Ultra
Brasserie Scassenes

 

BB 4/18/10. Consumed 8/15/11.

A: Murky ice-tea with macro-chunks of particulate matter. Not much in the head department, a skim film coating at best, sandy beige, and pretty much void of lacing on the way down. I do love my beers with extra goodies floating about and this one is packed dense with such.

S: Boozy caramel sweetness, raisin bread, pancake syrup and pear juice of moderate strength.

T: Boozy sweet caramel, honey and pears are first to get noticed. Sweet syrupy upfront is closed out by a fruity booziness along with raisin and plum pudding notes.

M: syrupy with a slight tingle of carbonation. boozy fruit leaving the tongue with a warm caramel booziness.

O: Drinks a bit boozy and sweet. Limited in numbers drinkability wise, actually one is fine, serves better as a dessert beer.

11.2 oz bottle poured into my Piraat tulip glass. Best before 4/10/2008.

A-Translucent sunny orange body that pours with 2 finger creamy white head. Head slowly fades to 1 finger and has excellent retention. Body is extremely cloudy and filled with large white yeast particles and some black yeast sediment. Tiny bubbles can be seen constantly rising to the top.

S- Nose is somewhat mild but distinctively dominated by citrus such as orange and grapefruit. Soft spices such as cinnamon can also be detected.

T-Lots of orange upfront with other tropical fruits also present. A mild spiciness accents a solid yeast backbone in the background. Medium hops bitterness and flavor appear for the finish and compliment the already present flavors. Soft hop bitterness, subtle fruitiness, yeast, and hints of alcohol linger.

M- Low to medium carbonation and body is full of soft, smooth, and creamy yeast.

D- This is my favorite of the three commonly available offerings from this brewery. This is a nice soft brew that I found to be quite enjoyable. I will probably purchase this one again.

Poured from a 33cl bottle to a pair of 'Millevertus' tasting glasses; bottlecap show: Best Before 04/08/2010. First tried this at Portland International Beerfest and loved it. Last night, Ultra paired with a savory pasta (tomatoes, mushrooms, onions & bacon) that my 'Top Chef'-caliber wife made. So good we split another bottle for dessert...just wish they came bigger than 33cl's...

A: Murky, amber/acorn brown with plenty of tiny floating yeast sediment. Crowned with over 2-fingers of fizzy, silky, but all too short-lived head. Thin cap trails some slippery lace.

S: Lightly spicy, sugary and malty. Yeast evokes a mild fruit-tartness akin to cinnamon apples.

T: Delicious fruity yeastiness - apples, raisins, plums. A nice coating of candi sugars, but ending spicy, drier and slightly peppery finish. Maybe not terribly complex, just beautifully balanced and quite tasty.

M: A biy chewy and malty; medium-bodied. Moderately carbonated, not too zesty. A spicy, slightly warm tingle in the finish.

D: So easy to drink. Paired so well with food, especially something more savory/salty and skillet-cooked - the sweeter/spicy Ultra married perfectly. Will certainly have this one again - recommended!

We first tried this at Portland International Beerfest (2007) and loved it. Last night, Ultra paired with a savory pasta (tomatoes, mushrooms, onions & bacon) that my 'Top Chef'-caliber wife made. So good we split another bottle for dessert...just wish they came bigger than 33cl's...

Pours a four-finger cream head that fades quickly to a ring leaving some lace. Cloudy amber color. Prune/raisin nose. Good carbonation and medium bodied. Flavor is sweet barely, of fruit and spices, clean finish. Best by 4/8/2010, $3.25 for a 330ml bottle from Tully's Beer & Wine Wells, Me.

Poured this 750ml synthetic corked and caged into a tulip. It has an easily managed head with an orange to copper body. Body has an unfiltered look to it and the lace left behind is chunky and sliding.

This has a freshly cut greens aroma in the nose. Like being in a garden with plenty of greens and some Orange and Lemon. The orange part is mostly in the pulp and the lemon mostly in the zest. There lying beneath the bulk of the flavor is a charcoal flavored dryness that mixes with a sharp and exciting blend of peppery spices that is wonderful. The dry patch combined with a delicate hop spike creates a nice balanced finish. As this warmed it became a bit sweeter but once again holds its form well and balanced.

Notes: In my opinion this is closer to a Belgian Strong Pale Ale but regardless of style this is a solid offering. Price per Value = Will not be a regular purchase nor sought after in this household.

Ripe apricot-orange with a fine yeasty haze. I love the crown of frothy creaminess perched atop the beer. It's rich ivory in color and is tremendously rocky. It's also stupendously sticky and results in great gobs of lace being affixed to most of the glass. The appearance score is largely due to what's above the surface of the beer.

