La Rullés Estivale (Bière De Gaume)
Brasserie Artisanale De Rulles SPRL

4.08/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

my friends have taken to (lovingly i hope) calling me "dusty belgian", which is a joke of course, but also my favorite type of beer i think. my travels have led me to a lot of belgian bottles forgotten by time. i often feel like the price points on them were ahead of their time, way too high for the eight dollar six pack guy, but now a 12 dollar bottle suggests something other than high end, because we have allowed ourselves to get used to paying double that for the best craft beers in america, or what we are told are the best, so these have never really lined up well with american consumer trends, hence dusty dated belgian beer all over the country, more in some places than others. i was stoked to find this one, it had six or seven price change stickers on it, stacked on top of each other presumably representing efforts to move the product without taking too much of a loss on it. no date that i can see, but this has to be several years old at least now. its golden and thick looking for its lower abv, with some oxidation to it sure, but a wonderfully unique and mature yeast profile, still really lively in the glass, unexpectedly so, and with notes of dried apricots and peaches, aged hops, earthy wheat in high proportion, and even a spelt or a rye or something, but it could just be barley malt decaying nicely over time. its complex and sturdy, even fancy feeling, with some sweetness still like honey, a bitter botanical finish, and a classically belgian ester profile thats also got some cool nuance, white wine and stone fruit. awesome beer overall, forgotten by time apparently, but worthy even with this much time on it. i would love to try this fresh, but i would buy it again all old like this too. yum!

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3.91/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

On tap at Lyon Bière Festival. Pale yellow with a thin white head. Zesty, citrusy and herbal both in aroma and flavour. Very refreshing, nothing fancy. Great for what it is, a summer beer.

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3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.25

Pours a pale gold colour. Smells slightly fruity and citrus-hops. Tastes as it smells... faintly fruity and citrus with a bit of hops. Very crisp and refreshing.

Definitely looking for this one again!

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3.55/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4

Hazy, golden orange, beer with a three finger high, white head.

Nose: Yeast, grass, malt and herbs.
Taste: Citrus, hops, grass and some bitterness in the end.

Crisp and very refreshing with a medium carbonation, medium body and low (5.2) ABV.
Very drinkable and great for a summer day!

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3.9/5  rDev +0.3%

A-golden color with nice white head and decent lacing

S-lemon, herbal, grain, floral, slight yeast

T-grain, citrus, floral, yeast, slight funk, little herbal, hint of pepper

F-light to medium body with lively carbonation, crisp

O-easy drinking pale ale, good flavor, nice summer beer

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3.97/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.75

Very nice hazy gold color. Aroma of citrus and herbs. Quite refreshing with mild grapefruit aftertaste that grows for several seconds. A bit hoppy. I'm not usually a fan of strong hops, but this one is is very good, not too bitter. Makes me want a good bar burger with a slab of sharp cheese. Nice summer beer. I'll have this 75 cl bottle polished off by evening's end... right after that burger.

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3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Hazy golden color with a two finger thick head with good retention and leaving lots of laces.
Nice aroma of lemongrass, herbal and floral hops, tea leaves, lemon and oxidize oranges.
Refreshing and hoppy flavor with spices, mild grapefruit, lemon, green apples, pineapples, pears and herbal and floral hops. Dry and bitter aftertaste.
Light towards medium body with good carbonation with tiny bubbles.
What a pleasant fruity Blond Ale, refreshing, well balanced and hoppier than usual Belgian counterparties. I drank the whole big bottle in a blink.

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3.67/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Got this on tap at blue monk in buffalo. Pours a nice golden color. Light citrusy nose. A bit disappointed with the taste at first as the fruit and hops were very subtle with an almost watery finish. But this beer really grew on me. It is a well balanced pale ale with a nice flavor and mild citrus and spiciness. Subtle but perfect pairing for my frites.

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3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Beer bottle (75 cl.) purchased from Bières & Chpoes, and tasted in 2014 (w australian friends).

Appearance : orange color, with white foamy head.
Smell : yeasty and spices aromas.
Taste & mouthfeel : dry hoppy flavors, with notes of spices and citrus
Drinkability : a good beer in the French style "Bière de Garde".

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4.11/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Hazy corn silk yellow with piles of lumpy snow white froth.
Clean fresh grain, cut hay and a bit of flowers, wax, and peach - subtle.
Light cracker, some orchard fruit, a mild yeast hit, then some light white pepper and lemon zest to end.
Nectarine finish and tingly linger.
Crisp, round, dry, slight cling

Summer in a glass. Even 6 months out of date, light, bright, complex yet easy to drink. Good training wheels for Belgians and great food beer - especially Thanksgiving turkey.

Far exceeded expectations for a 5% summer ale, and made me curious about De Rulles.

Note: Hey, American hopped as it turns out - Warrior, Amarillo, Cascade, 35 IBUs. In that case, it probably has faded, but to only the gentlest, balanced citrus. Still lovely.

