Tangy white wined Flemish-styled red ale burrows vinegary acidity below illusions of hard cider, sour citrus, tart cherry, and dry prune. By mid-palate, prevalent green apple overtones invade astringent oaken finish. On tap, barleywine chill recedes to brandied cherry jubilee whisk and cranberry-grape tannin sequel.
VERGINA LAGER
Bubbly white-headed golden-bodied sour-candied lager with frisky carbonation. When fizz settles, sullen crystal malt finish just ain’t enough.
VELTINS TRADITION PILSNER
In unique wide-bodied green bottle, traditional pale-yellowed German pils stifled by diffident sour malt aromatics, unmemorable soft-watered barley-hop essence, and bland citric-quince nip. Musky maize acridity counters sinewy corn sugaring. Only amateurs need apply.
VELDENSTEINER WEISBIER
Cloudy Bavarian wheat beer with sinewy yeast and assuring banana-clove salvo integrates butterscotch sweetness with white ale-like orange-lemon-grape tartness. Fluttering cornmeal presence imbues crisp carbolic fizz.
VELDENSTEINER PREMIUM PILS
Shallow light-bodied pale-toned fluffy-headed Bavarian pilsner brings sour bread plainness to dank grain flank and skunked malt pungency. Thin wheat sweetness falls off at washed out finish as carbonation flattens.
VELDENSTEINER LAGER
Easy drinkin’ off-dry ‘Original Bavarian’ lager gradually loses sugared cornmeal sweetness. Light grain-hopped astringency depletes mild citric spicing; finishing weak and cloy.
VAPEUR EN FOLIE ALE
Sinewy yeast clumps speckle dry oak-aged(?) indulgence. Musty flowery yeast sweetness turns to sour candy as damp earthiness recedes corky gueuze-like tannic tartness. Moldy peach, tangy nectarine, sour apple, and white grape esters confront pasty plantain illusion as lemony hops secure peppery hibiscus smidgen.
(VAPEUR) DE PIPAIX SAISON ALE
Minimally carbonated dry white wine sourness gains dank orange peel bittering and apple cider tartness to peculiar lemon-bruised finish. Too unassuming and unbalanced, though 6.5% alcohol volume mildly reassuring. Serve with sharp cheese.
VAPEUR COCHONNE AMBER ALE
Seriously heady sunset-hued barleywine-spiced ale awakens senses with moldy tangerine nose, gin-soaked juniper embrace, and silken Chardonnay-Cognac-Courvoisier subsidy. Alcohol-soaked syrupy malt setting invites fig-prune affluence to saturate rum raisin contour, overripe banana illusion, vanilla offing, and creamy caramel catapult. Medicinal finish picks up dense sour apple and bruised peach nip.
(VAN DIEST) FRULI STRAWBERRY WHITE BEER
Brewed in Belgium for England’s Van Diest company, excellent unfiltered wheat beer surges forth with natural nectar juicing as candied strawberry insistence receives vanilla creaming. Easy flowing spring water softens massively sweet-tart strawberry rasp covering nose, tongue, and throat. Strong fructose zest continues unfettered as lively cranberry tartness and orange-peeled coriander spicing subsume sticky malt sass.
(VANDENBOSSCHE) PATER LIEVEN TRIPEL ABBEY ALE
Incisive honeyed orange-nectarine-coriander melange enhances minor plum souring and cotton-candied coughdrop sweetness of gooey sediment-filled amber-hazed moderate body. Buttery effervescence penetrates impending fresh cut chaffed wheat and permissive clove-ginger-peppercorn seasoning, but disparaging dirty grain earthiness and watery fizz-hopped finish nullify up-front medicinal promise.
(VANDENBOSSCHE) BUFFALO BELGIAN STOUT
Thin mahogany-hued disappointment with oily 9% alcohol diffidence suffers from dank mildewed malting and dirty graining. Coarse resinous hop roast soaks up cola nut glance, tepid lactose trickle, and latent red wined acidity.