Struiselensis

Brewed by De Struise Brouwers
Style: Sour Ale
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Glass: Trappist Purchased at: Canal’s Discount Liquors, Burlington, NJ (Thanks, Mike!) Price: $6.64 Size: 11.2 fl oz ABV: 6% IBU: n/a Estimated Calories: 150 C RateBeer Rating: 95 Aural: gentle opening, light carbonation, quiet pour Aroma 8 out of 10 Intensity: middle Balance: sweet Impression: nice Malt Flavor: grain bread sweet toast Hops Flavor: floral herbal spice Other: fruit Notes: A nice aroma - definitely in the Belgian style. Appearance 4 out of 5 Color: amber copper Clarity: hazy Head Retention: poor Notes: An interesting looking body, but no head whatsoever. Flavor 8 out of 10 Intensity: strong Balance: sour Impression: surprising Malt Flavor: grain bread sweet toast Hops Flavor: dirt floral citrus Other: sour cherry, peach, kiwi, lime Notes: An interesting flavor - this should be served colder than this. Palate 4 out of 5 Mouthfeel Sensation: slick Body: light Carbonation: faint Finish Length: medium Intensity: medium Balance: sour Notes: Definitely the sort of beer Mike from Canal’s would enjoy, though I’m not as much of a fan of sour beers. It’s interesting, but not really my thing. Noticed that it has a salivating effect on me in the finish. Weird. General Impression: 15 out of 20 Craftmanship: interesting Freshness: fresh Personal Taste: liked. Notes: This was an experience I was glad to try, but I really prefer extreme beers to this kind of subtlety, beautiful though it is. Address : <http://beercritic.wordpress.com/>

What a joy to drink! Pours a light yellow brown to straw. Clearer, with almost no head. Dry straw sharp nose. Lacto and Brett leaves this bone dry with little malt in the nose. Dry and lambic-like. Low carbonation. Small bubbles, very light on the palate. Bone dry. Straw bitterness. A bit of strawberry too perhaps,. Pedococus or Lacto flavor. A bit tannic. Lingering fruity Bretty weird sweet finish. I really enjoyed this!

On the pour, there is no head, beer is a bit fizzy. Nice Golden color with a touch of chill haze. Nose is brett sourness with some sweet syrupy notes in the back. Wow, compared to how it’s described by Struise, I’d say it is quite sour, not slight sour. Very refreshing and puckering. There is a bit of cloying sugar notes coming through, but it is very much like a lemony apple oaky thing. Not sure if this is oaked, but there is some woodiness to it. Very nice and dry. Excellent beer.

Bottle...poured a golden yellow w/ some haze. It had a fizzy white head that quickly diminished, and provided no lacing. The initial aromas were tobacco and funk. Those quickly mellowed and I was able to pick up on some vinous fruits and florals. The flavor was TART! It made me pucker up at first sip. This mellowed a bit (I think I got used to it) and I tasted some lemon, earth, grapefruit, spice, and florals. Very palatable beer...nice dry finish, with a lingering tartness. I’d drink this again for sure...

Bottle. Pours yellowish with not much of a head at all. Aroma seems understated, some barnyard funk and mustiness, a bit of spicy floral notes. I really don’t know what to expect as I take the first sip. Wow, thsi is very tart. Very lambic-like in it’s acidic approach. Kind of malty as well though. The sour seems to take on a more appley quality as I drink more. Finishes very dry.

Bottle. Pours cloudy dark orange with virtually no head. Smells great, citrusy, tart, only slightly funky, nice. Tastes tart and fruity, sour but notsuper sour. No descernable funkiness which is nice for a change. Nice beer. Medium, tart body, slightly dry, good carbonation.

Cloydy and light yellow colour. Sourness but not much aroma. Some mild fruits and lemon taste. Average carbonation.

Dull yellow. Large bubbles condense into a fine, persistent cap of white cream. Musty cellar and iron arouse the olfactory senses alongside notes of peach, dried pineapple, flowery hops and a distant note of bandage phenols. Fine, soft carbonation. Very soft body. Briskly sour and irony from the outset, and deeply quenching due to the bright and crisp acids. Delicately flavored bandage-phenols gently scrub the palate but are soon swept by the wayside as the center becomes slightly flabby. Wavering acidity puckers the palate one moment before soon dropping off as it struggles to fully latch onto the extremely soft body. Ample yet well-composed fruitiness reminiscent of lemons and unripe peaches enhances the acidity while working to offset some of the dryness. Deeply buried malts are well-attenuated yet retain some of their bounciness as they sparkle in the background while imparting a vividly defined straw flavor which beautifully anchors the yeast derived acids. Gritty iron gently scratches the throat at the swallow. Finishes tropical-fruit laden with glimpses of mango, pineapple, and unripe banana along with a trailing of salt, vanilla-accented yeast and strawlike malts which linger. This is certainly headed in the right direction, but it’s pretty straightforward right now. While I do enjoy the softness, the biggest detraction is the slight limpness.