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3.53/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a peach/bright beige color with a white soapy head and some lace. Aroma of pungent European hops, perhaps Saaz or Tettneng varieties judging from the skunk like properties. In the flavor, pale malts and leafy hops, with a small lemony character. Medium bodied, creamy feel. Overall this is a simple Belgian pale, pretty mellow, with euro hops.

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4.13/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

A - What wonderful carbonation giving me a 1/2 inch that settles to a 1/4 inch of sticky white foam. Color is kind of hazy bright yellow with plenty of carbonation bubbles.
S - Smells of citrus and pine hops, very vivid despite it probably being over a year old. Mild fruity yeasts and some pale malts.
T - Quite good the balance of hops to malts is near perfect. The taste is mildly dry with the yeast but rounds out in the finish. Taste is very session able.
M - True Belgium beers seem to have a weird body and over carbonation but I will be damned if this 5% pale is perfectly carbonated and not champagne like more like beer!
Overall I really like this its a very tasty Belgium ale that hasn't been skunked in a year despite the green bottle and an especially good deal since I got the bomber for just 5 bucks!

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3.31/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Drank from my Duvel Tulip

A - Pours a cloudy Honey colour with a large head tha laces and retains well.

S - Not too much other than ester of fiunk and spice.

T - Up front some nice creamy malt notes followed by some hops. A little citrus on the mid palate

M - Quite watery with low carbonation

O - A nice beer to try but would not go out of my way to seek out.

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2.52/5  rDev -35.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Served on-draught into a La Rulles glass at the Delirium Cafe in Brussels. Cost was 3.40 euro. Reviewed from notes taken in June 2010.

A: Pours a one finger head of decent cream, decent thickness, and average retention. Colour is a hazy light gold.

Sm: Light cream, subtle hints of fruit esters, and barley are the only notes my broken nose picks up. All apologies, lads.

T: Floral climax. Bland barley open. Stale floral finish. Poorly balanced, emphasizing only the second act. Littered with uninteresting malts throughout. Pretty simple. Built poorly for the style. It's bad.

Mf: Smooth and wet, with a nice coarseness on the finish. Sort of complements the flavours, but it's far from tailored specifically to them. Too dry on the finish.

Dr: She slides down easy enough, but the lack of quality and the (relatively) high price by Belgian standards doesn't justify purchasing this again. This is a disappointment.

D+

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4.3/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

One of my go-tos, preferred on tap than draft.

Pours hazy golden with a cream head and decent lacing.

Floral hops and all sorts of fruits on the nose. This translates onto the palate, with citrus fruits but also some nice tropical fruits, mild spice and yeast with a nice hoppy finish.

Nice mouthfeel - carbonation is just right and the creamy head accompanies it all the way down. It is a real easy drinker at 5.2% and my go to session beer.

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4.42/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

750ml bottle poured into tulip 31/7/12

A hazy yellow liquid with a large loose soapy head that retains well slowly falling too a thin film leaving some random lace

S herbal lemon tea bag with all sorts of hops, leafy, herbal, earthy, and citric, some sweetness and a little spicy kick, smells great with a nice yeast profile

T a little bread on top of what I smell, the cereals add too the hop complexity and I like the earthiness and it has a massive amount of flavor for a 5%er

M full for the color and well carbonated, some lemon rind lingers for a while

O great stuff, very easy too drink and I could drink a few big bottles without getting board

a well priced Belgian pale of high quality, I'll be drinking this one again sooner then later, for style its top notch

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4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml bottle, a thoughtful belated wedding gift, I must say.

This beer pours a hazy, medium frozen golden amber hue, with two fingers of tightly foamy white head, which leaves a solid paint job of high-flying lace around the glass as it agreeably abates.

It smells of pale grainy malt, softly sweet Belgian candi sugar, prickly black pepper, some herbal pine tip green notes, a bit of lemon polish, and forthcoming leafy hops. The taste is bready, somewhat doughy malt, more aged lemon, some middling earthy yeast, and a surprisingly sassy leafy and fruity hoppiness.

The bubbles are a tad prickly at first, but play out in a more genial manner, the body rendering on the lee side of middleweight, with an overall pliable smoothness. It finishes a bit grainy, a bit yeasty, a bit hoppy - of the noble sort - and just a bit boozy.

Well, all things included, all things exposed, I suppose - which in this case leads to a simple, enjoyable Belgian ale, the particulars already well laid out, no more, no less. Ok, a wee bit more, I suppose, as the hops seem kind of more New World oriented than expected, which just adds to the general dissonance of this affair. Whatevs, this is tasty, and that's the true indicator of reason here.

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2.6/5  rDev -33.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Fluffy white head; about a finger and change, with nice lace. Pale hazy blonde body.

Whiff of skunkage on the nose, curse these green bottles. Get past that, and there's some yeast and spice.

Some of the skunk migrates into the taste, but there's also spice and yeast, and some appley character. Kinda okay. Faint trace of coriander, and other spice.

Kinda coarse and a bit sudsy.

Decent, but kinda skunked.

