Belgian Select
pFriem Family Brewers

Effervescent. Slightly hoppy and bitter. Unspiced. Notes of fruit peel. Otherwise basic Belgian ale.

 

 

Pours a clear amber color with plenty of foam in the Orval chalice. Big frothy mouthfeel. Powerful aroma of alcohol, cereal, pear, and citrus. Quite lemony, even some orange peel. It's quite yeasty and estery, and the first couple of sips seems over the top. But some warming and more tasting clarifies the flavors. Still, it's a tough customer as that long bitter aftertaste latches on. From the 375 ml corked and caged bottle dated 01/17/2022.

Poured into a tulip, this beet pours a dark amber gold color with good head retention and considerable lacing. On the nose I get an attractive mix of spice (clove, rose petals and sandalwood), dry citrus and light tropical fruit. The flavor profile replicates the nose in this dry and refreshingly bitter pale ale (this really seems more like a Belgian style ipa). There really seems to be a lot going on in the flavor profile, with layers of flavor. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a long spicy and moderately bitter finish. Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile.

Impressive effort from the brewer at pfriem. Quite like this one.

 

 

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a lightly hazy, straw/golden amber with a fine two finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, Belgian yeast, lemon, light stone fruit and little pineapple. Flavor is grainy malt, saison style yeast, lemon, grapefruit, and apple with a rich multigrain bready note developing into a semi-dry finish. Medium bodied with light creaminess and sharp carbonation. A very well made and authentic Belgian pale ale that leans towards a saison dryness, while retaining pleasant fruit flavors. A nice flavor progression as the malt reveals itself into the finish. I liked this quite a bit. As always from Pfriem, nicely done.

 

Massive head (or I suck at pouring). Fruity, bright , pleasant aroma. Color is golden with some cyan..giving almost a slight greenish hue. Tastes less sweet or fruity than expected from initial aroma. Mouth feel a little loose, not a lot of body. Hops becoming more forward as beverage approached room temp. Finishes a bit dry. Definitely more interesting and enjoyable above fridge temp (as suggested on the bottle). Not as smooth or well-rounded as some of Pfriem's other offerings.