Signature Ale

Brewed by De Proefbrouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Lochristi, Belgium

25 oz bottle, via fordest. Poured a mostly clear dark gold to light copper body under a small off-white foamy head. The nose was pretty nice, a mix of fruitiness and a subtle funkiness, some notes of bready malt, and moderate hoppiness. Just the beginnings of what this beer might have become, the brett is there, but probably would have become much stronger with time. The flavor is a blend of slightly sweet maltiness, moderate leafy hops, and the soft brettiness on the finish. Light to medium bodied with soft fizzy pleasant carbonation. Overall, I think this was a really nice complex beer, I wish I could have had a larger sample in a more private setting to really get into it, but then again, sharing is it’s own reward.

750mL bottle. Pours a bright, clear orange-tinged golden color; white, web-like head with solid lacing. Pleasant, yeasty and doughy notes in the aroma, with a solid mineral / dry citrus hop presence; mild brett presence at this point. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: solid belgian core (esters, light yeastiness, some warming alcohol), with a nice dry hop character (citrus, pine) and a mild show of brett at this point; slightly warm, so I’ll look forward to trying this with some age. Doughy and minerally hop finish.

Pretty well carbonated, the beer pours with over a three-finger thick, pale tan colored head even though it was done quite carefully. The head leaves patchy lacing patterns on the sides of the glass as it slowly recedes with a rocky, never quite disappearing surface of froth. A myriad of carbonation bubbles stream from the bottom of my tulip, all easily visible through the brilliantly clear, cranberry-tinged, copper colored beer. As I pour this beer I get a spicy note of white pepper. Upon further inspection the nose is amply hoppy, substantially spicy and even has a nice funky tartness to it. Aromatic notes of fresh cut weeds, orange zest, peaches, lychee, hay, ginger, orange zest, moldy cotton, honeysuckle, black pepper, lemon-thyme, clove, hints of urea and lots of other spicy phenolics and esters that keep that beer very interesting. This is definitely a beer that I can easily spend quite some time smelling and exploring, not even worrying about getting to the flavor exploration of this beer. The hops and Brettanomyces combine to create a really green, sharply spicy, savory herbal character. Really just a fantastically interesting and complex nose.

Fairly sweet, yet fairly well carbonated, which really helps to temper the residual malt sweetness. Overall this beer actually has a sort of dry flavor profile; the sweetness does play a role it is just that the carbonation and the astringently herbal / phenolic notes really help to balance and dry out the finish. Characteristically Amarillo hop flavors of lychee, apricot and sweet citrus peel mix with the malt sweetness to form a sort of orange-blossom / wild flower honey nectar character. Lightly tart, somehow this melds in with the fruity hop notes and becomes part of that flavor profile. Touches of funky Brett flavors mix with herbal hop notes in the finish to provide a mix of sharp flavors; Astringent herbs, a biting bitterness, spicy-not-quite plastic like phenolics, must cotton notes. There is a fair amount of body to this brew, it is still easy to drink, though I am not quite sure I would term this a quaffing brew.

At times the Amarillo hops are quite characteristically present, yet at other times the other competing flavors take over; the flavor and aroma of this beer are really quite interesting. What should be strongly competing flavor profiles from the hop and yeast character, somehow melds; sometimes the Brettanomyces dominates, at others the hops take over, but still at other times (and this last the most prevalent) this cacophonous chatter of competing flavors just melds into delicious, somehow well integrated whole that is just a pleasure to drink. As the beer warms up it starts to become a bit more tart, which actually accentuates more of a lemon zest character from the hop notes, but really all of the other hop notes are still noticeable.

This is an absolutely kick-ass brew; ample hops and Brett derived funk, how can I not just absolutely love this beer. A beer to satisfy the inner hop head and funk-o-phile at the same time. I am so glad I found this lone, discardedly placed, wayward bottle at Hi-Times. Perhaps not perfect in any category, but I am just really digging everything this beer has to offer right now. I think part of my enjoyment of this beer is that it reminds me of a hoppy, 100% Brett fermented, 5% alcohol beer that I brewed that was just phenomenal. My biggest regret is that I don’t have a couple of these to age.

Bottle from the First Houston Tasting
Pours thin and lifeless with an aroma of spearmint, lemon peach, and cedar. Flavor is floral cedar with a hoppy finish. Thick mouthfeel. Fantabulous!

750 mL c&c bottle from Wine Warehouse in Charlottesville. Hazy orange pour with an excellent head. Big retention and nice lacing. Very yeasty and fruity aroma with notes of citrus, apple, pear and mild funk. A much mellower taste than expected. Earthy caramel tones with an cherry/citrus fruitiness. The brett is barely noticeable in this young bottle. A very nicely balanced and pleasant brew.

Bottle from SL. Poured a golden to amber color, decent typical BSA head and lacing. The aroma was fruity, yeasty, some notes of alcohol. The flavor too was a little hot, but a nice fruity, yeasty BSA with a touch of hops in the finish. Light wheaty, even bretty sour and bitterness also present. A nice brew.

750 ml Bottle at Hamilton’s. Pours with an orange/gold body topped by a thick, white head with a good amount of lacing. It’s bitter, grassy and hoppy with a note of spice and a touch of malty sweetness. tingly on the tongue and warming with a touch of dryness.

There’s a lot of phenols in this one, but it really works. Peppery, pretty dry. A little on the yeasty side. Fairly hoppy.