Winter 13
Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal

 

 

Aroma of yeast esters, pepper, floral, citrus, malt. Taste slight sweet malt, yeast, banana, mild spice, earthy hops, fruity.

 

 

 

A: dark brown, little amber as held up to the light. Quickly dissipating head of small bubbles that try to cling to the edges.
S: mainly dark fruit, but not too strong: fig, date. Hint of the barrel-aging in there, more alcohol than wood.
T: start with the dark fruit of the nose, briefly, and also a little more tartness than could be discerned from the smell. The wood and cognac comes into play then, but not in any overpowering sense. It melds quite well with the initial tastes. As the beer warms, I notice a little more sweetness and some banana.
M: fairly smooth, little more carbonation than expected up front, some tartness adding to the tingle in the end
O: a nice, well-balanced beer that you can sit down and enjoy slowly. Neither the beer nor the aging overpower you in any way, but complement each other quite well.

 

 

 

 

Poured into a Nostradamus flute glass. Pours a medium golden amber with a nice two finger white head. Aroma of saison yeast, sweet malt, light wheat, slightly spicy. Flavor of sweet bready malt, banana, hints of caramel, coriander, finishing drier with clove and coriander and light hops. Light bodied with pleasant carbonation. This starts out like a Belgian blonde and then transitions to a semi-dry saison profile with the saison yeast and hops revealed in the finish. I enjoyed the flavor progression and taste of this ale.