Belgian Pale Ale
McKenzie Brew House

 

Appearance – This one poured a beautiful, dark orange in color with a nice white head.

Smell – Boy, this had a wonderful nose. It is very complex and unusual. It’s almost kind of farmy, this one is. The big spices are actually reminiscent of a Saison.

There’s some light Belgian yeast here, but mostly this one has tons of summer fruits. I can pick up everything from apricot to watermelon to peaches and plums and everything in between. There’s also a bit of farmy feet in there that nicely rounds out this wonderful bouquet.

Taste – Yes, this one has a case of the nasties. The sharp spices and farmy undertones are relentless, even when the ale is cold. The malts are actually kind of sugary with some light caramel and sugar syrup.

Mouthfeel – This is bigger than medium-bodied but not full. The carbonation is huge and refreshing. The leafy bitterness is just right at the finish.

Drinkability – This is an amazing effort at a trappist ale. The malts are so big for a BPA and the light farmhouse notes make this a pleasure to consume.

Comments – Thanks to skyhand for packing this one on the plane back from PA. Kim’s BAness is beyond reproach. She deserves a couple hundred karma points for this one.

GTC is in da’ house!

Light gold color, smallish fluffy white head, a bit hazy. Smell was very muted and I had difficulty to pick up aromas. Taste was a bit on the light side, soft biscuity malt, lots of "Belgian" spice character , Clove? Lighter mouthfeel made this very drinkable. Hop character took a major back seat to the Belgian spice. Slight grassy hay like hop dryness towards the end. The lighter malt character really allowed the yeast characteristics to leap to the front. Very drinkable summer style brew.

750 ml bottle, cellared for 2 months. Cloudy orange with an off-white head that holds well but leaves no lace. The aroma is of summer fruit (some apricot) and light spice. Medium-light bodied with soft, fine carbonation from bottle conditioning. The flavor starts softly fruity and very lightly tart, revealing some citrus rind and sugary maltiness as well as a gently soft spiciness from the yeast. As it warms a light biscuity malt becomes more noticeable, and the light spiciness shows a touch of clove to its character. Finishes softly, slightly dry, with a lingering sweetish maltiness. Very well done. Quite authentic. However, I feel it may have suffered a bit as the yeast was completely in suspension and may have masked some of the more subtle flavors. It may also have been a little more refreshing. Surprisingly, since this is a brewpub, the bottle had obviously not been handled very well by the bar staff. The bottle was delivered to the table uncapped and sweating (as if it had been sitting for some time), and there was no sediment at all left in the bottle. A better example may give a better score.