Bottleworks Bangelijk Blonde
De Proefbrouwerij

Bottle thanks to Dan! '04 vintage pours into my Fantome tulip glass liquid amber. Stiff Pour leads to large head and some sticky lace on the side of my glass with a nice off-white foam above the glowing golden liquid - quite nice looking. Smell is instantly apples, nice ready hastiness, bready yeast above a white pepper light spice and perhaps a touch of wet paper oxidation. Taste starts with a sweet caramel ready yeast and malt combination, a touch of tart balances this against the white pepper notes. Again some apples and a very small amount of oxidation that seems to die down as the glass warms. At this point I do not see bottles improving in flavor the mouthfeel really stands out and is soft yet assertive with just the right amount of carbonation on the tongue and a smooth smooth finish. Overall very happy to have tried this well made triple - recommend drinking further bottles sooner than later

 

Review from 10/2010 notes. Poured into a Nostradamus flute glass. Properly cellared 2004 bottle. Pours a cloudy orange amber with a thick white head and lacing. Yeasty, light fruit and a hint of sour aroma. Taste is similar with light fruit, a slight sourness and Belgian spiciness. Somewhat bitter, dry finish. Medium bodied and pleasant. Interesting mellowness from six years of aging.

 

Seems to be a fairly consistant 2004 bottle. Appearance is a very hazy orange yellow with light particals floating about and a healthy thick head that sticks around for awhile. Smell is yeasty, bready having a note of figs. Taste has a spicey sourerness with lots of yeast bringing out sweet bread. Mouthfeel is medium with good carbonation. with alchohol not really present in the flavor its a very tasty Flemish ale that is easy to sit with and enjoy.

Poured from the 330ml bottle into a Gordon tulip glass. Body is a bright golden-orange hue topped by a creamy white head that leaves some impresive lacing on the glass. Aroma is sweet and fruity, with some notes very similar to apple cider. A little bit of yeasty tang yields a touch of bitterness to counter the sweetness.
Palate is sweet pale malt with a lot of fruity esters up front - apple and white grape, among others. The yeast imparts a bit of musty flavor, along with some white pepper and allspice on the swallow. Finish is sweet and just a bit warm from the booze.
Body is creamy and lacks a bit of the effervescence of the I look for in a tripel. It goes down fairly easy, especially for being on the stronger side. But the sweetness prevents it from being a standard bearer for the style.

11.2 oz bottle, bottled in 2004. Received as an extra in a recent trade with Beerzebub. Thanks again man!

Pours a dark golden yellowish orange color with drk golden ripe banana hues when held to a light source and a one finger creamy frothy white head. The head is retained pretty much throughout and leaves rings of soapy lacing behind.

Yeasty/bready aroma with slight earthiness ans lots of estery Belgian yeast notes. Light fruit notes, mostly apple, grape and pear along with some earthy vegetal notes and zest/peppery spice. Subtle hints of sweet alcohol.

Creamy medium body which surprisingly is on the fuller end of the spectrum, considering the style. Soft carbonation up front followed by a prominent bready yeast profile, slight lactic creaminess and a strong estery Belgian yeast character. Slightly earthy with a peculiar vegetable presence along with a decent amount of light crisp fruit notes. Hints of apple, pear, grape and pineapple. There's also a slight zest peppery presence which was probably more forward when fresh but the aging has mellowed this into a very well balanced complex beer which is pretty tasty.

33cl bottle (2004) poured into a chalice, Bangelijk Blonde is a clear pale gold with a large white fluffy head, lots of streamers, leaving heavy lace. Impressive, especially considering it's 5 years old! Also, cool label of a ghostly looking women passed out.

Smell is extremely estery, over-ripe bananas.

Taste is not as strong, there's some maltiness, sugary sweentess, some fruity esters, and a sharp, metallic twang. Taste like a BPA thats a little long in the tooth, but still not bad.

Mouthfeel is creamy, but the body is a bit thin and watery.

Drinkability is ok, nothing really special, it's an old beer for sure. When I read Blonde Flemish Ale on the label, I'm expecting funk, which this did not have. Still, I glad I got to try it, a one off and fun example of how this type of beer ages.

Thanks to Beerzebub for the opportunity to try this beer. The label states it was bottled in 2004; Blonde Flemish Ale.

Pours a pale yellow with a creamy inch of foam. Very thin, soapy-like, bubbles with waves in the center of the glass. The head seems everlasting and leaves some thick lacing on the glass. Streams of tiny bubbles rush to the top continuously. Impressive!

