L'Ambre D' Ucle Belgian Amber
Coal Creek TAP

i think its awesome these guys are doing so many belgian styles, i love to see a belgian amber like this, and they also had a solid belgian pale and a belgian coffee stout, amongst others, when i was in. it seems like a lost or never quite found art among most american brewers, and i was stoked to get into this one. unfortunately, i dont think this was as well done as the others, the yeast seems fermented so warm that it gets a bit phenolic, and its dominance runs over much of the grain nuance, even though the malt profile here should be pretty substantial. instead, its mostly just sweet with a warming toasted aspect to it, kind of wintery or at least autumnal in that regard, but less flavorful i think than it should be, it never quite rises to balance the yeast, which to me leaves a somewhat disjointed beer overall. i do get some neat flashes of flavor through, from pear to white wine to coriander, tea, and even dried apricot. some residual sweetness is here, but its not too much, and almost no hops, even at the end. i think the potential is here for this to be amazing, but when i compare it in my head to the best in its field, even domestically, the the rare vos from ommegang, its at least a level behind. i think a slightly cooler and slower fermentation would help a lot, but not bad on the whole, and a style i am happy to see on any beer menu.