I wondered about the style classification when I saw 'Belgian Amber Beer' on the label and again after I poured. The nose makes it official: this is not a BSDA. The beer is apricot fruity with a hint of spiciness. Unfortunately, there isn't enough power or enough definition for me to get overly excited.

The flavor profile further confuses the style issue, but I still believe Ultra is closer to a BSPA. The malt profile is reminiscent of moderately caramelized sugar, as opposed to 100% pale malt and candi sugar. I guess that what it gives it the amber color. It's also a fraction more sweet and less hoppy than most.

I'm pretty sure that Brasserie d'Ecaussinnes spices this particular offering. They aren't loud enough members of the chorus, however, for me to be able to make any sort of guess. Okay, coriander. Even though there's nothing about this particular beer that stands out in any way, it's disappearing amazingly quickly. I guess I like it more than I thought I did.

There's room for improvement when it comes to the mouthfeel. The biggest problem is a lack of quality carbonation. The bubbles are present, but they don't appear to be getting the job done as well as they might. Since this a bottle-conditioned beer, more time in the bottle might have helped.

Ultra Belgian Amber Ale is interesting. It's midway between a BSPA and a BSDA in terms of flavor (closer to the former), and is midway between a BPA and BSPA in terms of alcohol content and personality. In the end, the only thing that matters is that it's good, drinkable beer. Since I have a few other offerings in my cellar, I'm interested to see what else these guys can do.

This brew poured cludy gold with a mountain of head which stayed intact after many sips. The aromas were very complex- dried fruits, wine and bready malts with a tangy yeast character. Taste was of apples and other sweet fruits followed by a slight yeasty sourness; finished on what tasted like maple syrup and a strong presence of alcohol. The carbnation was moderate/heavy and the flavors seemed schizoid without any real balance making this brew interesting if nothing else. Drinkable, but not my cup of tea.

Ultra Belgian Amber Beer pours a hazy amber color with a huge white head from a brown 33 cl bottle. The aroma is very sweet, pineapple comes to mind. I like the smell better than the taste. Very malty, candy sugar and at times a slight metallic taste are present. Very average tasting.

750ml, pours with a large foamy head into a chalice. Have not had this beer in a few years, don't remember anything about it.

Nose is distinctly malty, bready, and yeasty in character. It does not have the buttery notes I associate with belgian ambers. I actually thought of meat when I smelled this beer, unusual.

Taste is distinctly malty, but this seems like a monotone-taste product. Mild bitterness, third swallow even shows a hint of metallic taste.

It isn't terrible, more just completely unremarkable.

Not something I would try by choice again.

Pours out a surprising orange amber, a good bit lighter than any other bsda i have seen. Nice slightly tan head rests on top. Good lacing.

Smell. Immediately i get lots of earthy yeast aromas, and meat. A very earthy aroma really dominates the aroma, some wood smells (oak) and a touch of chocolate. I have never smelled a beer llike this!

Taste. Starts off just slightly tart... I wonder if this is a bad bottle, but the flavors arent really off. More earth flavors, almost soil-like. small off taste of metallic is present. It's on the sweet side, but the tartness cuts out some of the sweetness. Aftertaste is nice and sweet with a small alcoholic kick to it.

Mouthfeel. Medium body with lots of carbonation. Not bad, but just not much to say here.

Overall. Very different, unfortunately i'm not a big fan. If i want this style, this would not be the one i would go after. But very unique and i'm glad i tried. I like their triple a whole lot more.

Basic Belgian-style strong ale. It's not quite dark, but far from golden... amber, as the label states. Carefully decanted from the lees it's slightly hazy; with the yeast it's cloudy. Excellent head retention. Continual, solid slightly off-white head. Lacing is average given the style. The nose is malty, slightly musty, spicy and phenolic. Mild notes of citrus rind and dull spice (coriander?). Medium-bodied. Standard, very-fine-bubbled natural carbonation leaves it lightly zesty and then smooth across the palate. The flavor is not quite as exciting as the nose, although the yeasty spiciness remains intact. The malt is nice, but limited, and basic with bready graininess and some light caramel tones. Some dull spice is there, as is the mild cirtus rind. Undercurrents of grassy and floral hops. Hmmm, perhaps even citrusy? Or is that all yeast or added orange peel. It finishes dry with some residual citrus and a flash of yeasty spice. Nicely rounded, enjoyable. Quite drinkable really, but not a head turner. Worth trying.

The beer poured into the chalice hazy golden amber with a white and frothy, yet somewhat low, head that lasted very well lace the glass.

