Poperings Hommelbier

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

Bottle from Premier Wine & Spirits in Dartmouth, NS - shared with HogTownHarry, jerc & tupalev. Golden-orange colour with a small white head that sticks around. Aroma of earthy malt, spice, notes of pineapple and leather, and some boozy warmth. Flavour has a stale quality, suggesting this is probably an old bottle. Some honey and pepper off the top, with a bitter, almost medicinal finish. Interesting - I’d like to try a fresh one sometime.

Bottle, thanks Greg. Hazy yellow/orange pour. Strong earthy spice / lemon / malt / and alcohol in aroma. Taste is of lemon and alcohol with a few hops thrown in. Weird finish; short, bitter, alcohol, and a little skunkiness from the old bottle. Pretty good, muffled noted from the end of the night’s tasting session and an old bottle probably bring in down a mark or two.

Bottle (330ml) - shared with blankboy, GregClow, jerc at tupalev’s domicile - provided by GregClow. Getting close to the giddy and determined to see it through part of the tasting evening. Poured a hazy, bubbly clear yellow, with a slight frothy white head. Aroma was meh - alcohol, sour wine, ash, camphor, a touch of hops and some pungent mulch - went damp grainy with warming. Flavour of honey, modest hops, alcohol, a little strangely sharply spicy, almost peppery, which increased as it warmed. Had a slick, minerally mouthfeel, and while I didn’t love this beer, I was impressed with the palate - shifting and placid at the same time. I bow to jerc’s assessment, the bottle might have seen better days, but it was still an interesting experience.

2008-01-??. Murky golden yellow with a good sized foamy white head. (3+) Aroma is predominantly yeasty hops, straw, florals. Flavour is likewise quite hoppy with a good amount of straw, grassy European hops. Smooth average to medium bodied palate is fairly effervescent. (3+) Much better than my previous sample. 7/3/7/3/15+ Bottle from Leonidas chocolate shop, Ypres, Belgium

"I’m only going to drink pints all night, and I’ll throw darts until I start hitting people." - Tupalev plans his night at the pub.<P> Hazy golden orange, yellow. Small fluffy white head, ok lacing. 3+ Yeasty, spicy aroma, muted pepper with a bit of mustiness and damp basement quality to it. Muted spice, touch of pepper winks at the malt in the middle before becoming decidedly unpleasant and bitter in the finish. Smooth medium palate. Bottle might be a touch past its prime but I don’t think it would be much better fresher.

This beer came in 330 ml. brown bottle with a notched in best by date of April 2006. After popping the cap, I immediately noticed how active the carbonation was, as the beer formed a head in the bottle neck! After pouring in an oversized wine glass, the head was tall and crowning similar to Duvel, with the underlying beer clear golden pale amber in color but clouded up after the yeast introduction. The aroma was rather mild with sweet fruity malt (banana, peach), sugar, earthy yeast, and spicy and floral hops. The taste was exactly as initially indicated by the nose, with the malt, sugar, yeast, and hops in a delicate balance. Taste was like a concentrated witbier with above average level of hops. Celery and pepper like spicy hints in the aftertaste. Alcohol was quite well hidden, which made it much easier to drink than most other 7.5% ABV beers. A subtle and sneaky pleasure, well suited for a hot summer day.

not my favorite style of beer but if you want a lighter ale, this is it, roasty, floral, citrus, golden, hazy, white foam, medium sweetness, medium sourness, light body, creamy, soft carbonation, bitter.

Bottle, orangy gold with fine carbonation. Spiced floral aroma. Spiced malty flavors - sweet and yeasty and a little grassy. Medium body, with a bit of a bitter finish.

Bottle: Cloudy yellow, sediment all about, large rocky white head, a few vigoruous steams of bubbles, nice lacing.   Sweet rice candy like aroma, subtle spices oriented towards citrus.   Sweet malty flavor, yeasty, spritzy, with a fairly strong sweet & sour citrus like spice.   Medium bodied, bubbley mouthfeel.   Sweet finish, yeasty, lingering spices.   Not bad...