Eylenbosch Faro Extra
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Bottle pour into taster glass.
Earthy orange color with loose bubbly short lived head, concentrating to a ring around the edge. Nose is mineral water and funk. Taste is fruity and very modest sweet/sour balance. Medium semi-still mouthfeel.

 

 

 

Bottle at Grote Dorst, 1988 vintage. Clear light copper liquid with small to medium light brown head. Aroma of dust, raw/brown sugar, barnyard, mushrooms, bread and light lemon. Taste is light sweet and light sour with notes of brown sugar, bread and lemon. Medium bodied with low carbonation. Nice, but the aroma is quite weird. Has aged well.

750 ml bottle at Grote Dorst, 1988 vintage although the label is essentially destroyed, poured into a gueuze glass.

A- Pours a clear golden amber color, topped with a white head, nice retention and lacing.

S- Some light funkiness, caramel, carboard oxidation.

T- Similar to the aroma, very mild funkiness, some caramel sugary sweetness, which isn't as big as I was expecting, along with lots of oxidation.

M- Light to medium-bodied, low carbonation, smooth feel.

O- Not my favorite style, but wasn't as sweet as I expected. I had this alongside a '87 Eylenbosch Kriek. It's cool to taste a beer this old, and it's still reasonably drinkable at this point. It's definitely past its prime though, I wouldn't personally drop much money on one of these except as a novelty.

 

750ml bottle of the '88 vintage. Purchased at In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst and shared at a ridiculous Lambic tasting.

A: Lightly hazed copper-amber body under a superfine white head that forms a ring and leaves great lace. Nice looking Faro.

S: Funk (moss, oak, earthiness), oldness (must, cork, cardboard), and some mild acidity. Interesting.

T: Fruity, cidery acidity up front, with sweeter and funkier notes filling in behind. Lots of earthiness, lots of citrus. Quite tasty, especially for the style.

M: Light, slick, and prickly. Meh.

O: Expectations were low for this oddity, but it was pretty enjoyable.

Cheers!

 

 

Murky brownish amber color with no head. Smells of cork, sugar, cardboard, and a bit of butter. Somewhat watery, as well. There's a mild wood note, maybe a bit of vinegar, too. The flavor is watery, musty, and oxidized to hell. Lots of cardboard, stale sugar, and cork. Light tartness, vinegar, and a bit of butter. Safe to say this bottle was past its prime.

 

1988 bottle, big thanks to beddachedda.

Mostly clear reddish amber in color with a fading one finger off-white head.

Funky and mushroom aroma with a little cheesiness.

The flavor is fairly sweet with light fruits, fennel, mushroom, and barnyard horseblanket. A touch of port wine and sherry.

Medium-bodied with decent carbonation actually.

Overall a reasonably good faro. Has handled the age well.

8/12/2011

Thanks, Evan. 1988 vintage.

A: Dark orange with a small white cap.

S: Lots of plastic with a little chlorine. Notes of sugary cherry and raspberry. Earthy funk, as well as some leather.

T: Sugary cherry with light plastic notes. Light tartness.  Finish displays nice raspberry notes with drying oak.

M: Lower medium body with high carbonation.

Overall: This is beyond its prime, but it was still enjoyable and nice to try.

Thanks to Nate for dropping this 25 year old beer on us at a tasting.

A - Orangish colored beer with a small foam head that didn't stick around for long and left some spots on the side.

S - Smells kind of like horse urine, seriously. In my younger days I worked at with horses and this is very close to what that smells like. Some wood, pet-out-in-rain, grain, and all around garbage are in this one. Age has not helped here.

T - The taste is somewhat better, in that it was only mildly revolting and not completely. A bit oxidized and somewhat sweet, not the best combination, but if you try not to breath through your nose while you are drinking you can get it down.

M - Lower carbonation, I don't know if it's my imagination due to the horrible smell but it just feels kind of gross, like I squished a bug and can't get the residue off my hands.

O - This beer is old. That is all it has going for it.

1988 bottle thanks to Alan in Ireland. Held onto this for sometime waiting for the right moment not knowing if it would be good, great or horrible. One of those awesome deteriorating Belgian labels that just scream history. Pours a cloudy brown orange color with a large white head. The aroma is sweet brown sugar, oak and sourness. The flavor is a very mellow mix of brown sugar, a light tannin quality, sour lambic, with a rich energetic palate after 23 years! Very good, a high quality Faro- who says these can't be cellared. Too bad this one is no longer made.

1985 bottle provided by Nate at a tasting...Pours a bright and clear gold light copper with decent carbonation for a beer this old...The aroma is really bad, its nostril burning aroma of rubber, acidic urine, and wet dog are not a good start...The taste is just as bad and it makes it impossible to drink.

A rare treat to have such an old beer but its not worth giving up a lot for as its past its prime.

Green and Blue label. 1988 vintage.

Color is a hazed golden orange. Has some white head that leaves a bit of lace.

Aroma: Very sweet. Brown sugar, oak, vanilla, spice. It has some tart cherries, but it is rounded out by the sweetness.

Taste: Very sweet again. More brown sugar, caramel, vanilla. The fruit that it is here isn't tart at all. It is very unique. Has some oak flavors as well to it, but more hidden.

Mouthfeel: Sweet, creamy, and smooth. Lighter bodied with a low to medium amount of carbonation. Ends a bit dry.

Overall, it is actually somewhat drinkable for how sweet it is. I wasn't expecting to like this too much, but it turned out alright. I always enjoy drinking beer that is 20+ years old.

Thanks(?) to nkersten for providing the 1985(?) vintage of this fine(?) brew. Served in a Lost Abbey rastal teku.

A - Pours with a quick-dissolving white foam that settles to a thin ring and some filmy haze, leaving behind spots of lace. Transparent orange-brown body.

S - Candi sugar, hamster cage, wet wood, mineral, a touch of rubber, light cheese rind, and grain character. Very earthy and very weird.

T - Taste is more smoothed out due to some oxidation. This has gained some savory notes like the De Dolle Brouwsel 20 I had recently. Strange juxtaposition of wood and candi sugar, with some sour and acetic notes in the finish and aftertaste. Doesn't taste significantly worse than some fresh Faros I've had.

M - Low carbonation, and an oddly slimy medium body. Not awful, but not good either.

D - I slugged through more of this than anyone else at the tasting, but even I couldn't finish more than a few ounces before pouring the rest down the drain. Yikes.