The aroma was spicy and corny with a strong presence of DMS, but a moderate sweetness, as if from corn (think CAP). the aroma contained a sweetness as if from candy and a light spice character.

The flavor was candy, like once of those suckers they used to give you as a kid when your mom went to the bank (if ya don't remember that, then they used to do that back in the day before ATMs). The flavors contained a good bit of caramel, but not dark caramel and a light earthy character. Near the end of the flavor and as the beer warmed a very light tartness was beginning to form.

The finish was dry with a lasting impression of candy into the aftertaste and beyond. The body was medium with a nice carbonation. An easy drinker with little alcohol presence but the candy is a bit strong. I don't think this is a Belgian Strong Dark, but who the heck knows what style it should be?

11.2 ounce bottle. Best before 04/08/2010

11.2 ounce brown bottle dated best-before March 22, 2010 on bottle cap.

Pours strongly-carbonated golden-brown with a few fingers of creamy thick foam. Smells sugary sweet with an undercurrent of oak and vanilla. Flavor begins with sweet and very fruity tropical malts, candy sugars. Develops rounded toasted marshmallow in the center and finishes with nicely balanced malty sweetness and oak sourness. Medium-light and slippery in the mouth, with very strong carbonation.

Not incredibly complex, but well-balanced and tasty.

Darker yellowish orange color, evenly sedimented with some suspended bits. Big rising head of over 1/2 an inch in height. Laces well, thick sparkling sheets and strands. Distinct aroma, spice and yeast mix together give a carrot cake smell, sweet backdrop makes this even more obvious. Good mouthfeel, a certain thickness is balanced with a good deal of carbonation. Flavor follows aroma in many aspects, spicy malt base with a citron sense and an herbal herbal rosemary sense. Actually, a bit too much herbs and auxilliary spices, strikes me as a bit unsettling mid mouth and in the swallow. Decent beer that doesn't play all the right chords for me. In contrast to Ultra Brune, I'm not sure I'd call this one a Dark Strong Ale.

Belgian style stubby 11.2 ouncer, with best before dating on the cap. Soft light amber ale, slight cloudyness, rocky white head showing excellent retention with vigorous bubbles continuing to rise to the top. Scattered lite lacing. Nose of mushy raisins and malts. Smooth, creamy feeling brew, with mellow notes of vanilla and caramel and a soft appealing yeastyness.

Fogged golden yellow with an ambery glow and one super tall sustaining cap of egg shell white foam. Faint and slow carbonation can be seen from within. The top lasts and lasts; shrinking down very slowly to a solid turf of foam always present. Lacing is delicately placed all across the glass in snowflaked sheeting.

Aroma is damp and yeasty with some dry plastic phenols making a strong point to stay surfaced, winning out over a blend of lemon peels, corriander, and lime fluff.

Taste is plain and short. Not much to it. Mostly a play of lightly dry yeast with smidgeons of plastic phenols, doughy bread, spices of pale citrus, and powdered flowers. Some off bittering tones create oddities along the score of yeasty dryness. A very slight orangeyness drifts across the finish. Understated by a bit and kinda average. The citrusy flavors tend to pick up and become better as it sits.

Feel is OK, a tad heavy and briskly set in yeastyness adding to the carbonation of a lighter mediumish body. Begins to unfold into a bit of tender, but pale citrus juicyness that helps it stand a bit of ground once it has sat awhile.

Not entirely skipable but definately not memorable. One to serve warm if to enjoy at all.

Pours to a golden-amber color with a thick, creamy tan head. Leaves a good amount of lacing. The aroma is floral, yeasty, a bit peppery and spicy. Has a bit of malty sweetness in the nose as well.

The flavor is a bit herbal and yeasty, with a bit of malt. Not a whole lot going on in the flavor. It is medium in body and drying in the finish. An alright beer, but needs more in the flavor dept.

Pours a slightly hazed amber color with a paler beige head. Fruity and estery nose some underlying plum notes to the nose. Rather complex malt features coming off as pleasant and inviting. Well carbonated, adding to its mouthfeel and drinkability. A sip invites another. A very nice beer, no aspect of the beer grabs your attention moreso than another aspect of it, making it well balanced and enjoyable.

I give it a 1/2 point for the bottle. Medium amber color with an off-white overblown head that just won't go away. Somewhat spicy on the nose, almost like sugar-coated cummin seads, pleasant. Mildy hoppy on the tongue, some very light sweet aftertaste. Well carbonated giving it a slightly metallic feeling at times. I have to say its very drinkable because I didn't notice for a long while that it had such a high ABV.