Serafijn Grand Cru
Stadsbrouwerij De Hemel

750ml bottle marked lot 0607 on the cap.

Pours clear copper with zillions of tiny bubbles, an inch or so of thin white head and scant lace. Smells rough and grainy, with weak white pepper, musty yeast, and citrus overtones. The flavor is mellow and rather muted. Initial chocolate and alcohol sweetness segues into a white pepper and sour medicinal finish. Body is clean, but thin and limp. This one seems OK at first, but gets steadily worse with familiarity.

Slightly hazy, vaguely tawny in hue with a hint of dull beige, white foam adorns the top of the liquid. At the apex the head was almost two fingers tall. The bubbles quickly fell to a small, soapy cap. There was not much subsequent lacing. While an attractive color, overall, the appearance isn’t overly noteworthy.

The nose isn’t very aromatic; I found it somewhat fruity with some notes of cherries, apples, and oranges. No sign of hops and I can’t call the nose malty either. Not much in the way of yeast aromatics. The alcohol is quite as well. Meh, there isn’t much going on here. The bouquet isn’t very chatty. Is this a library or a Belgian Ale?

The palate is weakly malty and sort of earthy as well. There are notes of wood and hints of orchard fruit. Lightly spicy; the flavor profile is subtle all the way around. To me, this beer is sort of Saison-like. This beer tastes well enough but, honestly, there isn’t anything noteworthy about it. Will I remember it a year from now?

Medium/medium-light in body, moderate but lively carbonation, the mouthfeel helps make this beer easy to drink. Grainy/malty-woody aftertaste; I am surprised at how quite the ABV is.

While it is quite drinkable it is equally as forgettable. I enjoyed this beer in the moment but nothing about it is special. Nevertheless, thank you Matt for the sample bottle. I’m sure this beer has its niche but it isn’t with me.

(Served in a chalice)

A- This beer has a clear but slightly dense body of apricot with a strong sea of carbonation consisting of tiny bubbles. There is a thick creamy head of cream colored foam that last for the full beer.

S- This beer has a smell of floral sweet malt notes followed by a nice yeasty smell. The finish has a nice green hop note that balances the malt characteristics that are not really overly sweet.

T- The taste is very smooth with a nice soft caramel malt flavor and a faint honey note both flavors are a bit dry. The finish has a nice dry green hop note with a faint bitter bite at the finish. There is a slight carbonic acid note to the hops .

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a smooth finish.

D- This beer has a smooth crisp malt flavor with a nice dry hop finish. Although this beer has subtle flavor it has some nice complexity and a good hop flavor.