Belgian Ale
Aksarben Brewing Co.

Clear, coppery-gold in hue; the liquid looks nice enough even with its dull finish and lack of yeast haze. Half finger of foam graced my presence but the bubbles quickly faded to a soapy cap. There was no subsequent lacing. Overall, the appearance is agreeable but there is a tremendous amount of room for improvement.

The nose is spicy; orange peel, coriander, bubblegum, and a tickle of pepper. While not complex the nose is agreeable. I assume this beer is spiced but the yeast has to offer some of the aromas here. I like what is going on, soft spoken but inviting. Sure, it is clean and lackluster but from this brewery, it isn’t awful.

This beer is supposed to be a knock-off of Fat Tire which is already a knock-off of De Koninck. So a beer three times removed tastes how good? The palate is either has enough spice or flavorful yeast to hide most of the flaws that the other AK beers have had. Hot candy spiciness upfront. Some orange zest, coriander, some spicy mix that I can’t pull apart and there is a fruity finish. The aftertaste is hot, faintly sweet, and it kind of reminds me of children’s cough syrup. The palate is really lousy compared to the most average Belgian Pale Ale but for AK this is good.

Medium-light in body, heavy carbonation, the mouthfeel is too aggressive. This is yet another AK beer with a mouthfeel that is like drinking liquid sandpaper.

Probably the most drinkable beer I’ve had from AK and it is still nothing I’d go back too. At least I have some hope that their beers *could* be worth another look at some point. I purchased my bottle at the brewery. It is not awful… if you try one just have very, very low expectations.