Bière Darbyste
Brasserie de Blaugies

Appearance: Pours a murky copper color with a one-finger head that fades to a ringlet and archipelago; squiggles of lacing

Smell: Funky stone fruit and sour wheat bread with a light sweet aspect that I presume comes from the figs

Taste: The funky stone fruit and slightly sour wheat bread elements command the front end with just a subtle sweetness coming through; figs are in my mind but the flavor is not distinct; the finish is somewhat tart

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate to high carbonation

Overall: This is from an old Shelton Brothers 750 that has been hanging around my cellar for the last decade or so; not bad, given the age and the wonders of bottle conditioning

On tap at Proletariat in Manhattan, NY.

This one pours a nice hazy orange-ish color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like tangerine and apricot, with freshly baked biscuits, lemon zest, and wheat.

Blaugies is one of the most underrated Belgian breweries out there. This has a nice little subtle funkiness, with a nice dry wheaty and floral thing. There’s no direct fig-esque flavor, but there’s a lot of stone fruit, with nice dried tangerine and apricot, like fruit leather, sort of thing.

This is silky and pillowy, with a really nice drinkability.

I loved being able to find this one tap somewhere – it was a treat to try.

A: Pours up muddy, copper gold with a quickly receding, soapy, half- finger head, nice lacing.
S: Immediate green bottle must, slight touches of honey and rustic grain, maybe a slight touch of wheat, but not much.
T: Crisp notes of warm bread up front with a bit of honey in the finish with a slight bitterness there as well. There is a prominent minerality here as well. I’m not super well acquainted with figs but I would assume that’s where the honeyed notes are coming from. There might be slight touches of melon here as well. I see why people have suggested apple here but I don’t think it is, I think it’s more the warmth and slight toastiness of American apple cider that I get.
M: Decently effervescent and fairly dry but with a slightly heavier mouthfeel than I associate with saison.
O: Not my favorite Blaugies beer I have had, but nice nonetheless. Has the essential rustic charm that only Blaugies in my experience offers, the grain just comes off differently than with other Belgian saisons with their beer. Never been sure why but I chase it. Again, not my favorite of theirs, as far as what we seem to get in the US I’d say La Moneuse Speciale Nöel is the best, that or La Vermotoise if you count it.

 

 

Copenhagen 9/6 2020. 75 cl bottle with a cork stopper from Kvickly, Allerød. Yellow-ish label with drawing of an old farm house with a horse and a cart with beer barrels. very rustic.

Very gushy upon opening. Pours hazy, golden yellow with a medium-sized, bubbly white head. Settles as thin, patchy layer of foam unable to cover the surface of the beer. No lacing.

Aroma is medium intense with a citric and yeasty odor. Sweet malts, citrus, citrus. Hints of apple juice and black pepper. Earthy touch.

Light carbonation. Sightly thick, oily, almost flat texture.

Flavor is medium intense with a medium strong sweetness followed by a slightly more moderate tart, sourness. Aftertaste is sweetish with an underlying tart bitterness. Finish is fairly dry.

Nicely balanced Saison - but a bit flat.

 

Now that’s a beer. Gorgeous color. Only issue is the absurd amount of carbonation. Massive amounts of nutmeg on the taste. It absolutely dominates it. Cloves and cinnamon make up the other notes. An enormous white head.

Purchased as a 12.7 oz bottle from The Blue Door for $13.75. Poured into a tulip glass.

L - Slightly hazy bright amber, with a minimal off-white head. Little lacing. Super fizzy.
S - Acidic on the nose. Faint fig skin. Floral.
T - Tastes like the basement of an old cathedral, in a good way! Dried fig, passing on to a light toast note. Like an oaky fig newton. Finish is clean, with an apple-like air. Well-balanced.
F - Medium-light in body, with tons of carbonation. Super drinkable. Bubbly!
O - Pretty good brew for a summer picnic! Light, well-balanced, and interesting enough to try and figure out. I'll probably get this one again, and I do recommend giving it a try!

Quite foggy dark amber, nearing acorn brown, with an overactively massive off-white head that billows out of the bottle before filling the glass to entirety.

It otherwise exhibits a fairly beautiful balance of malt, phenols, and esters, kind of like a mix between dubbel and tripel. Honey biscuit with a hint of clove meets touches of pear and plum before an amazingly vanishing finish after the super lifting airy foam in the middle.

Quenchingly drinkable yet old world mature.

This was a Christmas present in 2023, drunk in April 2024.

The beer is a hazy apricot-orange colour with a thin, off-white head. Upon closer inspection, numerous bubbles can be seen racing up the glass. Rating: 4.25.

The aroma has a hint of apricot, which might be the visual influence (note from future AzfromO - it wasn't, although I note a lot of reviewers tag the aroma and taste as fig. It was apricot to me.). There is also a spicy note of orchard fruit. The scent has a subtle funkiness to it, which adds to the orchard note and gives an impression of fermenting fruit on the ground. I would rate it 4.25 out of 5.

This beer is quite delicious! The apricot and orchard fruit aroma carries through to the taste, and there's a sherbet-like quality to the finish that gives the beer a zesty and dry aftertaste that requires me to take another sip immediately! Adding the sediment at the halfway point of the beer did little to detract from the taste. I would rate it 4.75 out of 5.

The carbonation is medium, but with a low carbonic prickle, the soft and sherbety mouthfeel perfectly complements the beer. Rating: 4.5

I have to admit, I came into this beer with low expectations, expecting a tart, gueuze-style beer that I was prepared to just get through in the name of science (equally, I don't know why I do this to myself because experience has shown me time and time again that I love saisons...). But I was, inevitably, pleasantly surprised to find that the beer is actually soft, sweet, and fruity, with a sherbet-like quality that makes it an absolute joy to drink. I'm craving another one already! Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

Cheers!
#518

 

2014 vintage poured from a 750mL bottle into a SP stemmed bulb glass. pours a hazy orange with a beautiful two-fingers of firm white foam head. lemony and belgian-y on the nose. lots of fig and clove and belgian esters. taste is better than the nose for me. less of the belgian notes and more saison although the fig / clove element is still there. it’s as earthy as it is citrusy. really enjoyable but quite complex. very full mouthfeel. lots of crisp carbonation in the finish but it’s thick from the initial sip through to the swallow. a very interesting saison. lightly tart but not as all acidic. beautiful look and wonderful mouthfeel. in between you get earthy aromas and flavors mixed with light citrus and some musty oak flavors as well.