Malheur Cuvee Royale
Brouwerij De Landtsheer NV

750 ml dark green "champagne" bottle, as Malheur Cuvée Royale Brut Reserve, from Vinmonopolet Vika, Oslo (bought in October 2011). ABV is 9%. Hazy pale yellow colour, huge white head. Refined aroma of farmhouse (does that make sense?), farmhouse kitchen / brettanomyces, hints of oxidised fruits and mild spices. Crisp, medium dry and spicy flavour. Moderate hops. Well balanced, "refined" seems to be the right word for the flavour too. The alcohol is well hidden. Quite enjoyable.

Poured from the bottle into a champagne flute. Best before (I think?) August 1st 2015? Uh oh.. We shall see! With a bit of nudging, cork comes out with a very loud pop and nice gaseous smoke.

Classic brut appearance. Unfiltered looking a bit, buttery fourteen karat cold color, with huge amounts of carbonation just like champagne. Reaches to an easy three finger bright white, thick and rocky retention head. This thing is not even budging or going anywhere. Clumpy lacing, thick topped and just a great looking brut, if slightly hazy.

Nice simple nose. Mineral soft a bit hinting, but with nice Belgian candy sugar that hints toward honey suckle, and a mild bakery sweet tone. Has a remarkable fresh honey aroma all over but not overly syrupy either. Very nice.

Palate gives towards the basics. Soften Belgian pale ale quality, and a simple malt backbone that dares to tred wet. Excellent sweetness in the middle, but also very subdued carbonation in feel a bit on the tongue. There's a bit of flat mineral water aftertaste on this just a hair to pick up, but takes a bit of a down turn with more simpler pale ale flattened quality coming. A little bit of hop bitterness just on the end, which gives a nice touch, but is relatively indistinct, and a little bit of stomach warmth.

Kind of a bit of a less vibrant brut it seems, but there is plenty of good here. I always seem to enjoy these Malheur brut brews

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is hazy yellow in color and has a high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a two finger high white head that has good retention properties and consistently left a thin head covering the surface.
S: There are earthy aromas of yeast in the nose along with notes of lemony citrus and cracker malt.
T: The taste is very similar to the smell and also has notes of fruit in the flavors.
M: It feels light-bodied and relatively smooth on the palate with a moderate to high amount of carbonation.
O: The beer is quite easy to drink for the style because the alcohol is well hidden from the taste.

 

Straw-color yellow, white and longstanding head.
In the smell yeast, breadcrust, backbone malt.
Very fresh, and champagne-like.
Malty taste, a bit more sweet, hint of honey. Again breadcrust.
Pleasant and fresh, white flowers, almond, white grapes.
Average to light in body, right. High carbonation.
Orange flowers in the aftertaste, again yeast and breadcrust, some camomile.
Great aperitif.

My wife picked this beer up for me from the local beer store. Poured from a 750 ml bottle, this brew has the typical brut appearance: light golden with a towering head. The head was far more stable than I expected, and the beer wasn't quite as clear as it could be, but it's still very attractive. (Protein haze?) The aroma is a little fruity and yeasty, with a touch of alcohol. It's not really remarkable in any way. The taste, however, is spot on. It's very fruity, semi-dry, has a touch of pale malt flavor, and a characteristic Belgian ester quality. Nice. The finish is well balanced, with a nice bitterness. Light in body, and very spritzy. The head is truly remarkable on this beer. It lasts long after draining the glass.

White peach colored ale with a small, cramy head of white foam. Smells like an old Belgian Pale, but does have some nice elements of peach, nectarine, pineapple. Has some nice elements, but smells like a De Proef brew or an old Belgian. Flavor is heavily phenolic, spicy and very citrusy, almost sour. Lemon, tropical fruits, with hints of vanilla.

Biergotter Brewclub brewday tasting extravaganza, biegaman brought this one!

Pours a slightly hazed yellow, big head forms, quickly settles to a thin layer, leaves some lace spots behind. Smell is sweet, some hay, veggies, honey, wheat, some citrus, spice, neat. Taste is honey, citrus, grass, light floral, sweet middle, dry spicy finish. Mouthfeel is light bodied with high carbonation, little bit prickly. Not sure what to think of this one, but I did enjoy it. Thanks Jan!

Thanks to biegaman for sharing this at the Biergotter club brewday/tasting.
This beer poured a hazy straw yellow colour with a white cap of fine foam. Fair head retention with some spotty lacing. Mellow aroma overall, with notes of straw, light alcohol, grain, and lemon. Same in the flavour, along with very light bitterness, some fruit, and spicy alcohol in the finish. The body was just on the light side and carbonation was quite high, decent texture. Nicely balanced and quite refined, surprisingly light and refreshing (considering the abv). Thanks Jan!

750 ml corked bottle. It pours a yellow opaque cloudy colour, with an enormous head that leaves a very nice lace. Aroma of fruits, flowers, citrus, cloves, peaches, sherry wine. Silky, delicate palate. Very dense body, you can almost chew it. Mouth of fruits, champagne, apricot, wood (cask conditioned), some bitterness at first, but there's a sweet counter point, ginger, apples...
This is just another Malheur work of art.

biergotter club brew/tasting 2007. biegaman threw this one into the mix. thanks jan!

750ml bottle, corked and caged. best before 01/01/08.

pours hazy dark yellow with a huge fluffy white head. the head drops very slowly and leaves tons of clumpy lace behind.

aroma is nice. light alcohol. bit of lemon. crackers and grain. bit of bready malt.

taste is nice. bit of alcohol. grain and cracker malts. light yeasty spice. hint of grapefruit. low bitterness level.

mouhtfeel is good. light body and a nice dry finish. medium-high carbonation level.

drinkability is good. balanced, light, and very refreshing. good stuff.

I was lucky enough to receive this from a friend who is in Michael Jackson's Rare Beer Club. You would never know this was beer based on the appearance of the bottle. Foil wrapped champagne bottle....very classy.

A-I popped the cork, which was under high pressure, and a light over flow of white foam overflowed a bit. The body poured out an amazing and brilliant shade of gold. Tons of carbonation running all through the glass. The head was insane!!! The light airy fluff that filled my glass settled down to a densly packed layer of head that was in no hurry to leave. The foam retention was remarkable and the lacing covered the entire glass. It was a little hazier than I expected for this style, otherwise it was perfect!

S-The smell on this beer summarizes what I look for in a cellar, funky, aged Belgian. The raw mustiness comes through and you can almost smell the cool damp cellar that housed these bottles. Following that tight punch of sweet fruits and yeast spice. Green apple shines the most here. You can just smell the powerhouse of flavor that the beer contains. Very enjoyable.

T/M-This is a very unique brew with tons of flavor. Right from the start a rush of carbonation opens up to a tart, but sweet taste. The raw, grainy yeast leaves a very dry finish. The sour apple taste comes through as well as an oaky characteristic. Whether or not they used any type of wild strain, there is definately a barrel aged funk that lingers. The 9% abv is well hidden in taste, but not in impact. A quarter of the way through and I can feel it hitting big. Unique and wonderful from start to finish.

D-First of all, the price tag alone (I assume about $30/bottle) would downsize this to an "occasion" or "gathering" beer, but man is it a nice treat. The beer is superbly crafted and truly artisinal.

For anyone fortunate enough to have this, consider yourself lucky. Keep this one tucked away for a special occasion (I did ;) )