Very estery, pears, red apples, pineapple, grapes, and a little vitamin aroma. Toasty and bready malt in the background with hints of soft spicy notes of cinnamon and clove. Great yeast aroma with a bit of phenols. Delicate strawberry notes too. Faint noble hop aroma in the background.

Lightly toasted with a bit of a grain flavor, some biscuit flavor too (Vienna maybe). A marriage of soft spices and yeast in the finish. Good, but a bit light on the flavor. Pear and a little crabapple in the finish. Initial sweetness upfront with a good dryness in the finish and just enough bitterness from the yeast phenols and hops to create some balance. More dry apple and pear flavor as the beer develops.

Medium-high carbonation and creamy on the palate. Some residual sugars on the lips.

Thanks Beerzebub for including this in a trade.

Poured into Unibroue tulip glass. Did not include yeast. 2.5 finger head that retains a peak in the center as it settles. Solid lacing as it settles.

Cloudy, almost peachy golden color depending on what light I hold it up to (green background results in peach).

Funky Belgian spice aroma with a little sourness. Highly anticipating the first swig after 5 minutes of foreplay with the aroma.

Very light on the mouthfeel. Some iron taste when I smack down the nasty looking wort that was left of the sinking head. I give a good rating on mouthfeel because it's very light and easy drinking.

The taste doesn't live up to the aroma but it's a nice compliment and lends to good drinkability.

330ml bottle purchased at Grocery Outlet in Berkeley, CA. Grocery Outlet is a discount grocery store that carries and interesting variety of mislabeled and over-stocked food and liquors. They had a few cases of this on display for the incredible price of $0.69 a bottle. The bottle is marked as being brewed in 2004, so I have no way of knowing if it has been properly stored for the past four years.

Appearance: Pours a hazy orange with a one finger head. The head dissipates after a few minutes, but there is lacing all the way down. There appears to be some sediment in the glass, but it is very small particles that are suspended in the beer and don't sink to the bottom.

Smell: Alchohol, candi sugar, citrus (particularly orange). It also has a little bit of caramel, like most of the older beers I've had.

Taste: Light spice, orange, more caramelized sugar. This beer tastes its age, and most of the subtler flavors I assume this beer had seem to have blended into a somewhat monolithic palate.

Mouthfeel: A bit thick, although this is reasonable at 7.5%. However, I expect more carbonation and lightness from this style.

Drinkability: Decent. This would probably have been an excellent beer until about a year ago but I think it's past its prime. It's a bit musty and heavy now for the tripple style. This brings me to the point of what the beer is as opposed to what it's labeled. It's described as a "Blonde/Flemish Ale" yet the BA description lists it as a tripple. All three of these terms bring about distinct images in my mind and mouth: When I think of a Belgian Blonde I think of a clear, golden ale, along the lines of Duvel, which this beer is not. When I think of a Flemish Ale I think of either a Flemish Sour Ale or an Oud Brune, and this beer is certainly not either of those. A tripple is the closest, but again the age has taken its tole and even that seems to be a stretch.

Bottled in 2004, surprisingly. Recently purchased at Bottleworks. 330 ml bottle, served in a big wine glass at 56 F/ 13 C.

Brilliant golden color, massive almost white head that slowly melts into stiff peaks and ravines, plenty of streaming bubbles. Huge sheets and chunks of lace.

Rich powerful aroma pours out of the glass, with very noticeable peach and dried apricot. Deeper notes of complex earthy spicy yeast, cheese, leather, caramel, and mild sweet tobacco. Awesome.

Tastes of sweet leathery dried apricot, peach, caramel sauce, nuts, cheese, earth, deep yeasty notes, some bubblegum, a hint of toast or smoke, stone. A lot going on, but well balanced. Deep and rich, yet fresh. Long finish, dry but still fruity, like dried apricots without the sweetness.

Great smooth texture, full carbonation but never fizzy. Very drinkable, I wish I had another of these right now.

Outstanding beer.

As I pour this beer an earthy, herbal note reminiscent of coriander is quite apparent. The beer pours with a four-finger thick, light tan colored head that sits atop a lightly hazy, pale-orange tinged, gold colored brew. The aroma is really dominated by that earthy spice note (coriander, clove, and something a bit more savory), but underneath it is a touch of bergamot a touch of Macintosh, pear and wild flower honey. Touches of dusty malt, soda crackers and sweet grain, especially the first two in the finish. In the time I have spent exploring the aroma, the head has slowly capsized leaving lots of thick lace on the sides of my glass as well as forming an interesting, varied, rockied surface of collapsed foam.

