Orval

Brewed by Brasserie dOrval
Style: Belgian Ale
Florenville - Villers-d.-Orval, Belgium

Crushed with Jakebra. This beer is all on the nose. Light fruitiness and yumminess. Flavor is very different from the nose. Stings a bit and the finish goes sour. Very disappointed. Bummer. Re-rate. Very nice nose. Fruity, sour, musty. Dig it. Flavor is aight, and the finish is still too yeasty and sour. Jakebra says it’s too over-carbonated. But this was a better experience than the last time.

Bottle (330ml). Poured muddy brownish orange with a large, dense, puffy, off-white head which lasted superbly. A fantastic spicy hop aroma with cinnamon, allspice, star aniseed, cloves, Curacao orange peel, lemon zest, dried pineapple, bready malts, barnyard hay and some black pepper. Flavor was a mild hop bitterness with sour yeasty malts, tangy lemon, pears, tart grape skins, coriander, some light notes of olives and a dry, spicy/peppery finish. Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation, a dry/tart mouthfeel and a great finish. Amazing full bodied for the alcohol content.

Beautiful still clear copper with a perfect white head that chills forever. Perfect brett aroma with grains and grist, hops and spice. Lemon, honey, ginger, coriander, peach and apple come to mind. The brett and grain taste is delicious with enough balance to keep me drinking for days. Grass, pepper, lemon, honey, and ginger in the mouth. Unbelievable. One of the all time greats and one of my personal favorites. Thank God for this brew.

Damn, this IS good. Has some bretts, but isn’t overkill. Nose is full of funky horseblanket. Flavor is smooth, slightly oaky and ending on a dry note. Completely clean palate afterwards. Pours amber with fluffy white head. One of the best Belgians I’ve had. Lots of tannins, but incredibly balanced and smooth.

Can’t believe I’m just getting around to tasting Orval. This bottle poured a bright and a bit cloudy orange with a generous fluff of white head on top. Aroma is citrus and definitely funky. Thankfully, the flavor here is totally solid, with a nice spicy hop backbone supporting that trappist yeast. Almost peppery in character. Delicious!

Cloudy orange pour with an off white / yellow fulffy head. Yeastly pineapple citrus aroma. Sour, funky dry flavor. Great carbonation and linger.

Bottle from March 2008. Pours a milky golden color with big head which eventually fades to a thin, but full head. Aroma of apples and citrus with some Brett notes. Moderately bitter with a dry clean crisp finish. Alcohol is well hidden and carbonation leaves it a bit prickly. Always a favorite of mine, but first time rating it.

Bottle. Pouring this the first time reminded me of my first champagne tasting. Thin head hides aroma of fruit, raisins and some yeast. Tatste of apple and christmas nuts. A complex beer, absolutely stunning.