Petrus Winterbier

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

750 ml, uncorked itself when uncaged! Humongous head settles into a nice cream atop the hazy, copper-amber body. Sour caramel and a hint of cedar in the nose. Flavor is tart cherry, earthy yeast, and sour apples bordering on vinegar. Some nice roasted flavor shows up only in the way aftertaste. Light-medium body is dry, and very astringent from all the acetic acid. Not my idea of a winter ale.

750 mL bottle. Pours a deep reddish orange with tons of carbonation and a huge off-white head. The aroma is very musty, with a little bit of a sour edge to it. There are also some perfumy fruit scents, a touch of cherry, some spicy alcohol. The flavor is a spicy, earthy must. Behind that are notes of cherries, maybe some sage. The finish is warm and phenolic, and intensifies slightly into the aftertaste. Nothing terribly special, but decent.

Bottle. Poured amber color with minimal head. Aroma and flavor was of caramel. As I learn more about the different beers, I guess this "sour" beer is not up my alley.

Highly carbonated. Blew the cork right out of my hand. Dark red pour, very effervescent. Huge, pillowy white head. Dank, yeasty aroma, light maltiness, and faint spice (cloves, cinnamon). Bread like flavor, very dry, sour fruit, and nuances of bland spice. Finishes with a twang. Nothing here to remember, very bubbly, dry flavor, twangy finish. No where near what I would call a winter brew. There is not that lush, full flavor of a true winter warmer I am looking for. Not one I would get again.

Bottle, 7%. Fat yeast aroma, vinous and sugary. Hazy grey/brown colour, small head. High carbonation, slow gusher. The flavour is thin, mostly yeast, faint maltiness. Boring.

Bottle: Amber colored pour with medium sized head. Malty, caramely aroma with a sweet, fruity, malty finish.

750 from Sam’s, Durham. It’s been a while since I had any Petrus beer but, since I generally associate them with sours, I wasn’t surprised by the character of this interesting, drinkable brew. Very pleasing to the eye, with a deep, slightly cloudy amber body and a vast fluffy head. Good lacing and retention. The dominant traits are those of a sour brown, and a pretty solid one. But there’s some baking chocolate, cinnamon, and mild funk that give it a quirky combo character. Pretty enjoyable.

The aroma was fruity through the HUGE beige head. As the head fell back, the aroma became caramel and cinnamon and some dark fruits, namely raisins. The beer poured into the glass hazy amber golden with a head that laced the glass from top to bottom. The flavor was malty with caramel and a candy flavor and some light presence of raisins and other dark fruits. Spice was notable, but in the background. The level of bitterness was just enough to keep the malt in check and the flavor was grassy and earthy. The body was medium with a moderate level of carbonation and a effervescent quality on the palate. The finish was dry with lasting light clove and perhaps cinnamon into the aftertaste. An easy to consume and flavorful beer, but not an overly complex brew. 750 ml corked and bailed bottle. Labeled as Winter Ale.