Orval Trappist Ale

Original notes 08/14/2004

$4.79, Greens Beverage, Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, GA, USA. Subsequently $4.99 Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA.

Another somewhat unattractive beer as it sits in the glass looking dirty brown and murky. A typical nasty Dubbel look. The pour was much nicer with a real fizzy head, but it died way too quickly for me. The carbonation is over the top for me.

The aromas here are VERY complex and unusual. I get a lot of fruit, especially pears, but significant alcohol. Unusually the alcohol to me is really quite complicated, reminding me of a liquer rather than a pure ethanol type smell.

Overwhelming experience in terms of taste is the bitter drying characteristic and the way each sip seems different. Quite an experience, not one I greatly enjoyed. Also there is a very significant amount of lambic/barnyard funk that for me at least, is out of place.

A complex beer to me that I suspect is *generally* held in higher regard than it should be. The taste suggests a much higher ABV than 6.2%. I expect lots of people will be very excited by this beer, but it doesn’t really do much for me. However, I can recognize and understand how many BA’s will rate this highly.

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08/14/2004
Format:
bottle
ABV: 6.90 %
Appearance: 3
Taste: 3.5
Mouthfeel: 3.5
Smell: 3.5
Overall: 3.5
Total: 3.48
Series Name:
Year:

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