Bruxellensis Reserva
Brasserie de la Senne

750 mL bottle. Lightly hazy golden. Smells of wine barrel, oak, earthy and fruity yeast notes. Tastes of oak, wine, and aggressive fruity yeast flavors. A little bit of sweet doughy malt. Earthy yeast notes and a little oak in the finish. Lingering fruitiness and wine barrel. Medium body. Excellent.

Copenhagen 6/7 2019. 75 cl bottle from Best of Beers Web-shop. Very colorful label with barrels in the colors of the Belgian Flag. Thet call the beer a Barrel-aged Local Brett Pale Ale. They seem pretty preoccupied with the fact that they are from Brussels.

Pours hazy orange with a very big white head. Settles as lumpy but thin layer of foam just covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is intense, sweetish, tart and funky. Peach, funky brett. Humid cellar. Light notes of citrus and tart gooseberries.

Light carbonation. Slightly thick, soft, almost flat texture.

Flavor is medium sweet followed by a slightly stronger tart sourness. Aftertaste is bitter and a little rough bitterness. Lingering.

Pretty light for an Barrel-Agd beer and I do not smell or taste the barrel aging apart from the funk.

 

Bottled Dec 2020, from Etre

A clear deep orange with a dense off-white head with excellent retention and lacing this looks great. The nose is woodsy with a real Brett C character, pineapple, clove complementing the white wine barrel and mild sherry flavor. Mild buttery, oaky chardonnay. Spice, earth. The palate opens with an unabashed Brett expression. Clove, pineapple, funk, mild isovaleric acid, a moderate vinous note, mildly tannic and mildly buttery, fruity and with a touch of sherry. Drying, funky, fruity with a lot of clove and some pineapple. Mild vanilla and stone fruit. Medium-light in body, highly carbonated with a creamy feel. Compelling, unique.

 

 

a barrel aged version of one of my favorites, one of their best really, just an awesome expression of brett on its own, and in this instance, woody and a little more dense, a little more depth, all seemingly in service of the brett, giving it more to hang on to and new corners to expand into, so funky and interesting, but also kind of simple with the basic pale malt base, its next level! sunny golden colored and pretty clear, with a bright white head on it and lots of bubbles rising up. aroma of familiar brett, i have known this strain or mix of strains in other de la senne strains, drying, farmy, wet animal dankness, even a touch spice. here the oak lends a white wine character, light vanilla, peach or dried apricot, and cracked pepper. its not overly woody, its still totally brett driven, but there is more depth and body to it, equally mature as the original always seems to be for me, but maybe even more well refined, no sediment really in here like i recall in the base beer, and there is just slight tartness here. pineapple notes too, a grassy hop thing, and some serious oak tannins that come on late. dry and just a little heavier than the original, the right balance between complex and simple, drinks like a funky belgian pale meets a rustic saison. i love de la senne, and this is among their very best beers, i am blown away every time i get to drink their beer, i wish more of them came around...

 

 

Bottled 6th of April, 2017.
Best by 6th of April, 2019.
Gentle to moderate pour yields a 3/4 inch white head over a light amber body with some nice lacing. Nose of funk (cellar floor, wet horse blanket, and a bit of blue cheese), grapefruit, and oak. Taste of grapefruit and oak. Good feel and overall, a real nice example of how brettanomyces bruxellensis works.