Petrus Speciale

Brewed by Bavik-De Brabandere
Style: Belgian Ale
Harelbeke, Belgium

33cL bottle, snifter, 13/06/07 bbe, purchased in the Netherlands. Deep, clear honey amber hued body supports a large, foamy white head. Appears to have been filtered to some degree. The aroma is intensely grainy at first, bordering on becoming metallic. The herbal hop tone likely does nothing to alleviate this problem. Underneath, there are shades of pears, honey and bagels. A distinct huskiness comes across as being similar to the corn in a malt liquor/pale lager. There’s a touch of sweaty and ashy yeast as well. The flavor begins moderately sweet with a crisp, apple acidity. Bready and pure-malt sweetness. The finish is much sharper and slightly metallic and husky. It’s a lemon type acidity (but without the flavor of lemons). Fairly bitter, but some of those other elements make it appear more so than it really is. The aftertaste is strangely sweet, almost like butternut squash. The body doesn’t feel too small for the flavors, though it is watery, but the carbonation is disastrously interruptive and adds to the sharpness of the finish. And no, there’s nothing in here that even remotely resembles caramel.

Amber honey color, with a frothy beige head, with a sweet caramelized malt, hint of floral hops, honeyish note in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a sweet caramelized malt, candyish floral hops, hint of candied pineapple, leading towards a faint hop bittering finish.

330 ml bottle from Stateline Liquors in Elkton, MD (April 2006), undated, served at cellar temperature in a Maudite snifter. Like the Winterbier I had just before, it pours with a huge, almost gushing head, soft and creamy and white in this case, quickly dying above a clear, bubbly golden body and leaving a fair bit of lacing....faint herbal character in the nose, honey, corn sugar (I know it’s probably not made with corn, but that’s what I’m getting), damp hay....a bit malt-liquorish, honestly....moderately sweet lightly candyish front dries up quickly and fades into a thin, fairly bitter, mineralic hard finish....there really is very little here, flavor-wise, mild touches of sour yeast and faint pale malt, no real hop presence and no interesting fruits or sugars....it’s not undrinkable, goes down as a reasonably refreshing pale ale, but there’s nothing here to make you want to drink it again.

Aroma is very different for me: floral but is almost sour which takes a while to get used to. Flavour is lightly bitter with medium sweetness. Pours a large white head. The finish is a bit dry.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours orange\golden with a decent white head. Aroma of sweet malts, yeast, and some slight spices. Flavor is smooth, sweet, yeasty, dry, slight hops are present. nothing great.

Dark yellow going to orange body with a fluffed up cream-colored head. Wet straw and floral nose. Slightly bitter wet ivy flavor with a sweet flavor that is in the background that is hard to put a name to. This is a bit bland. There is nothing wrong with it; it just doesn’t bring anything to the table. A touch of orange peel in the finish. Ap-4 ar-6 tas-5 pal-2 ov-10

Bottled Brugs de’ Beertje 04-11-05. A warm golden colour beer, with medium white head, nutty yeasty aroma and present in the flavour. Fine but no great shaker.

Pours orange\golden with a one and a half finger thick white head. Aroma of sweet malts, yeast, and some slight spices. Flavor is smooth, sweet, yeasty, dry, slight hops are present. This beer is easily forgetable, yet drinkable.