Lightly tart, yet with some honey malt derived notes, quite grassy too with a definite earthy spice quality to it. The earthy spice character seems like a phenolic yeast signature. The finish has touches of bergamot, grassy coriander, dusty malt and a bit of soda cracker grain flavors to it as well as a light bitterness and a slight astringency. This has a certain, palate clinging, fullness to it despite being somewhat light. In all truthfulness though this is a bit heavy for its alcohol content (at least to me as I like most of my Belgian beers to be light feeling for a given alcohol percentage compared to a standard ale). This actually quite dry tasting for its heft though; I think the light tartness might offset the malt sweetness & something seems to be contributing a bit of viscousness here (though I certainly don't think this has anything but a Belgian yeast strain in it).

An interesting beer, I have to say that I can't quite get past the earthy spice notes and phenolics; it seems a bit like a dirty Chimay yeast strain was used here.

Purchased: Hi-Times, Costa Mesa CA

Appearance: Pours a pale, but cloudy golden color, with a foamy head that persists well and leaves plenty of lace

Smell: Pears, orange, honey and a touch of banana on the sweet side; sour aromas of funky yeast and green apples

Taste: Starts with both sweet (pear, apricot and honey) and tart (green apple and lemon pith) element that grow in subtlety by mid-palate; after the swallow it is time for the funk and the sour flavors to take over, leading to a peppery finish, with just a touch of candi sugar at the end

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with plenty of carbonation

Drinkability: Astoundingly complex, certainly not a tripel in the standard sense; this beer starts out like a saison and finishes like a Belgian Pale Ale; if there is an element of the tripel it is mid-palate, but fleeting

Thanks, TheBungyo, for another fine beer

05/09/07- Purchased at Bottleworks in Seattle, WA.

Presentation- 11.2oz bottle with no freshness info. Poured into my Duvel tulip..

Appearance- Deep golden colored pour. Full 2 inch heaping large bubbled head. Disipates to a light ring after a few minutes. Chunks and patchy lacing resides.

Smell- Off putting skunky-urine like aroma. Bit of white pepper and corriander as well. Funky, but not in a good way.

Taste- Tripel like flavor. Lemony fruity goodness with corriander 'o plenty. A bit of white pepper and a nice sugary sweetness. Very slight metallic taste in the beginning. Hop bitterness is nice as well.

Mouthfeel- Medium carbonation with a nice hoppy aftertate.

Drinkability- Could even be considered a Belgian IPA. Good flavor and a nice finish. Worth checking out. Just don't smell it.

750ml bottle, a weird - but wicked cool - label. Like something out of an X-Files episode. Pours with great head, a dusty, hazy yellow golden colour. Aroma with a distinct 'funky Belgian' character (because that's so descriptive) along with strong notes of orange and esters. Mouthfeel surprisingly very low carbonated with a sandy texture. Both very nice malt bill and yeast strain. Balanced. Flavours are both soft and understated. Neato, thanks Sammy!

Pours a cloudy gold, thick white head forms, nice lacing, spirals, good retention. Smell is odd, but nice, sweet, sour citrus funkiness, honey, more citrus, bready yeast. Taste is honey and wheat, citrus, yeast, quite malty, acidic bite in the finish, funky. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium to high carbonation, very neat. A treat, thanks northyorksammy!

Hazed yellow with a thin white head made up of fine bubbles. Some spotty lacing was observed. The aroma was quite bready from the yeast, a bit lemony, and also had a bit of funk. The flavour was mild overall, but with bread, citrus and a hint of caramel as well. Spice appeared in the finish. Fairly dry, middling carbonation with a lightish body. I really enjoyed the aroma, but the flavour seemed a little flat. Still, a decent beer and an easy drink. Thanks for sharing northyorksammy!

Cloudy gold blond. Funky yeast. Little carbonation. Full mouthfeel. Funk musty lemon. Thanks TheBungyo for another odd and interesting Proef. Aged fruit.Something completely different, that probably was more regular Belgian way back when, and now is for Belgiephiles.

pours a slightly hazy yellow with a big white head. head leaves spotty lace behind.

aroma is fresh, with a bit of sourness. malty. honey sweetness. citrus and spice.

taste is nice. light bitterness. bit of sourness. honey. caramel. bit of lemon. other light citrus too. mild spicing.

mouthfeel is nice. above average carbonation and and a nice dry finish.

drinkability is good. a balanced and refreshing beer. very tasty.