Pranqster | North Coast Brewing Co.

4.7/5  rDev +16.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Presentation: 12oz fat twisty with a black&white of a bunch of fat jolly beer drinking blokes. The cool part is that we spotted a photographic style head that is a bit out of place. A guy on the right hand side of the label stares at you with a beer (the brewer?).

Appearance: Hazy, bubbly gold. The rushing carbonation creates a foamy white head that sticks slightly.

Smell: Horsy, animal smell (a common Belgian yeast trait) with notes of dry malts.

Taste: Definitely spiced, with coriander most likely. Sweet malt, then the spice, turning a tad grainy. A warming alcohol is present and hides perfectly amongst the malty mouth-feel. You can feel its 6.9% abv strength, yet it is highly drinkable. Finishes sweet.

Notes: For a lighter coloured Belgian style ale, this kicks the dregs out of Duvel. More character and complexity than their exports could ever dream of. So if you like Duvel, or similar, you will be in bliss with this brew. Available in a 4-pack for about $7 US.

 990 characters

4.38/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Light hazy gold, good cap and lacing.

Aroma: Sweet caramel malt, rather rich scent, luscious ripe banana, herby floral spicy hops but not too much.

Taste: Belgian, yes, that's it. Sweet malt, yellow fruit and clove/spiciness. Complex, all the flavors touches and texture come together nicely. Not quite as refined as the Grand Cru Belgians but a good representative none the less. Consistent flavors all the way through and clean finish. Desert like aftertaste.

Mousse like texture with a slight bubbly prickle.

Overall: Widely available, this one is proof a brew doesn't have to be a limited edition to be in the upper ranks. Worth seeking out.

 671 characters

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I've had the Old Rasputin and Red Seal previously and enjoyed them both..so I have high hopes for this ale. Poured from the bottle with a very cloudy orange color....nice one inch head as well. Smells spicy and fruity and tastes the same. Wow, quite an interesting flavor. The peppery taste comes through as well as a fruity citrus flavor. This is a new taste for me and I am enjoying it. The 7.6% abv can be felt after about half the bottle...nice and warming. This would be good on a cold night. I like this belgian ale and I look forward to trying more of this style. Kudos to North Coast Brewing Co. for another great beer.

 627 characters

4.17/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aggressive yeast, in terms of aroma and taste for a Belgium, but otherwise true to its style. An interesting and worthwhile addition to its style. Coriander, vanilla, nutmeg. Quite quafable. Sweet-spicy. Medium-full mouthfeel. Cloudy golden appearance.

 252 characters

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pours a somewhat-hazed golden color with a nice white head. Nose is mostly Belgian yeast with bits of clove, orange, spice, and coriander. Taste is similar with some malt sweetness coming through in addition to the fresh fruits coming from the yeast. Moderate body with good carbonation; very nice drinkability on a hard to nail style, especially outside of the better Belgian breweries.

 387 characters

4.4/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Nice fresh yeasty taste.Fruity smell and the fruity taste mingled well the yeast tones.I like Bells sparkling a little better but all in all a good brew.

 153 characters

4.47/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance – Beautiful thick, cloudy orange color with a decent white, foamy head.

Smell – Spicy yeast and banana aroma.

Taste – This has a terrific bread flavor that seems to expand on the lower palate (where the salivary glands are in high gear). There is a wonderfully smooth banana flavor that mixes well with the rest of the beer (grandma’s fresh baked banana bread?). There are a lot of spices and other flavors that are hard to pick out, but overall this is a very smooth brew.

Mouthfeel – The carbonation and yeasty body give this beer an excellent mouthfeel.

Drinkability – The beer is smooth and nicely carbonated, making it a very drinkable beer.

Comments – This is one of my personal favorites. I always have a few sitting in the fridge. Best of all, at $6.99 per four-pack it is one of the best deals in town. That works out to less than two bucks for an absolutely authentic taste of Belgium!

Update: In my 2004 re-review I was able to pick up more complexity in the beer to include some great tangerine peel and a deeper yeast. I’m raising the Smell and Drinkability ratings up 0.5 points.

