Amitié
Brouwerij De Dochter van de Korenaar

Thick yeast cake in bottle, dark nutty brown color, mit hefe became murky and somehow unsure of itself.
Poured into a Chimay glass at cellar temperature.
Nice solid head, resilient considering the strength.
Smells beautiful, malt, stone fruit, toffee, green apple, spice.
Initial flavor was very disappointing to me after the alluring scent, though keeping with its Red IPA style, malt with citrus, wave of funk, creeping wall of intense hop bitterness, but then receding with a nice sweet & sour astringent yet round fruit note. I did not initially enjoy the flavor but by halfway through it grabbed me, and pummeled my taste buds into submission, whereupon the rest was thoroughly refreshing. Hoppier than Orval, but makes up for the punishment with a fruit salad dessert. Mouth feel was very nice, subtly buttery in a positive way. I usually hate Belgian (and American) IPAs, this one made me pull a 180° halfway through. Might not buy it for $9 but would certainly pick up more at the marked down 99¢ price!

 

 

 

 

Color: ruby ​​brown, hazy. The head has a light beige color, medium lasted, not really adorns the glass.
Aroma: sweet tropical fruit plus citrus. In the background accents resin.
Taste: citrus, tropics and resin.
Gentian, slightly resinous, grapefruit, is quite long and intense. High saturation.

 

From an 11.6oz bottle with a best before date of July 2016.

Pours an overly frothy off white tan head that is super slow to recede leaving plenty of sticky lacing clinging to the glass. Not much hops in the nose while a slight off note permeates the aroma. First sip is very malty with just enough hops to try to balance, A nice flavor from the Belgium yeast adds to the complexity. Not De Dochter’s best beer but pretty damn good beer.

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a medium to dark reddish amber with a huge light khaki head that continued rising for quite a while after pouring, eventually dissipating to a one finger head and leaving thick lacing. Aroma of caramel malt with a hint of biscuit, apple, light stone fruit and light tropical fruit, citrus and grassy hops. Flavor is caramel and biscuit malt with a hint of rye, brown bread, orange family citrus, tropical fruit, light earthy and grassy elements. Finishes with spicy rye-like bready malt and grassy, piney hops with a hint of citrus. Medium bodied with a light creaminess. A quite flavorful and complex red ale. There are so many flavors here that it seems like it should be a mess, but everything is very nicely integrated. I'm getting a nice rye flavor and mild tartness, but it must be from the hops, as rye is not listed as an ingredient. This was a great Belgian take on the red ale style and better than most I've had. A nice blend of red ale and Belgian influences. Well done.

11.6 ounce bottle into tulip glass, best before 6/2016. Pours lightly hazy deep reddish copper color with a 1-2 finger dense and fluffy light khaki head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice dense soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, lemon zest, orange peel, pepper, light pine, caramel, brown sugar, toast, and floral/grassy earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of citrus/piney hops, fruity/spicy yeast, and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with decent strength. Taste of big grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, lemon zest, orange peel, citrus rind, pepper, pine, caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, light chocolate, and floral/grassy earthiness. Good amount of pine/citrus rind bitterness and yeast spice on the finish; with lingering notes of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, peach, lemon/orange peel, pepper, pine, caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, light chocolate, and floral/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/piney hops, fruity/spicy yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/yeast/bitterness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, and moderate creamy/resinous/sticky mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with minimal warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is a very good Belgian Red IPA. All around good robustness, complexity, and balance of citrus/piney hops, fruity/spicy yeast, and dark/bready malt flavors; and very smooth to drink for the ABV. A nicely enjoyable offering.