t Smisje Blond

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Belgian Ale
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Not terribly impressive, had a nose I’ve smelled a thousand times in other basic Belgians. Nothing really new or impressive here. Light citrus notes, and very light spices, way light and thin on the palate, with some medicinal alcohol notes in the finish. Not the greatest thing I have ever tried.

Kinda weird smell, perfumy with some citrus. Big billowy head that slowly diminishes, the beer is a pretty blond color that is completely cloudy. The flavor is very strange at first sort of bitter like dirking flowers. Once the palate is accustomed to the flavor this ale is deliciously dry. Just a little it of hoppiness. The ale is nothing spectacular, but it is very drinkable.

Bottle pours a clear yellow with very little head and no lace. The aroma is malt. honey notes, sharp citrus, and spice. The flavor is, well, very different. There is the malt backbone, but there is medicinal qualities I can only assume are produced by the lime blossoms. Since I’ve never had a lime blossom, I can neither confirm nor deny this assumption. I’m thinking this is a onetime thing for me.

Bottle@home. Medicinal and citrus aroma. Dark yellow, off-white white irregular head, fair lace. Very medicinal flavor, sweet, bitter, nasty bitter finish. Sparkling and amateuristic. Down the drain.

A hazy golden ale with a thick off white head, and small floaties. Aroma is interesting, with yeast, vanilla, maple, citrus, doughy, almost like smelling a vanilla sponge cake. In mouth, a nice dry malt with soft residual sugars, good sharp hops, light tartness and some astringence in final. Overall, nice complex mouthfeel. I quite liked this. Bieropholie imports, BB last quarter of 2008.

"Ale brewed with lime blossoms, huh? Wull, I ain’t doin’ nothin’ with this $4.69, pre-tax, so, whut the hell!" That’s how my mind works sometimes. Anyway, let’s do this thing... Into the Kasteel goblet it goes, showing fierce carbonation, a hazy golden coloration, fizzy white head, that disappears in a trice... Intense aromatics, waft out from the start, very citric and spicy, and that’s only from the glass sitting over there on the desk. Let’s bring it close... Big tart, large lemon, a bit dry and a trifle flat...oh, well... Tastin’ it: again, full force citric fruit, spicy, but dry, and unexceptional...no pizzazz, though it is certainly palatable, drinkable, nothing wrong with it...just falls flat on the palate, and resists giving forth further pleasures. Lime really shines through, have to give it that, it sure is limey... Very wet, that I can say for sure. A bit of candied orange comes in the flavor late. Gets sweeter. If thin, though. Smallish finish, a bit disappointing. Nothing terrible, but nothing to crow about in this bottle. Move along, if you seek greater thrills.

Well.... maybe I got a bad beer. At first I thought of baby diaper, then vomit, and then it came to me, garbage disposal. A lot of yeast in the bottom pouring with a deceivingly nice dense white head with deep opaque golden orange color. I see my 4 dollars slipping away in the disposal. I am hoping this is just a bad bottling. Maybe try again after my palate has recovered.

Bottle, at ’t Brugs Beertje, Brugge, March 2006 Faintly hazy gold, good white head and moderate condition. Pleasant mix of grain, hop and spices in the nose with a background fruity citrus note, good perfumed fruitiness and quite hoppy in the mouth with some yeasty sweetness that continues into the finish where a hop bitterness and a fruity citrus edge also contribute.