2020 Vintage, will keep for 5 years according to De Ranke. Tea colored pour with a bubbly head that fades quickly - as expected. No retention, no lace. Fair enough given the style. Nose is surprisingly non-descript. Perhaps a little funk (that I was NOT really expecting), and a little cheese. I was expecting some more acidity. Tastes are very light, dry tartness. In no way heavily ethanoic acid, and the oak is a real feature. No sweetness that can sometimes blend with any acid present. Almost...
Notes on beers brewed by
Brouwerij De Ranke
Wijnberg
De Ranke
2022 Hop Harvest
750 mL capped bottle. Delightful pour into the 25 cl De Ranke stem. Clouded orange body with a small, perfectly formed dense white head that lingers and offers ice-cream level lace. The bitterness that greets the palate on the initial sip is something whose depth is hard to achieve without bruising hop presence. The same is true of the accompanying sweetness, but of course here each are executed perfectly. Smooth in the mouth, the beer dances so gently along the soapy grapefruit line, whilst...
De Ranke Franc Belge
Expiry 23/12/2022. 330 mL bottle. Pour offers a mid-orange, amber, slightly hazed pour. White head, some nice retention and lace, with a significant film that settles across the beer in the chalice. Nose offers some malt, but until it warms and opens it’s hard to distinguish much. When it does I get a little orange, but mostly solid, bready, relatively neutral notes. The beer drinks a little like a very dry, English bitter, with some very mild hop character juxtapositioned against balanced...
Simplex
BO7T15 FEB18 EXP: 22/02/2020 Older, 33cl bottle that came from Jungle Jim's, Cincinnati, OH, USA, in June 2021. Hazed, golden pour with a modest, 1/4 inch white head. Lacing not bad. Label states, "This is not a Pils", presumably because the brewers think you might associate it with that style. I could see from the bitterness maybe, but this is way too full in the mouth, soft and round to ever be mistaken for a Noble-hopped Pilsner. Nose has some simple yeasts. The initial taste are quite...
Saison De Dottignies
11.2 oz bottle, recent purchase art Green's, Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Always delighted to get a new beer from a favorite brewery and this beer seems to be right in the wheelhouse of De Ranke. A cloudy, honey orange body with a lovely, fluffy head which produces some super lace. Looks nice. Nose has a light, soapy aroma which some small hop character. The tastes largely reflect the nose, but the hoppy notes, soapy taste and light grapefruit are all exaggerated when compared to the aroma....
De Ranke H.O.P. Flower Power
750 mL bottle that came from Green's on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. In the $14-15 range. As expected, a very interesting beer. The beer pours a very nice, deep orange color with a decent head that is well formed and leaves some nice lace. Nose has a very distinct aroma that to me, is not especially hoppy. It's more of a sinus clearing white pepper effect. Tastes are very dry with a distinct pepper note and a definite soapy presence that reminds me (strangely) of a Courage Best Bitter from years...
Noir De Dottignies
Paper-wrapped 750 mL, capped bottle in typical De Ranke presentation mode. This came from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Popping the cap produces a touch of gunsmoke but the pour produces a pretty lively beer. Some really substantial, thick, bubbly head that lingers and leaves good lace. Body is a slightly murky, dark Dubbel like affair. Nose is quite frankly not huge, but it does give a strong whiff of a hop base rather than a Belgian fruity/estery/yesty/candy note. I suppose this is in line...
Cuvée De Ranke
ADDED NOTES: 07/04/21 Jungle Jim's, Cincinnati, OH, June 2021, $17.99. This beer always surprises me. Generally, I'm not a huge fan of "sour" beer of any hue - with some exceptions (e.g., Duchess) - but this grows on me every time that I drink it. That sharp jolt of sour soon fades, and with two or three gulps I'm totally into it. For me, that sourness soon becomes bitterness, and its original classification on BA as a BPA holds up. Lots to appreciate here, and a beer that gains more respect...
Kriek De Ranke
Been putting this off for a long time. I'm a little wary of Fruit Lambics in general, but on the other hand De Ranke is certainly an attraction. Anyway, finally got around to it. $11.95, paper wrapped bottle, Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. Capped and corked. Corked look as though it was one of those plastic ones, but I'm afraid I never got to see it - when I attempted to push the corkscrew into it, it fell into the beer! Consequently a pain in the ass to get the beer to pour. Really...
De Ranke Guldenberg
11.2 oz bottle, notched best before Jan '09. Green's, Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Very cloudy orange pour into the Brasserie des Rocs chalice. Not much head, little lace. Quite a lot of debris in the bottom of the glass once the beer has settled. Sweet, but light bodied Tripel. Frankly lacks depth. Some yeast character but not much. Residual sweetness again, but rather light. A bit disappointed, I expect more from this stable.
De Ranke Père Noël
Additional Notes 1/24/22 (pictured): This is such an extraordinarily great beer. It really has nothing to do with Christmas in terms of taste, and were it year round it would be a constant for me. There are some very good beers in the USA under the style moniker of American IPA, once example would be Bells Two Hearted. This beer is simultaneously reminiscent of it, and absolutely NOTHING like it. It's what Two Hearted would be if it were brewed without silly, aggressive, American bravado. The...
De Ranke XX Bitter
Notes added 07/25/21 330 mL bottle (pictured) purchased at The Liquor Store, Jackson, WY. A beer that has grown on me over the years. Still not a massive proponent of the style in general, but if I want a hoppy edge to something I’d rather reach for real quality like this than perceived quality that surrounds so many US IPAs. There’s a smoothness and a subtlety that comes with a beer like this that doesn’t in American IPAs. Gentler. Better. Nicer. Beautiful golden yellow pour with a typically...