Piet-Agoras
Brouwerij Het Alternatief

A - The look of fresh pressed natural apple cider, and unfiltered copper body. Almost white, thin head coating.

S - Dried fig sugar prominent. Dried apple rings with dark sugars. Spiced alcohol wafting about.

T - Tart apple skin, booze soaked fig sweetness with some spices thrown in. Toffee and a hint of fruit and fruit skin again. Subtle molasses and a warming booze finish.

M - Full bodied, semi dry in the middle and warming in the end.

O - A crisp, spiced fruit profile with dark sweetness and well balanced. Clean and tasty.

Sampled in Izegem at Oude Sint-Pieter.

L: poured from a bottle to a tulip glass. Had a dark amber color and a thick, cloudy texture. There was a small amount of foamy head that quickly dissipated. Not much lacing to speak of.

S: A fair, but somewhat one-dimensional aroma of apples, Belgian yeast, and a little bit of spices.

T: Like the aroma, the taste was dominated by apples (almost a little like cider), but also had a hint of malt, a fair shot of Belgian yeast, pepper, and a sweet element, like caramel. Not a bad flavor, but definitely a bit on the thin side. It's not quite as robust as some BSDA flavors.

F: A below average amount of carbonation with slightly thin finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This isn't the worst beer on this style, I've had, but it's pretty unremarkable. Could have been more interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

33cl Bottle at 'De Bierboom', Brugge on 17 Dec 2012.

Hazy golden body with a good, full head of off-white of deep foam.

Yeasty nose with a caramel hint, there was also a tart, almost sour aroma from the brew.

The taste was a mixed bag as well: sweet and sour feel throughout, with a semi-sweet maltiness just about hiding the other flavours.

Solid if not special.

 

 

So... Uhhh.... I pop the cap to a loud crisp pop, almost like a cork being rocketed off. I let loose a whoop of joy and watch as a nice fog begins to roll off the top of the bottle. As I admire this phenomenon.... I forget that this is the precursor to a gusher. POOF! An ounce or so begins to gush out of the bottle to which I quickly rush to tip it into the snifter. Quite a vicious froth develops out of the simple pour down the side.

A- A creamy, giant three fingers of oatmeal tan head developed. Frothy... cloudy... delightful! The bubbles around the edging are bigger than I expected, but the retention on this is surprising. Appropriate, bordering on obnoxious. The lacing doesn't stick well enough to give a full appearance. There is a bit of black sedimentation in the murky amber and caramel colored body.

S- Not bad, not bad. The lighter side of oranges. Less acidity, more fruity sweetness. This is paired with a saison-like spiciness, pepper, mild volatile nature similar to pure ethanol. Bubblegum, clove, and tangerines finish off the aroma. Very easy to detect flavors, hard to peel them apart.

T- Initially opens up with oranges, sweet flavors similar to what gum gives off. Transitions to peppery bite, a bit of straw and light hops... grassy hops, and some stringy bubblegum. Finishes off dry, papery, and lingers well.

M- Light to medium body, light, tight, crisp carbonation off the bat gives this a delightful tickle. Sticky flavors, bright alcohol helps the carbonation give a full rounded experience.

Its a confusing beer. It has so many characteristics that scream out saison to me... but the sweetness, combined with the carbonation and bite, along with this dark coloration give me the feeling I'm drinking a belgian strong dark. Saison, tripel, and belgian pale ale all wrapped into one... this dark coloration... belgian strong dark ale. The catch all when you don't know what the hell is going on ;)

And the reveal is... Piet-Agoras

 

 

Poured out as a nice looking deep brown color with some red highlights in there. The head on the beer is foamy and pretty thick looking. The lacing it leaves is pretty sticky and had a good retention as well. The smell of the beer gives of the standard Belgian yeast aromas with some dark malts and some spices. The taste gives off a little bit of a tartness to it at first, but then fades into a slightly sweet brew. The mouthfeel of this beer is medium bodied, nothing too over the top but drinkable. Overall it was pretty good, can't say I'd have to buy it again but not bad.

Long and assertive Belgian brew.

Presentation: 12 oz brown capped bottle. Light purple label with a subset image with a picture of the brew on a tulip glass and a handwritten background. It offers a small narrative noting intent, main characteristics, and unique identity. This is one of the worst designed labels I´ve seen in a long while. Unmarked date scale on the side. Shows 9% Alc. by Vol. Served in a snifter.

A - Hazy deep amber pour, nice 1" frothy head, good retention, fair surface memory with good lacing.

S - Nose is a bit soft, fruity, yeasty, with a nice caramel sense.

T - Malty, with nice fruity notes coated in light caramel, spicy yeast, over a lingering boozy touch.

M - Medium to medium/full body, with small carbonation providing a subtle textured rhythm that leads to some smoothness over a warm finish.

O - This is a nice long brew, good complexity and range.

Notes: Second time I have this brew, and this is quite recent from the memory of what I had a month or so ago. On that occasion a complex sourness was at the helm. This is nice, but in a different way, the sourness is almost non-existent but there is a nice brew nevertheless offering a long and rather enjoyable experience. I wonder if this is an aged bottle, since any trace of a fresh hoppy profile is absent, but if so it has done so gracefully, and it has turned into a good sipper.

this is not a strong dark

33cl into a tulip. Gushes, one third spontaneously erupts to foam. Mango orange color. Towering head is an understatement. Clumpy froth leaves 3D lacing.

Complex scent of a strong pale with a very nice balance of hops atop the yeasty light skinned fruits.
crisp & clean

Taste has many surprises. The nose did not hint at the tiny funk. Peculiar pleasant aftertaste with just a tad of sour, subdued spices, hops and a quiet hint of orange juice. No sense of the alcohol. The hop contribution is significant but negligible bitterness. Medium bodied prickly yet creamy mouthfeel.

Lot 378, best by June 2011. I imagine freshness greatly impacts this brew.
cheers
jd

Received in the Tickers BIF, thanks to BVbeer1.

Pours a cloudy honey like color. Solid, thick off white head. The head takes its time before it falls to a quarter inch cap that leaves patches of lacing.

It smells sour with scents of green & red apples, lemon, lime, g-spot spray, and candied ginger. Mellow, and inviting its scent begs me to drink it.

Tart, but uneventful the flavor fails to live up to the nose. I taste citric acid, and green apples.

Light to medium body with a heavy dose of carbonation. It washes across my tongue before I feel a acidic drying. My tongue feels like I touched it to a 9 volt battery.

A great smelling beer, but any good flavor that it might have is squelched by the acidic mouthfeel. Im not sure that this beer is categorized correctly! Its a few tweaks away from being a really great beer.

Saw this interesting little bottle and had to try. Lot: 394 on cap
Poured from 11.2 oz into wine glass.

A- Intense foam out of the bottle with removal of cap. A hazy red grapefruit hue. It really does look like the pic on the bottle. A big rocky head that leaves lots of lacing.

S- Aroma of mild tart/ sweet cherries. Dusty, hay. light vinegar. Smell is mild overall.

T-Very interesting. Seems b/w styles. Mild tart with grapefruit zest. A dry hay in back of palate. Light biscuit in body. Some cobweb & light oak.

M- Mild and soothing. Hits corners of mouth and tip of tongue . A wet feel that quickly dries. Makes you want another sip.

D- NO alc presence at all. Enjoyable. A very interesting brew that does not conform. Gonna grab 1 or 2 to age to see what happens.