Orval

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

Bottle from redlight redlight. This beer is so good it defies logic. It is simultaneously smooth and a flavor explosion. Anyone who loves great beer has to try this beer and probably already has. When Mary Magdalene washed the feet of Jesus Christ the sweat from between his toes probably smelled and tasted like Orval.

This is a beautiful beer. The aroma is incredible. Spicy Belgium and a sour subtle component that really draws me in. Nice hoppy and clean. Just not bretty enough for me. I sure wish they would make more beers for the public.

Orange, viscous pale beige head. Yeast and a riot of hop and spice aromas. Barely ripe nectarine fruitiness and citric bitterness. Complex sour/ dry/ brett finish. Has a sense of being just tamed rather than being fully domesticated. Alive and exciting.

Wow this one didn’t live up to the hype. I’m wondering if I may have gotten a bad bottle. I opend this and poured with good carbonation, light hop aroma. Little to no taste present??? All I get is almost a seltzer water taste with a light waxy semi citrus finish? Not what I was expecting from the reviews. Will try again in a few months to see if there is a difference. I can’t imagine this is what people are into.

Pours a hazy orange with an extremely thick foamy head, as if it exploded into the glass, even while I was pouring very gently. A strong hoppy citrus aroma fills the air as if I just opened up an imperial IPA. But there is more to the aroma, some leathery blue cheese smell that sounds but is not anywhere near disgusting. Flavor starts off very bitter with hops screaming for attention. Then gently becomes more subtle, somewhat creamy and fruity like a good peach yogurt but then shifts back again for an insanely dry finish. The huge amounts of carbonation allow for a lovely mouthfeel. Wonderful beer.

Pours a cloudy amber body with a rich foamy-rocky kind of off-white head. Very impressive head retention and lots of lacing. The aroma has some floral hoppiness, some nice citrus notes, hints of apple, some caramel and that peculiar brettanomyces smell. The taste starts with a good hop bite, followed by some fruitiness and caramel sweetness. Quite pithy and dry, with a lemon/grapefruit zest to it, as well as some spiciness and some "leather funk" from the yeast strain. The finish is moderately bitter and dry, with some subtle citrus notes. The mouthfeel is pretty smooth, although there is some crisp carbonation. Orval is most certainly an oustanding Trappist beer, quite unique in its style and one of my all-time favourite Belgian beer.

(br-btl pu/wh-lbl gl-txt, 11.2oz, 6.2%)

gl-opq, huge-wh-hd(with peaks!), ^eff,

bright-fruit musty-hops funky citrus aroma,

T1 fresh light Ts sweet funky co2
T2 sharp-bitterness lambic-sour fruity sweet (juniper/sage/?) co2
T3 malty §buttery §saddle
Tf maltier funkier richer

awesome, unique! (wows me every time)