Melchior Oak Aged Calvados Barrel
Picobrouwerij Alvinne

 

 

 

 

 

Poured a the Brussels beer fest, August 2017. Pours a dark opaque orange. Nose is deep wood, caramel, and slight dark fruit. Some cheery. Taste is slight spice, good alcohol heat, bitter, and dark fruit. It wasn't quite what I was expecting, but good. Mouthfeel is sharp and dry.

 

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, best before 9/2020. Pours slightly cloudy deep orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger dense cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big lightly tart golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, berries, white wine, lemon zest, orange peel, peppercorn, mustard seed, toasted oak, herbal, floral, grass, honey, cracker, bread, light vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, spirit barrels, mustard seeds, bready malt, and moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big lightly tart golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, berries, white wine, lemon zest, orange peel, peppercorn, mustard seed, toasted oak, herbal, floral, grass, honey, cracker, bread, light vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate yeast/oak spiciness, herbal/citrus peel bitterness, and light brandy/wine tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of golden raisin, peach, plum, fig, pear, apricot, red apple, berries, white wine, lemon zest, orange peel, peppercorn, mustard seed, toasted oak, herbal, floral, grass, honey, cracker, bread, light vanilla, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, spirit barrels, mustard seeds, bready malt, and moderate earthy hop flavors; with a great malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/sticky/tannic, and slightly acidic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly warming alcohol from 11%. Overall this is an excellent barrel aged Belgian strong pale ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, spirit barrels, mustard seeds, bready malt, and moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the ABV, with the balanced bitter/spicy/tannic/drying finish. Perfectly balanced between calvados/cognac barrels, fruity/spicy yeast, and bready malts; without being too sweet/heavy feeling. A very enjoyable offering.

 

 

 

 

On Draft at Ebenizer's Pub in Maine. A fantastic, well balanced brew, with an incredible smell that begs for consumption. Great mouth-feel and easy to drink, but with a dangerous ABV.