed aren’t around to disguise it. Light fruit notes, particularly peaches and lemons, create a tingly acidity in the initial flavor. Bitterness is mild, sweetness moderate. Light funk notes exude tartness and earthy reminders of the inspiration and origins of the style. Carbonation is adequate to semi-heavy, mouthfeel is light-medium bodied. The finish is very dry and simple, alcohol warmth and yeast left behind. Decent.

Bottle... O-Town Throwdown... Cloudy straw-colored ale with a mid-sized, creamy, white head. Excellent retention. Biscuity, fruity nose with additional notes of corn and hay. Perfectly balanced flavor. Breadsy and dry with champagne-like fizz. Medium-bodied. Bone-dry finish. Kudos to Degarth for sharing his bottle with us!

Courtesy Degarth, sampled at O-Town Throwdown. Poured a light cloudy yellow with a thin white head. Light and airy on the palate, pretty well carbonated. Honey and light coriander on the nose, with an odd yeasty tone that’s almost funky. Taste very reminiscent of a tripel, but there’s a bit more herbs and spices touch. There’s a good deal of yeasty character as well. It’s interesting that there were no spices involved in the brewing.