Fils à Papa No. 17
Brouwerij De Leite

 

Here is an interesting Belgian beer...I get a woody charred oak scent underneath a fruity, tart, fresh aroma. The taste has a pronounced sourness, a fruit and earthy flavor, and more sweetness than expected. Medium in body (maybe just shy of medium-full) and a lingering aftertaste. This is a really interesting beer.

Poured from 330mL bottle into a tulip.

Appearance: darkish orange hue with a moderate haze and a finger of frothy light-tan foam atop.

Smell: tart, sweet, candylike malt aroma that reminds me a lot more of an oud bruin or Flanders red than a Belgian IPA. Not getting much in the way of whiskey, either (though maybe there’s a little rum aroma in there). So, not what I was expecting at all, but — also pretty good.

Taste: definitely tart, especially near the end, but also with a decent amount of sweetness for balance. It doesn’t strike me as inordinately bitter or hoppy; the hops struggle to get through the sour. Again, I don’t get much in the way of barrel flavors, except perhaps that maybe the beer soured in the barrel. And also like the aroma, not what I expected, but not bad.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a decent carbonation and creaminess.

Overall: according to the label this beer is a 4/8 hoppiness, 1/8 bitterness, and 1/8 sweetness … evidently consumer expectations are a lot different in Belgium! In my mind this beer is sour first, then sweet, with hoppiness somewhere way down the call sheet. I still like it, even if I wouldn’t call it an IPA, as the brewers do. Could they have put the wrong label on the bottle? Who’s to say? I think if I were reviewing this as a Flanders red, it would probably get a better score for me, if only because it would be meeting my expectations.