 1,130 characters

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%

4.12/5  rDev +2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Great Bottle, fine pour. Body is a hazy wheat apricot with a flop of bubbly white head that turns to film in seconds. Carbonation is medium and steady. Aromas are light, crisp, and fruity. Very belgiany. Plenty of wheat, and hints of pear, apricot, honeydew melon, coriander, and banana. Very nice. Tastes exceptionally refreshing and truly Belgian. Near perfect drinkability. MF could be drier and more biting. Plenty of wheat and light fruit in the flavor. Very good. Preferable to some of the more famous Belgian Strong Pales in my opinion. Certainly more drinkable.

 569 characters

3.5/5  rDev -13.4%

Pranqster by North Coast Brewing.

Let me get out of the way that I'm a huge fan of Belgian style beers. No bias, I just want results!

Smells like orange peel, bananas, yeast, and a peppery note.

Tastes like those notes but there is just something that is off with this beer. Something just not right for this Belgian style. It has this taste that reminds me of BMC beers. An alcohol presence too that is masked (flavor wise) in very good Belgian style beers.

I had high hopes for this but I'm let down greatly. I've had some darn good Belgian offerings from the United States and from the homeland itself. I would not buy this again.

I'm not sure if I'm drinking this incorrectly though. Some beers I've seen recommend swishing the yeast around before adding it to your glass (like Hoegaarden for instance). I've also seen some beers tell you to NOT disturb the yeast when pouring the glass. Since these beer brewers did not specify what their vision is for their beer, I swished the yeast around and added it to the beer. If this substantially changes the overall taste of the beer in a negative way then tell the purchaser ON THE BOTTLE how to pour the beer. Because of this I'm not going to buy this beer again. The way I had it (adding the yeast) did not taste very good, I'm not sure if that changed the overall intended flavor of the beer. I'll never know I guess.

Let this be a lesson for you beer brewers. Adding relevant information to your bottle is significant to many of your buyers...

 1,504 characters

3.9/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a banana yellow, cloudy wheat color. Somewhat volatile on the pour, producing a thick white head that settles pretty quickly; no real traces of lacing left behind. The aroma is on par for a BPA - full of some earthy but mainly fruity esters; bananas and slight pear. The Belgian yeast is apparent with the clove spice and ever-so-slight bubblegum hint in the background. On the palate, the fruitiness of the esters is somewhat subdued and the clove plays a larger role. Some slight white pepper comes out, along with a light phenol alcohol character. Midway through, a small, leafy hop character pokes its head in, bringing a little bitter bite to balance the estery sweetness of the brew. Heavy wheat, bread, and yeast flavors in the aftertaste, including the aforementioned clove spice; biscuity, somewhat dry. Thin-medium body, heavy dose of carbonation, to be expected from a Belgian ale.

Pretty good BSPA, although the flavor was a little toned down compared to some others. Clove was the lead-man in this one, which was nice for a change. Well made and well crafted, this is a very good beer that I'd never turn down if someone offered it.

 1,152 characters

4/5  rDev -1%

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%

3.35/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours hazy golden with a small white head that doesn't last long and eventually it looks flat.

Yeasty esters come across in the nose with fruity apple and musty banana notes, maybe pear.

Sweet and malty palate, clove, musty fruit, subtle hops in the finish and a fairly obvious alcohol presence that I could do without in a 7.6% Belgian golden. Not crisp or dry enough to my liking for the style.

Thanks but no thanks, I'll stick with Duvel.

 445 characters

4.82/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%

4.48/5  rDev +10.9%

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

5/5  rDev +23.8%

3.73/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 12 oz. bottle into a chalice style glass.

Slightly hazy golden color, light and bright, with a bit less than 2 fingers of head. Head retention is relatively low but left some light lacing behind.

Aromas were very pleasant with yeast and fruit in the forefront followed up with some nice light malt. Slight bits of spiciness on the nose as well.

Flavors are a nice complexity of what seem to be pale malts and some lighter indications of fruit, especially some dark fruit like prunes. There is a bit of that spiciness that is detectable on the nose that comes through nicely with good balance to everything else. The finish is actually a touch sweet with plenty of alcohol and a bit of warming. Not my favorite finish but not really all that bad either.

I like this and found it to be enjoyable. It's a little different but I think it does the style justice and was satisfying at the same time. If you are a fan of strong golden or perhaps Belgian Trips, give this one a try.

 993 characters

4/5  rDev -1%

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%