Zinnebir | Brasserie de la Senne

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

5/5  rDev +27.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Deep yellow with a thick topping of white. Candy cane minty aromas play with a pungent pale malty malt wine perfume (is he using La Choulette yeast here?). Tropical fruits, cream, vanilla, butter, honey ... this is like a beer version of a Thevenet Macon or Weinbach Gewurz. The texture is cream fluff. Trying to isolate any instance of gaseous prickle is difficult, but it can be seen. Piles of sweet green apple flesh bind to anise and green herbs flavors. Big pear notes. Appetizing, leafy bitterness resists drawing attention to itself. Light pastry dough texture and flavors keep pale honey sweetness lifted and clean. Pure, wholesome and natural drinkability. This item defies Belgian beer stereotypes deliciously. What a find!

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3.68/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

its a shame we will never be able to get a fresh specimen of this beer in the states, like, the bottle i just cracked has probably been collecting dust and allowing morning sunshine on some god forsaken warm shelf for so long its a fossil now, which really sucks, because de la senne is sensational, and this beer deserves a more fair shake here in america, which is supposed to be some sort of "land of opportunity" but it isnt for this beer, which maybe is indicative of minority populations and "9/11 truthers" and suffragists and anticapitalists before them. once upon a time, this was delightful belgian pale, but now its oxidized and bitter with notes of wet corrugated cardboard and airplane napkins. nevermind that though, lets focus on the potential here, what i know it was like way back when, honey and grassy hops and a yeast strain unique to this brewery that shows tea and lemongrass and clarity like a crystal ball. good body and appropriate strength. i have always wanted to drink a guinness or a newcastle beer close to origin to fully appreciate, and now i can add this to the list of quality beers that just do not translate well to the american market. some de la senne stuff works over here, this one does not. someday we as a country will be able to receive this beer appropriately... i hope i am around to see it...

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4/5  rDev +2.3%

4.32/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to blitheringidiot for this one. 750ml bottle starts with golden yellow/orange pour with a good inch of white head. Lots of bubbly active carbonation along with some small yeast particles in suspension. Aromas of sun dried grain along with light fruit tones of pear, apple and citrus. Spicy yeast and some pepper. A touch funky with a hint of grass in there as well. Quite nice.

First sip brings a nice crisp grain maltiness. Pale with a blast of fruit flavors mirroring the aroma with pear, apple and a mix of citrus tones. Flows down with a spicy yeast kick and a funky farmhouse aspect that has a light sour hint. Finishes off with mellow bitterness and a touch of herbal hops. A well built brew that is quite subtle and nuanced while still have a great depth of flavor. Very enjoyable.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with good steady carbonation. Easy to drink, tasty and ultimately very refreshing on a hot day in the sunshine while I was out by the lake. A great Belgian blonde that I was happy to sample. I will seek this one out again.

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4/5  rDev +2.3%

4.12/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Large bottle, capped, and without freshness dating. Pours yeasty cloudy, light orangey amber, with a light tan slight head and leaving fine and scattered lacing. Nose is of bright lime peals and grapefuit pith. Ultra smooth and rounded mouthfeel, earthy with soft notes of mellow malts, nutty yeastyness, honey, spice and peppery hops late. Spicy long finish. Complex and refined brew. Easy drinking and tasty Belgian. Beginner friendly Belgian. Well worth a try. Would be fine with a lunch of salads, cheese and whatever else you feel like.

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4/5  rDev +2.3%

3.5/5  rDev -10.5%

4.25/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Tap @ Moor, Bristol - Pours hazy orange with a medium white foamy head. Nice lacing. Medium carbonation. Aroma - fruity, light apple and lemon, hop notes, light spice, herbal. Taste - Light fruity forefront - apple and lemons, light spice -cloves, Long bitter finish. Nice enough new wave Belgian ale.

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3.5/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

3.99/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

4.1/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Rich gold/yellow. Slightly hoppy, grains, crisp and clean aroma. Slightly fruity, a little bitter, clean, crisp. Not much to it, but refreshing and high carbonation.

