Orval Day, March 26: Online Tasting

I recently had it for the first time. Now I have an excuse to pickup another.

 

I'm in - got mine

 

I picked up one yesterday. Looking forward to drinking it with you all tomorrow.

 

Nice job. I'm surprised you didn't get that much funk for that age.

 

Mine was dated 10 Feb 2015 (in my cellar since fresh), and I got strong brett. However, I also felt the taste was strangely muted.

 

Have not seen it in GJ.

Cheers!

 

I'm in. Thanks for the heads up that because these are shelf turds they are incidentally being aged for us.

Another excuse to use my favorite stem glass as well...

 

Afternoon everyone. It's a beautiful early Spring day in northern New Jersey and this is my first time this season drinking on the deck (as opposed to just taking photos) with my trusty MacBook Pro at hand. I hadn't tried Orval Trappist before and am excited to drink it with you all. Overall, I enjoyed it but not as much as a good Quad or Tripel. