Orval Day - Saturday, March 25th!!

One of my all time favorites, and I always just love when we do this thread every year.

Currently have three in my fridge right now. Two bottled on 7/7/2022, the other 3/2/2022. Not much of a difference there, but I always have a few in the fridge. With the goal of ageing some a bit, but that never happens as I just end up drinking them. 6 month to a year is a pretty good sweet spot for Orval anyway.

Depending on how the day goes I might be out and about tomorrow, and make a stop at at least one,maybe more, restaurants that carries it. One is a Belgian restaurant, the other is a good wine bar that also happens to have a good beer selection, at least in bottles. Its sad when no actual "beer bar" around will carry Orval, but I guess that is the way it is now.

 

Hope it's ok @Beersnake1 but I had to cheat a little. We're going away this weekend so I had this late last night. Bottled 3/22/22



I bought a case of this in 2007 and finished it maybe 3 years ago. So it's been awhile since I've had one at all and it's been a loooooong time since I've had one remotely this fresh. How does the song go? Age 16 years, what'll ya get? Another day older and deeper in brett.

I'd forgotten how vibrant and snappy this can be. Light lemon, grains, pepper, plus minimal fruity esters. Lots of layers here, but incredibly refreshing and easy to drink. I need to revisit this more often.

 

This is a 3/22/22 bottle which has a nice brett snap and carbonation.

Well worth the price when it hasn't been abused in transit or storage.
Happy Orval Day!

 

This is as glorious as any batch I have experienced has been.

 

Always loving stopping in the Cafe Brussels. A pot of mussels and Orval of coarse





Now out to the courtyard to continue reading, most definitely with some more Orval

 

Happy Orval Day - 2019 bottle here - had in the cellar for a while - still delicious, the carbonation seems a little less "vigorous", but still damn good!



that Orval chalice is a thing of beauty for sure!

 

I have been fortunate to have the second of two Orval Ales in front of me over the past two afternoons.



I just bought this yesterday. This was bottled September 7, 2022 (07/09/2022 European Bottle Date) with a five year best by date list.

Not sure if due to storage conditions (Friday version 14 months older, refrigerated for most of the bottle's life vs. room temp for today's until about 20 hours of refrigeration) or the age of the bottle.

I found the bottle yesterday to be a lot more smooth and enjoyable whereas this bottle is harshly bitter, hops far more pronounced which I love in IPAs, but not in Barleywines (I really only love Rev Straight Jacket and varients) or this style.

Making a mental note to open Orvals 2-3 years in for maximum enjoyment on my end, and to purchase refrigerated.

Looking forward to catching up with the thread and seeing if people have similar or different takes in terms of age and storage (cellar vs. refrigerator vs. room temperature).

 

Cheers!

 

Bottled on 7/72022, this for sure seems more on the bitter end for Orval. Not that this is "fresh" but on the leafy bitter end for sure. With just a touch of esters and light fruitiness. The one I had at Cafe Brussels was more smooth, with much more noticeable esters and fruit flavors. I also think this is one of the best beers to pair with food of all kinds as well, so that probably helped. Not that this is bad by any means, still very much loved the bottle.

 

Nice! Where’d you find it?

 

The Beer & Beverage Shoppe, Lancaster, thanks to a tip from @DIM.

 

Grabbed a golden valley for the holiday. A relatively recent bottling, 07/09/2022 and iced for 6 minutes off the shelf.


...and spotted this behind the bar

Santé!

 

This from the basement,
I’ve read and agree with the 3 yr sweet spot.
Carbonation has slowed dow, the trade off is more dark fruit, and tempered Brett impact.
Delicious
Do good
Be well

 

Sweet!

 

This 2022 bottle, vibrant, crisp.
Less dark fruit, more abbey.
Equally lovely, in different ways
Enjoying this with house made pâté
Cheers all

 

Happy Orval Day all! Cheers!