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3.11/5  rDev -20.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

Poured from Capped 750ml bottle into standard pint glass. This beer was capped and corked. Removed cap to suspisious hiss as if the cork didn't really do its job. Upon inspection, there was a small but noticable amount of beer between cap and cork. Cautiously removed cork and poured beer. Cork had an off color, I have a feeling that this beer was corked. Appearance was a slightly hazy straw color. Mild pour yields a head that reluctantly clung to the top of the beer. Beer smelled of light malt, a very mild hop, and strong smell of funky cork. Taste was lightly sweet, faint hint of very light hopping, firm and malt, substancial funk (not in a positive way) and corkiness. A nice mouth feel, but fairly undrinkable. I might have to pick up another bottle to confirm spoiled nature of this beer.

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3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

3.97/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I just picked this bottle up in Belgium. This is the base beer from Crianza which is brewed by the same brewer.

The beer poured a light golden color with a nice rush of bubbles to the top that last for awhile and it complimented by a relatively small white head but fluffy. The nose is full of notes of lemon, yeast and a citrus tone as well. The taste is bit hoppier than I expected but pleasant. There is also a lemony, earthy taste that rounds this beer out well. Although light in color and abv, the body is medium and provides for a very decent beer. If you like this beer, try to get a hold of the Crianza which is excellent.

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3.96/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

330ml bottle, 5.8% ABV. 'Zinnebir' appears to loosely translate to 'mongrel beer', in reference to the mixed cultural heritage of many Belgians, and Brussels natives in particular.

This beer pours a rather hazy, yet bright medium golden yellow hue, with a full fist's worth of puffy, loosely foamy, and somewhat bubbly eggshell white head, which leaves some spotty patches of sudsy lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of earthy, mildly spicy yeast, crisp, crackery pale and wheat malts, a bit of crusty white breadiness, lemon, white pepper, and grassy, sort of dried leafy hops. The taste is sharp, kind of phenolic yeast, gritty wheat grain, a very softly caramelized pale malt, overripe lemon rinds, black pepper dust, further drupe fruit notes, and decent earthy, leafy, and grassy hops.

The carbonation is fairly tight, and a bit prickly in its rendition of frothiness, the body medium-light in weight, with an airy sort of smoothness. It finishes dry, the yeast dropping the final hammer, with a few grainy and hoppy essences mewling about.

An enjoyable BPA, in that is has more saison and hoppy character than is typical of the style. I'm still surprised at its affability, what with the yeast infiltrating all, but the overall crispness just sucks me in. Worth a try, even if y'all are no Brussels people.

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3.75/5  rDev -4.1%

4/5  rDev +2.3%

4.4/5  rDev +12.5%

4.08/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Masterful simple, soft,easy drinking. Great for lunch. Opaque golden with a white abundant creamy hand and lace. Sweet fruit and yeast in the aroma. Easy medium mouthfeel. Went right to the sediment, which was sourish. Refreshing overall, like a toned-down saison in spiciness, tasted pear, orange, apricot.

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4.03/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750mL bottle into my Troubadour tulip. I think this bottle is fresh (bought it the day it arrived at the liquor store), but without a bottled on or best before date, I'm not entirely sure. I'm rating this as an "Artisanal Blond" rather than a traditional Belgian Pale.

Luminous yet hazy amber and golden poppy liquid with boiling carbonation contributing to the enormous crown of rich rocky ivory which forms a butte overlooking a broad valley of foam. Lacing is sticky, thick and solid, leaving behind ornate patterns of merengue.

Orange peel, pepper, almond and grass in the nose. Sweet tangy pale malt character merges with spicy yeast notes and a zippy hop component.

Sourdough biscuits, wheat germ, orange peel, and heady phenols balanced by a clean, strong, slightly fruity hop bitterness on the palate. Dry, earthy finish with an avalanche of clove, pepper, saffron, and rye. Slight "forest" flavor as well. Refreshing yet filling all at once.

Smooth, creamy yet spritzy, effervescent, and medium-bodied mouthfeel.

Hoppy and spicy, and nearly sessionable, try this in place of a Saison after a few hours of physical labor.

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4.15/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle, de struise glass

Bright orange body, fully creamy head with strong retention, decent amount of residual sediment in the bottle. Nice citrus notes, moderate bitterness, clementine, yeast, oily herbal hops. This is tasty stuff - would tick again

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