Bertinchamps Blonde
Ferme de Bertinchamps

Drunk with a friend at Sustrai Berri Gastrobar in Leioa (Spain).

Look: Pale golden colour | 15 mm foam head | Not too bubbly
Smell: Hops
Taste: fairly good
Mouthfeel: A very bit sharp
Overall: consistent Belgian Blonde Ale. I like it!

 

 

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Quite dark gold, pours clear with a 2mm white foam cap. ps@+10mins the head sustains itself well.
S- Mild, possible light spice notes.
T- Quite bright but lovely balancing malts. It's subtle, I thought I had a touch of subtle citrus, then immediately wondered if I was getting hints of toffee. Perhaps hard to pin down.
F- Lovely balance and has decent fullness to the Feel. Probably versatile, well chilled (as here) I could drink this year-around.
O- I've just finished a German Pilsener (Warsteiner) and then into this and the broad-spectrum taste here vs the Pilsener is a joy; so much more engaging. Very nice indeed. Would happily drink this again.
Review #1909/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed!
500ml bottle BB: 08/09/2022 Euro3.95 Bought from BeerMania/Belgium as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.

 

 

 

Bottle 500 ml | Best before end of 30-10-2017 | Bar code 5 425033 240011
Served in original Bertinchamps glass

Appearance: Light Honey | 15 mm foam head | Not too much bubbles
Smell: Hops
Taste: Hoppy at start, yeast, little bitter aftertaste
Mouthfeel: A very bit sharp
Overall: Draft-blond-beer-like taste, typical blond beer but not as consistent as other analogs

 

 

 

 

Poured into snifter. 0,5l bottle.
Pours crystal clear golden beer with modest 1-finger ring of white froth. Aroma of honey, banana, apricot and grassy hops.
Taste of bubble gum, some fruitiness (pear, apricot), soft carbonation, medium body. Average belgian blond ale.

 

(Don't judge a beer by the bottle but I appreciated the big graphical B logo, looking like the most contemporary sort of retro, and an unusual bottle size, which all just added up to announce itself from the shelf a modern brew but with an artisanal sensibility. End of prelude.) Blonder than a normal Belgian blonde on the pour, a straw-like, Pilsen-colored concoction, but seeming a bit more leggy/thicker, so not to be confused with a lager. A finger of white foam perfectly, but briefly, came up to the rim of an English pint glass (this being a 50 cl bottle, incidentally bought a week ago in Brussels with 5 Aug. 2015 use-by date). Quite clear — again, abnormal among its countrymen? — and lots of bubbling action. What aroma there is, is fine -- a bit of gristmill malt smell, some coriander, some orange blossom, no hop detected. Delicately malt flavored at first, with some orange zest, apricot, sweet cherry, something herby, I guess coriander again. While trying to process that, a blade of hop bitters and a flowery note cuts in. Zing. I perceive complexity but the palate isn’t working hard to figure it out. The mouthfeel is a treat, creamy and coating, little alcohol feel, but effervescent and rather drying on the back of the tongue.