The Son
Half Pints Brewing Company

 

341ml bottle - part of the Holy Trinity mixed sixer newly arrived in Alberta. Cracking this one open on the day I get my little guy back from his mother, natch.

This beer pours a mostly clear, medium copper amber colour, with a teeming tower of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat creamy beige head, which leaves some decent layered streaky lace around the glass as it lazily recedes.

It smells of gritty and grainy caramel malt, a lesser biscuity toffee sweetness, a bit of Belgian yeast, some muddled dark orchard fruitiness, and very tame earthy, musty, and floral noble hop bitters. The taste is grainy and crackery caramel malt, stewed apples and pears, a subtle Low Countries yeastiness, some indistinct earthy spice, and more understated leafy, herbal, and floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is fairly active in its palate-tickling frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, with nothing really causing any sort of mouthfeel infraction here. It finishes off-dry, the sort of mealy malt closing up ye olde shoppe.

Overall - this is a pleasant enough offering, quite simple in its malt-forward nature. Also, calling this a 'pale' anything is kind of strange, when you actually take a gander at it. At any rate, worth finally being able to try out.

 

Nice Belgian from Half Pints. A little heavy on the copper-red tones, but otherwise, this is a good looking beer with a nice foamy head.

Rasiny, fruity scents with hints of brown sugar, molasses and spice. Rich malt taste with a decent spice profile and good hop flavours.

Nice carbonation, and a good drinker. A bit richer than I would expect, but very tasty.

My second beer from the Holy Trinity series thanks to oakbluff once again. Has a creamy cap, nice lacing as it come to rest. Almost Orange in color.

Smells of caramel malts, hops, fruits and just a bit of alcohol.

Tastes of fruits, good malt and hop presence, alcohol and what a gather to be something yeast related.

Reddish brown with big bubbles and a fairly fruity nose. The finish is nice with a semi sweet roll out and decent hops. The low ABV makes this a very drinkable beer and a nice middle beer in the Trinity. Congrats to Half-pints on this ambitious group of seasonals

Viggo included this one in my BC2 package. Thanks Eric!
This one poured a gorgeous, crystal clear, burnt orange colour with a thin wisp of off-white head that produced a little bit of fine lacing. Lots of toasted malt in the aroma, along with a bit of caramel and fruity esters. Fairly mild though. Mild bitterness with a bit of fruit and orange, sweet caramel, and toasted marshmallow. There was also a hint of spiciness in the finish. Medium bodied with soft carbonation. Very easy drinking. Mild and mellow overall and quite tasty.

thanks to trevorwideman for hooking me up with this one.

660ml bottle.

pours reddish orange with just a hint of very fine white head. no lace.

aroma is nice. alcohol - more than i'd expect from 5.2%abv. hints of dark fruit. touch of biscuit malt. no spice.

taste is nice. lots of biscuit malt. bit of alcohol. low bitterness level. none of the expected belgian spice.

mouthfeel is ok. medium carbonation level. med-light body. touch of sting from the carbonation.

drinkability is good. fairly balanced. as with 'the father', this one just really doesn't come across as a belgian. more like a nice amber ale. maybe this one is just a little past its prime.

Bottle courtesy of Piscator34: Poured a deep amber almost burgundy color ale with a medium foamy had with average retention and almost no lacing. Aroma of spices and dry hops is quite interesting; you can definitely recognized Saaz in there. Taste is also dominated between some spices (which may be attributable to the type of yeast used) and some dry hops (probably Saaz). I thought the malt profile was a bit too discreet and the body was a bit light for the style. Not bad but definitely not the best from this fine brewery.

Thanks to trevorwideman for sending this my way.

Poured a hazy orangish amber. The somewhat mildly and finely carbonated brew did not leave much of a head, and was quite scantily laced.

Aromas of toasted bread, caramelized sugar, and a light toffee greated the nose. A mild floral earthiness from the Goldings, and a slight musty quality round it all off.

Solid, toasty malt backbone from the pale and Vienna malts. Mildly nutty thanks to the crystal malts. Earthy hops appear with mild woodiness, and the brew finishes with an intersting mild yet lingering spicy bite from the yeast and the Saaz hops.

A solid medium bodied brew. A very nice balance exists between the malts, hops and the yeast, providing a nice contrast of flavours and feel from caramel sweetness to a spicy, grassy and peppery bite. Almost finishes dry, except for the slight sweetness a la caramelized sugars.

Very tasty and drinkable brew. Decent peppery kick which lingers at the finish, yet this is still quite approachable. Glad this totally avoids the annoying sweetness which can be found in some beers of this style, and certainly make its much more drinkable. My only complaint is that i dont have more. Thanks again Trevor for this tasty sample.

Sampled alongside 'the Father' and shared with my dad as part of a Father's Day family dinner.
Very dark colour for the style, surprising appearance. I suppose I was expecting a yellow/golden colour with big fluffy head --> instead: hardly visible foam outline, a fiery orange colour. Glossy (clouded) but with some shine to the colour. The beers temperature was cold enough to leave a layer of condensation in the place of the lacing, all the way down the glass. The aroma is equally far off for the style, and somewhat underwhelming as well, but saves itself by being slightly unique. The East Kent Goldings give it a pretty heavy mineral character (which is out of style really). I do get something off the aroma that is rather pleasing, it's just hard to say exactly what. It's nice, I just wish it was a little more upfront. The mouthfeel avoids being syrupy but is very under carbonated.The flavour is dominated by a green melon / cantaloupe taste and mostly just that. The Saaz hops don't add 'spice' per se (like the bottle claims) but do lend some "pizazz". The Vienna malt is really upfront and by far the most predominant feature.
This actually was far closer to a Vienna/Marzen in almost every way than it was to a Belgian Pale. Nevertheless, it stayed agreeable the whole way through and paired quite well with my dinner. Enjoyed, thanks Harry!

