Estaminet Premium Pils
Brouwerij Palm NV

Drank on the train with lunch on the Eurostar from London to Brussels. An excellent lager with lunch.
First, Estaminet Looks pretty, tight foam that sticks around the glass. Aromas are bready, good to work on my sandwich. Taste is balanced and clean to the end, no bitter finish leaving my mouth salivated for another sip and bite. A bit thin, but I'm eating lunch.

My High Overall Hugs are because I just went on Swinkle's Palm website and discovered more about them. Palm has been passed down to the 7th generation Swinkels, but their acquisition and branding strategy reminds me lots of Duvel who does that better than any other craft brewer. But Swinkels is more diverse: 300 drinks (many non-alcoholic), 16 brands, 2 malt houses and 8 breweries. They also brew for Caribbean climates and in Africa. They distribute to the hospitality industry in the EU and expand the beverage market with their Dare to Drink Different program.

Their classic brewers known in the U.S. are DeMolen, Rodenbach and LaTrappe. So now while I'm in Belgium, I get to Taste some of their lesser-known brands that don't yet get distribution across the Pond.

On tap at Prachtig, Rotterdam. Golden colour, white head, some lacing. Standard pilsener aroma and flavour, some malts, herbal and floral notes. Moderate bitterness. Okay with my ravioli & gambas, but does not really stand out from the crowd.

Got to get it from tapp @All Khateeb's place in Ghent: Ichi Bites!

 

 

 

 

On tap at Bruges Beer Museum.

Pours a crystal clear yellow with fine foam.

Smell is bready and malty, clean and crisp.

Taste is very clean and smooth. Not much bitterness, but easy to drink.

Mouthfeel is thin, but quite creamy.

Overall, an above average pilsner. Easy to drink, but not much to it.

06/26/2017, in Bruges, Belgium.

 

 

 

 

 

 

L: Pours a lively brilliant straw producing a ½” white foam collar that descends to a thick film over a 3 minute period. Produces thin sheet of lace.
S. Grainy white bread aromas with a very faint initial sulfur rise from the glass. There are no fruit aromas no diacetyl and very faint DMS.
T: A crisp very creamy palate with an initial bitterness, moderately low well attenuated malt finishes with a tart dryness. Very clean throughout.
F. The beer is creamy yet clean and crisp with a light to medium light body, medium high carbonation. The carbonation has both a crisp bite due to the carbonic acid but also a softness due to the texture.
O: Better than I expected.

 

Best before 2/27/15

Appearance: Light straw color with crystal clarity and a thin off-white cap of foam.

Aroma: A bit of yeasty/stunky esters but otherwise uneventful. Pretty typical for an import pils.

Taste: Quite clean up front, basically flavor-neutral except for a bit of sweetness balanced well by some light bitterness. The finish is not as crisp as I was expecting but as refreshing as it should be for the style. Despite the lack of flavor it is never watery. Aftertaste of ebbing bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Light in body but thicker than expected with a somewhat coating feel. Carbonation is a tad overdone and biting at times. Average drinkability for the style.

Final Thoughts: Par for the course. They get a couple points for using a dark bottle as opposed to a green one but it is otherwise the same as most import pils. Would I drink it again? Maybe.

 

Quite delicious on a hot day.