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3.58/5  rDev -8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Lighter Belgian ales don't have to pull the reins on taste, and this beer proves it. Chocked full of herbal, floral, and fruit-spice interplay shows the balance of eight percent stronger pale ales but in lighter and much more drinkable form.

The beer pours a pale golden color with moderate yeast haze with active carbonation to fuel and cottony, fluffy head of white. Sticky with lace, the beer impresses with all the aesthetic value asked of a Belgian pale ale.

Very herbal and floral with aromas of lemongrass, pine, spruce, and pungent leafy hops. Clover, rose, and chamomile play light on the nose with elements of spiced pears, apple peel, oranges, and lemon. Wheaty and lightly doughy- the yeast plays a large role in every attribute to come at the nose.

Flavors follow suit but with the yeasty brine of bread dough and lemonade leading the way. Balanced by earthen hops start lemony and grassy but end with a touch of chive and hay in bitterness. Otherwise the semi-sweet taste seems more because of the juicy character of fruity element- oranges, grapefruits, lemons, pears, and apples are all represented in moderate and stable fashion.

Creamy and light up front but semi-dry and warm in finish, the beer's texture is somewhat bready with light fruit acidity and hop bitterness that accents a drier feel to end the session with spice and fruit.

Estivale plays similarly to La Rulles more popular Trippel, but with less complexity and a simpler palate it's somewhat more drinkable.

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3.48/5  rDev -10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured out as a lightly hazy golden yellow color with a white foamy head on top. The smell of the beer was grainy, yeasty and hoppy. The taste had the same qualities. The sweet grains come through first followed by the bread like flavors and the bitter hops in the finish. the mouthfeel of the beer was ok, it felt a little watery to me. Overall it's not a terrible Belgian Pale Ale but I am sure I've had better.

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4.42/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Had at Monk's Cafe in Philly.

A: Fluffy gorgeous white 3 finger head. Pillowy and wonderful. Golden straw color.

S: Citrus, Belgian yeast and some earthy notes.

M: Absolutely delicious. Really on point for Belgian Pale style. Really light and refreshing. Tons of flavor.

M: Bubbly and cleansing. Totally cleans the palate and leaves you wanting more.

O: Just plain awesome. Will get again.

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2.92/5  rDev -24.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

SF Toronado. Served in a tulip, nice classic golden yellow, nearly transparent, dense white head receded slowly, ok lacing.

Aroma is subdued but nice. Quiet hops, earthy, yeasty, mildly sweet.

Taste too is subdued and somewhat bland. The yeast defines the taste as the bitter is little, the aftertaste underwhelming and hops are hiding. But doesn't sink to below mediocre. Light to medium bodied mouthfeel. Brett was not apparent to me.
cheers
jd

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4.42/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Pours a clear gold with a thick, bubbly white head. Great head retention and great depth here. Very attractive.

S: Notes of citrus, lactic yeast, grass, straw, and cedar are present on the nose. Very interesting. Reminiscent of Orval.

T: Opens hoppy and tart with notes of lemon, orange rind, kumquat, oak, straw, grass, lactic yeast, and cedar, with notes of caramel and cream briefly coming through before the fade. The finish is long and smooth with a combination of cedary hopsack, citrus, and lactic, funky yeast flavors.

M: Light-bodied and dry with active carbonation. Very drinkable.

O: This beer is fantastic and has become one of my many favorites. I cannot stress enough how worthwhile this one is. For those of you who haven't already done so, give this one a shot in the near future.

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4.35/5  rDev +11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Arrives with a cloudy honey color capped by a finger or two of foam that leaves streaks of lace behind

Smell: Bready malt combined with a bit of funky yeast and citrusy hop elements

Taste: Opens with the bready malt flavors but those are quickly combined with fruit (pear, banana and apple) and a hint of sour funk; by mid-palate, a citrusy hop flavor with a kumquat edge emerges; the finish is rather dry with a bitter but funky finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with crisp carbonation

Overall: A really interesting beer that combines a lot of divergent elements in a uniquely satisfying way - love the combination of the Orval yeast with the American hops

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4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Monk's served in a tulip. This brew appears a cloudy color of light orange. An effervescent amount of fizzy carbonation streams through the body. A big fluffy billowing head sits across the top with solid retaining powers. A wall of lacing sticks all over the glass.

The smell of this brew is dry and bretty with plenty of fresh hops imparting notes of citrus and fruit. There is a light cheese element mixed with funk and a mild amount of sulfur. This is very pleasant smelling with a zesty hop inclusion mixed with Brett-like dryness and earth.

The taste is dry and earthy with Brett. There is a mild farmhouse aspect to this brew throughout. Some hay to straw grain quality. Modestly bitter with herbal to grassy hops. There is a light fruited element that evolves as the brew comes up to temperature.

This is a light bodied brew with a very bold amount of carbonation. It is very easy drinking and enjoyable. It paired well with my food and if there wasn't other offerings on the draft list that I wanted to try, I would of had no problems drinking several of these.

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