Bomber sent to me by trevorwideman. Thanks so much for parting with your last bottle.

Appearance: Poured a brilliant deep copper colour with a modest white head. Good retention, leaves a very nice lace.

Aroma: Surprisingly hoppy! Loads of nice floral smells and fruit. Grapes and raisins in there as well. Plenty of nice yeasty scents.

Taste: Buttery and fruity with a surprising alcohol warmth for only 5.2%. A wonderful finish that smacks you about 3 seconds after you swallow. Moderate to low bitterness, but the hoppiness that comes through in the aroma subsides a lot to the malts in flavour.

Mouthfeel: Creamy and lots of body. Very high drinkability.

Final Statement: Brilliant Belgian Pale Ale! Jesus himself would struggle to brew a better one. My advice would be to keep this year round. My friend and I really enjoyed this one. Thanks a lot Trevor!!

Reviewed a 660 mL bomber received in trade from trevorwideman — thanks!

The Son poured dark gold with red(!) highlights into my goblet with only a soapy ring capping it despite an aggressive pour. True to its name, The Son possessed the same Vienna malt smell and sour yeast funk as The Father, but in less quantity. Some nice fruity esters and grassy aroma, too.

I agree with an earlier opinion that this beer is unlike any other Belgian pale ale (I said much the same about The Father in comparison to other dubbels), but that doesn't mean it's not a good beer. Its herbal finish made it seem hoppier than anything I'm used to in this style, but it wasn't unpleasant by any means. The carbonation was a little on the low side, but that's only a quibble against what is overall a nicely drinkable beer.

660 ml bomber: ( Thanks Kris)

Poured a lightly hazed reddish amber ale in the glass. Decent 2 finger rocky sticky cap lasts and laces the glass sides as it drains.

Woody-earthy-nutty-musty tones over cooked cereal notes making this ale's aroma really rustic and primal... very nice.

Front side is punctuated with the nutty- woody tastes balance with the chewy Vienna malts, as the yeasts are detected, the mid palate gets a dose of bright fruit tones...finishes slightly herbal- nutty-spicy with a bready after taste.

Sheeeoot Dave I like this one almost as much as the Octoberfest!!...this has a woody-earthy malty very primal quality to it but with the added fruity esters....a really nice drinking crafted brew....bravo!

Pours an extremely clear halfway between amber and brownish rubies. Depending on the light, the red becomes MUCH more pronounced. Soapy, buttercream head with pretty decent lacing. Extremely subdued aroma, floral, even slightly grassy. Surprisingly, as it warmed up, a sudden scent of cherries appeared out of nowhere and crackers became detectable. Taste of rosy, floral hops, again, quite subdued. Some sweetness, a *hint* of apple on the sides of the tongue, a bit of toast. Rather thin consistency.

Thanks to oakbluff for providing the Half Pints!

Pours a crystal clear amber, orange, really nice looking, thick white head forms, lace spots everywhere, good retention. Smell is sweet, yeasty, some bread, sugar, citrus, grass, fruits, and alcohol. Taste is real nice, fruity, sweet caramel, grainy middle, cereal, citrus and yeast in the finish, more bread, neat. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with low to medium carbonation, easy drink, very smooth. Again, didn't blow me away but a solid drink, can't find too much wrong with it.

Poured out a relatively clear caramel colour into a goblet- little head and some lacing. I was quite surprised to see how clear it was the for the style. Aroma was somewhat subdued, perhaps due to bottle being on the cold side. The vienna malts really stand out- similar to the Father, but less rich in body and flavour. This is a nice session ale, whereas the Father is a pretty rich treat that’s tough to drink more than a bomber. Hop flavour is at a good level to balance the vienna malts. Carbonation is medium and finish is pretty clean- a slight grainy aftertast. A great alternative to the other belgian pales available here (such as Leffe).

660 ml bottle bought at the brewery. Poured into a tulip glass.

Pours a coppery-red colour with a 1/4 inch head that subsides to a thin lace. Carbonation is quite mild, just enough to keep that head going a little bit. Nose is very yeasty, lots of bready and biscuity aroma, along with plums, figs, and dates. There's a pleasant and distinct mellow butteriness in the nose as well, along with a earthy floral hop character.

Taste is very mellow with the yeast funkiness presiding at first, then moving into a lovely lightly roasted cracker/biscuit malt territory. Sweetness is predominantly a fruity one, but I find that an almost lemony sourness dominates the flavour. Bitterness is very low, I think Dave really restrained himself from dumping bags of hops into this brew. The hops are there, but subtle and much more floral than bitter. Mouthfeel is typically thick and malty, fairly wet, and lightly carbonated. This would be a solid session brew, the ABV isn't out of control and neither is the sweetness.

Light amber in colour with medium carbonation. Aromas of pale malt, soft stone fruit, hothouse flowers, and the slightest wiff of powered milk chocolate. Very floral in the mouth with notes of sweet grasses mixed in. Some berries and spicy hops make a brief appearance mid sip, before a long finishing woosh of toasted malts. This is quite unlike pretty much all of the other “Belgian Ale” style of beers that I’ve tried, but the category is so broad that I’m still fairly sure that it still fits within the parameters. The Vienna malt character is quite pronounced as are the hops, and the yeast contribution is more floral (specifically rose and geranium) and stone fruit as opposed to so many of the banana/tropical fruit/red berry esters of some Belgian strains. Perhaps one could consider this the Viennese take on Belgian Pale Ale… I don’t know. Either way, the beer is tasty. It’s definitely progeny of “The Father”.