Sunny Belgian singel will brighten anyone’s day. Zesty lemon-spiced crisping picks up juicy pineapple-orange tang to contrast white-peppered herbal nip above lightly buttered biscuit spine. Tart banana-clove-coriander ascendance adds further dimension to dazzling summertime moderation.
Oddly muddled envelope-pushing Belgian pale ale (part of ambitious Stochasticity Project) lacks focus and dimension. Pinkish amber dry body needs deeper hibiscus flowering and more enthusiastic orange peel influence to overcome less effective lemony hop spritz. Herbal tea nuances fade worse than stagnant berry fruiting. Sourdough wheat bottom falls out. Light and soapy.
On tap at Burger Loft, sour lemon-candied tartness picks up sweet orange-peeled pineapple, peach and apricot tones over peppery dry hopped herbage. Subtle banana-clove nuances flutter by just beneath the surface. Nearly perfect.
On tap at Craft House, soft-toned Belgian white ale blends botanical elderflower sweetness with dry-spiced yellow apple, grapefruit, pineapple and orange tartness as well as distant hibiscus-lotus notions. Buttery pale malts fortify its relaxing floral fruited niceties.
Fruitful Belgian-style pale ale (in a can) allows candi-sugared yeast to spread across lemony banana taffy sweetness, sugary caramel malts and soured cider. Subtle orange marmalade, yellow apple, pineapple, tangerine, mango and pear illusions add luster while minimal clove spicing, terse herbal honeyed niche and vinous white grape notions fill the backdrop. Fizzy carbolic overload brings unwanted aridity to delicate citrus finish where minor aspirin-like acridity seeps in.
Elegant caramel-spiced Belgian pale ale contrasts sugar-caned fruit sweetness with light brettanomyces yeast earthiness and dry Scotch tinge. Subtle bourbon warmth soothingly softens orange-dried cider tartness, buttery Chardonnay respite, oaken vanilla niceties and mild banana daiquiri illusions. Tertiary pineapple, apricot, red apple, pear and peach nuances drift in and out.
On tap at Ambulance, respectable citric-soured Belgian pale ale gains musty barnyard leathering from fungi-like brettanomyces yeast. Orange-rotted lemon meringue tang, bittersweet herbal-honeyed whiskey nip, modest green apple tartness and wispy pineapple piquancy relegate moderate hop spicing.
Crisply dry chartreuse-hazed Belgian pale ale retains sessionable herb-spiced fruiting. Soft orange-grapefruit-plantain timidity allows herbal black and white peppering to reign over salty-bottomed mineral graining.
Stronger Grand Reserve version of oak-aged farmhouse ale (7.3% ABV) utilizes dry-hopped astringency to create “undiluted old ale” aged longer than Petrus Aged Pale Ale. Lemony cider tartness and oaken cherry respite settle into sparkling champagne fizzle. Vinous white grape tannins recede to salty bottom. Notions of pencil shavings drift below the surface of succulent sour ale.
Perfectly re-creating ‘full-bodied Belgian golden ale’ style, this heavenly New Englander’s the first certified Trappist beer made in America. And it’s an easygoing and highly approachable winner! Zesty fruit-spiced tang, white-peppered herbal salting, musky cellar-like yeast rusticity and doughy pale malting provide elegant blend. Lemon-peeled orange zest and tangy clementine-tangerine-banana triage stay fresh to dry-hopped finish. Softer thirsts will appreciate its easygoing nature.
Defying traditional Belgian pale ale styling by integrating Americanized raw-honeyed malt graining with mustily earthen citric-soured dry hop acridity, interestingly divergent moderate-bodied hybrid wins on its own terms. Lemony grapefruit pith bittering, tart orange rot follow-up, delicate green grape esters and unripened peach-apple-pineapple conflux pick up herbal peppercorn accents, becoming dryer at yellow-wooded citrus finish.
A bit unspecific, combining fungi-like Belgian yeast herbage with creamy caramel malts, dried fruits, peppery spices and dewy earthiness in a wayward manner. Below the surface, dried apricot, brown apple, date nut bread and Bosc pear illusions flutter softly alongside lightly roasted chestnut whims.
