Spring + Tijm
Brouwerij De 7 Deugden

 

A 330ml bottle with a bottled-on date of March 2012. Picked up last year at the GBBF and stored in my garage. From what I can make out on the label (which is in Dutch), this is a beer brewed for Lent and has thyme added to it.

Poured into a Delirium chalice. Bottle conditioned. A deep, hazy orange-amber hue with good carbonation. Produces a large head of creamy white foam that lasts for a while before reducing to a thick surface layer. Some lacing. Aroma of caramel malt, subtle coriander, spice, earthy yeast esters, herbs, faint thyme and stewed leaves. Slightly sweet, with a mild whiff of booze in the background.

Tastes of caramel malt with a yeasty, herbal character and a dry, bitter finish. Notes of spice, pepper, earthy yeast esters, faint coriander, mild thyme, herbs and stewed leaves. Highly attenuated and very dry, with a rather harsh herbal quality in the background. A slightly acrid bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly, with soft carbonation and a velvety body. Pretty astringent, with an aftertaste of bitter stewed herbs, yeast and faint spice.

Interesting, though a tad spoiled by the excessively harsh herbal flavour. Looks nice, with a balanced aroma. Flavour is OK if rather bitter. Lovely smooth body. The thyme is surprisingly subtle - you only get a whiff of it from the aroma. It comes through in the taste as well; a faint hint upfront and again as you swallow. Perhaps it has mellowed out, but it seems to blend in quite nicely. A decent brew even if overly bitter - it might be interesting to try a fresher bottle and see if the thyme is more prominent. Worth trying if you have the chance.

A: Pours a walnut wood color with chunks of sediment, basically no head and not any significant rising carbonation.
S: The thyme is certainly nice and not as strong as I would have expected it to be. It blends incredibly well with the rest of the smell. It's pretty unlike any beer I've ever smelled. The thyme sits on top, but underneath i detect a slight fruity sweetness (apricot?), reminding me of a bush noel actually.
T: Definitely thyme-y, giving it a pine tree sort of quality,. Yes, it's like drinking a tree, which is certainly a new experience, a bit bizarre. The thyme is fairly strong, and hard to separate this beer in my head from foods with thyme in it. I have to say it is good, but perhaps a bit too strange. Edging toward sour.
M: Somewhat dry, but otherwise unremarkable.
O: A good beer, certainly quality, but I do find it a bit too strange to want it again.