Orange Zest Golden Ale
pFriem Family Brewers

Nice Belgian golden look. Hardly pale. Virtually no bitterness or hoppiness. Very subtle orange zest taste. No other spices or tasting notes. Some alcohol taste, unsurprisingly.

been really digging the pfriem belgian stuff over the years, never seen this one before now. super fragrant and refined brew, sneaky strong but still nice for summer, gorgeous orange blossom character to this, and without it being sweet or perfume-like, original and authentic flavor, neat in this base beer, excellent overall. sunny summery golden look, great clarity, no real viscosity or anything giving away its strength, and a high white proper belgian head, fills the glass nicely. the nose is essential orange to me, seems less intense than i normally associate with zest, less of the pithy bite and the up front intensity, its more cut in with white florals and even a peach nose, mimosa character, delicate to me, and real compatible with the clean belgian yeast esters, apple, nectarine, and white burgundy to me. juicy in the flavor, a little honey note to the malt base but still light, graphite mineral character, jasmine, honeysuckle, daffodil, sweet orange juice, like something a bee would be keen to pollinate. pleasant all the way, never too intense or estery on the yeast, great balance to this even without any apparent hops rising up, and medium bodied with great carbonation in terms of texture, right on for this. off dry at the end, super fresh and alive feeling overall, and i think the proportions of this are awesome. the orange element hits different, real and obvious but also so soft and mellow, love it!

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium golden amber with a healthy. three finger white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, Belgian yeast, orange and yuzu. Flavor follows with grainy malt, Belgian yeast, orange, tangerine, lemon and a touch of clove and citron. Lingering orange saison aftertaste. Medium bodied with sharp carbonation. I've enjoyed Pfriem's Belgian offerings over the years, but I think this is my favorite. The malt body is saison-like, but tempered by the fruity Belgian yeast. The orange promised in the name is complex and estery, also with some orange zest. A fine domestic Belgian, but also an interesting riff on the Belgian style. I hope this becomes a regular brew. Recommended.

Beautiful clear yellow brew with ample foam in the Maredsous goblet. Very lush and sudsy in the mouth. Long aroma of yeast and the Belgian aromatics. Clean and fruity with a dark intensity of taste. Tastes of pineapple, orange liqueur, and yeast. Hints of clove, raisins, and fruitcake.

Thoroughly delicious and powerful brew. From the sweet heat it dries out in the finish. The orange is so pervasive long into the aftertaste and in the nose. From the 375 ml bottle, caged and corked. Dated 08/16/21.