Poperings Hommelbier

Brewed by Van Eecke
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Poperinge-Watou, Belgium

Bottle. Amber beer with a nice whitish head. Dusty, yeasty, noble hop aroma. Spicy hop flavor with yeast, malt, and some vegetal notes. Medium bodied. Decent bitterness for a Belgian. Lingering spicy noble hops with yeast and earthy dustiness.

Very lovely cumin-scented palate and refreshing. Seems like this would not fare as well in the bottle.

Draught at Kaisla. Hazy golden, fluffy pale head. Wheaty and banana fruity nose, kiwi, quite smooth. Malty flavor, yeast, wheat, crisp fruitiness, fresh minty bittering hops in the finish. Medium bodied, silky smooth palate. Needs way more hops to live up to its name.

On tap at the Sharp Edge Brasserie. Looks like ubiquitous pale lager but with a decent creamy head. Aroma like no other, a plasticky sweet olfactory somewhat like the fabric softener sheets my wife uses in the drier, perhaps its more like a processed cotton candy smell, difficult to describe. Nice initial taste bud sensations but it morphs into something a little more bitter as the session continues. Very little carbonation if any. Says its hoppy but it is not hoppy as in an american ale way. Actually more laid back than I expected. Much more civilized than the 7.5% would indicate. Much more refined than than any american hoppy beer. Not bad, hides the alky well and finish is a medium mild nearly butyl lingering effect. One of the better srong ales I’ve tasted and I am not a fan of strong beers.

Lemony yellow brew with a HUGE white head. Very yeasty, buttermilk biscuit, citrus, and malt. Nothing extremely interesting here.

Pours a cloudy honey lemon with white head. Aroma is yeast and fruit with caramel undertones. Flavor is yeast with citrus and definite hops. Body is medium and a bit creamy. Carbonation is medium.

Draft at Hop Leaf. Poured a clear light orange with a white head. Smelled of clove, light cereal grain, and grassy hops. Light to medium bodied. Tasted of pale malts, butter, and slight apple into the finish. Spicy accents were also present including the likes of clove and cinnamon.

Tap @ Publick House, Brookline, MA. Pours a hazy amber color with a thick white head. Aroma is almost all yeast with a slight hop characteristic. The flavor is a bit yeasty but very heavy on the hops, with a slight spicy finish. It was a solid beer, but it never really took the good pieces to the next level.