Petrus Winterbier

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

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.

Bottle poured into a petrus tulip. I should have read some of the reviews the cork flew off and almost put a hole in my ceiling, and I had to run to the sink to save the rug. I gave up trying to find the cork in the living room, I will find it later. Needless to say the ruby brown colored ale had a beautiful 3 finger head, tons of carbonation much more than I expected. It has a nice bready nose along with a modest sour fruit smell, a light spice in the background. The mouth feel on this is quite dry as well as a nice tingle from the carbonation on my tongue. Flavors are bready with some sour fruit in it; the sourness must come from the spices and not as much from the hop, a very suttle beer. I think it is an alright Belgium dark, but not one of my favorites, not even one of my favorite winter beers, I wouldn’t go and search it down, but if someone offered it to me I would drink it again, the glass that came in the box is pretty cool though.

Poured a copper color with an averaged sized head. I was expecting something much different. What I got was a sweet, but sour taste. Never had anything quite like it.

I wasn’t hugely impressed with this brew, despite it being a gift. I was hoping for more of a Trappist taste, only what I got was more along the lines of sour citrus flavors and a mixed palate. Very odd taste.

Pours amber/red, with a large, tan head.Aroma is apples, malt, and spices. Flavor is apples, spices, caramel, and is slightly sour. Medium body.