Pilaarbijter (Tripel Ale) Bruin (Red Cap)
De Brabandere

Pilaarbijter (Tripel Ale) Bruin (Red Cap)Pilaarbijter (Tripel Ale) Bruin (Red Cap)
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
De Brabandere
 
Belgium
Style:
Flanders Oud Bruin
ABV:
7%
Score:
82
Avg:
3.6 | pDev: 12.5%
Reviews:
49
Ratings:
69
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 25, 2020
Added:
Feb 18, 2004
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
View: More Beers
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by TheBeerWatcher:
Photo of TheBeerWatcher
Reviewed by TheBeerWatcher from Belgium

3.12/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pilaarbijter Bruin has a hazy, orange brown color with lots of floaties. The creamy head is beige and abundant. It slowly leaves a nice lacing on the elegant Pilaarbijter glass.

The aroma is dominated by roasted malts with a touch of tart and spicyness (cloves). Not really complex but not bad.

Tasting the beer is not surprising at all: more roasted malts, sweetness upfront and some bitterness in the rather long aftertaste. The syruppy mouthfeel and roasted taste make me think of a stout, certainly considering the very low level of carbonation.
Nov 29, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of JonnoWillsteed
Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

4.15/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
As noted by a reviewer below in 2014, for the European market this beer is 6.5% rather than the 7% listed in the Description^. Also of note... the bottle had rested for weeks, been chilled and handled/opened most carefully yet unexpectedly some foam spumed out on de-capping it. Sometimes that happens, I'd suggest not opening whilst sat in on a nice white sofa or in a wedding dress hehe just in case...
L- A deep chestnut red, surprisingly clear given how it put on a such a show on opening. Pours with 5mm super fine bubble tan head that's holding really well (and continues to 10mins later).
S- Deep, complex dark yet bright fruit-cake notes.
T- Follows closely with the smell. Dark rich heavily loaded fruit cake, dark raisons, a touch of molasses, even a hint of cherry. I see sour appears in it's Style^ but I don't get that at all, and good job as I tend not to like it. Surprisingly for 6.5% blind-tasted I'd suggest I'm getting a higher-ABV% flavour/feel note....
F- ... Seems unlikely at 6.5%, more likely it's the richness on the tongue plus hoppy zing. I've had some Belgian Bruins where they have been over-rich to the point of being sweet - This is deffo not like that.
O- What a lovely beer, my rating should land this in the top-5% of my 1000+ ratings to date. I can imagine drinking this with a meal in place of wine, or as a slow-sipping after-dinner tipple in front of a fire-place in winter. I'd happily drink this again.
330ml bottle BB: 28/11/2020. Bought from BeersOfEurope/UK for home delivery.
p.s. Interesting name for a beer eh, 'Pillar biter'? The fragment of a painting used on the lable is by the Flemish artist Breughel the Elder from back in the 1500s. He painted 'village scenes', often busy, with much to catch the eye. This is from a famous painting called 'Flemish Proverbs', with characters shown, or group of them, illustrating many different historic proverbs. This one, a 'Pillar biter' referred to someone who made such a big public show of his religious piety that he's in church not just bodily wrapped around a pillar, he almost devours it in a show of prostration to God. Some things never change, call it virtue-signalling just 500 years ago before social media... And this is why Breughels works can be so engaging, not many vices, weaknesses or hypocracies have changed, even 5 centuries later...
Jul 25, 2020
 
Rated: 2.83 by desint from Belgium

Oct 19, 2019
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

3.65/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Poured from just under fridge temp. Pours a fairly clear, but dark, red. Head is a light brown and sticks around for a while. Nose is interesting. A touch of sour cherries, but a lot of leather and earthy notes. Some honey, plums, and maybe a touch of cough syrup. Taste is nice - a touch of toffee, raisin, plum, leather, malts, and bitter smoked wood. Mouthfeel is fairly light. Overall, I would not consider this the best of the style, but it's drinkable.
Aug 28, 2019
 
Rated: 3.69 by ArnoldStotzer from Florida

Aug 29, 2017
 
Rated: 4.21 by siebevl from Belgium

May 19, 2017
 
Rated: 4.57 by Curt3 from Ohio

May 05, 2017
 
Rated: 2 by YvesB from Belgium

Mar 27, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by HopBelT from Belgium

Jul 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by mattfancett from England

Sep 01, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by leitmotif from Romania

Aug 20, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by arkanu from Romania

Aug 01, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by nandika from Romania

Jul 24, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by brandon911 from Texas

Jun 23, 2014
Photo of DJLehnherr
Reviewed by DJLehnherr from France

3.59/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
The Pilaarbijter brown poured out of the bottle with a big and tall foamy head. A lot of carbonation here. A light and translucent (almost clear) brown color, a shade over to the red side. At first, all I could smell was the malty yeast scents coming from this long-lasting head: an overpowering yeastiness. After the foam settled (after quite some time), perhaps a little cherry sweetness mixed in with the malty scents.

It tasted fairly sweet — a bit sweeter than I expected — mixed with that roasted chestnut flavor that I really like in browns. Very typical of browns here. Maybe again also hints of cherries, and then with a little bitterness — but not too much — on the finish. The carbonation was lost on the head, however, as this beer went flat very quickly.

After several sips, my main impression was that this 6.5% ABV beer is very easy to drink: Maybe too easy to drink. The flavors are there, but they’re less bold than in other browns. This is a mild brown, a bit thin -- it even seemed “watered-down” to me. This is a beer that would pair easily as an accompagnement to a meal, but is perhaps less impressive as a standalone beer. Quite drinkable, however, and surely a pleasure for those who like sweet brown ales!

(NOTE: Though the page here says 7% ABV, my bottle marketed for northern Europe is clearly marked 6.5%.)
Feb 23, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by dcmchew from Romania

Nov 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by Marius from Netherlands

Jul 17, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by Ciocanelu from Romania

Jul 16, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by mrfrancis from Kentucky

Jun 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by mc4z from California

Jun 23, 2013
Pilaarbijter (Tripel Ale) Bruin (Red Cap) from De Brabandere
Beer rating: 82 out of 100 with 69 ratings