No. 125
Bøgedal Bryghus

Poured from the 750ml bottle into a Kasteel chalice. Body is a pretty deep orange color with some golden highlights, topped by a sizable cramy white head. A considerable amount of floaties hang around, requiring some careful sipping.
Aroma is big on sweet, bready malt, with a touch of tropical fruit from the hops. Notes of honey and tangy Belgian yeast also come through. Palate is sweet, bready malt up front, with a nice, tangy, spicy note from the yeast. Hops lend a mild fruitiness before the swallow, with a lingering sweetness on the swallow. Nice, but the hops have certainly faded. I'd say this beer is considerably past it's prime. Body is well-carbonated and lightly creamy, One of the more pleasant aspects of the beer. I just wish I had had this when it was fresh.

 

From 01/02/11 notes. Shared at a local DC tasting thanks to Argo0 (RB); thanks Aaron. 75cl bottle, No.156.

a - Pours a murky brown color with less than one inch of white head and light carbonation evident.

s - Smells of grass, wheat, light citrus. The smell is pretty bland and not great.

t - Tastes of bready malts, grain, pale malts, and light citrus. Again, not great.

m - Medium body and low carbonation.

d - Not a great beer. The smell and taste are very bland; not much going on in either. Wouldn't look to have again.

Poured from a cellar temperature bottle into a balloon glass. The label on the bottle says the beer was brewed on 25/3/2008 and bottled 7/4/2008. I've been sitting on this bottle since December, when I won it as a door prize a Christmas party at a local beer bar. How the owner came into possession of it, I do not know.

The beer is opaque and is colored a combination of orange and brown; perhaps dirty orange is the best way to describe it. There was a significant off-white head that has settled into a thin coating of bubbles. There is plenty of lacing left behind. There are plenty of grassy hops in the aroma. I can also smell some yeast and a slightly off aroma, as if the beer were a bit stale. Although the taste isn't anything extraordinary, it is a very solid American pale ale. It starts out slightly sweet. A hint of alcohol makes an appearance, then the flavor evolves into a mildly bitter hop taste. I enjoy the taste a lot. The beer has a bit heavier of a body than I expected. Also, considering how over carbonated the beer was, I can't feel much in the way of carbonation bubbles except at the very end of each sip. Number 125 is a very solid APA. At 6.4% ABV, this 750ml bottle is a perfect serving size of a weekday evening.

Poured from 750 mL bottle into shaker pint glass. Bottle states this was brewed on March 25, 2008 and bottled on April 7, 2008.
A: Suffers from overcarbonation. Half beer, half head. Color is a nice pale orange with high carbonation producing a very thick bubbly white head. Settles after a couple minutes. The bottle amazingly continues to bubble foam over the top for a good ten minutes. Fix the overcarbonation and this would look good for style.
S: Strong biting cascade hops on the nose...can smell immediately from a few feet away. Nice pine and citrus. Honey too. Nicely aromatic.
T: Interesting...and at first a bit hard to nail down. Pine and citrus hops (but not as strong as in the aroma) mixed with fruity sugar, mild malt, and hint of caramel, honey, and floral notes in the background.
M: A first surprisingly smooth and creamy given the strong hop presence. Later, the hop bite enters the picture with a mildly acidic bitter tone. Finishes fairly smooth too. Nice feel for style.
D: Quite drinkable. An enjoyable and interesting brew. My main knock on this one is the overcarbonation...good brew once you get beyond that. Good session beer. Great with food, picnics, or just simply enjoying at an outdoor get-together.
Brewery has an interesting backstory in how they make their beers (free falling brewery).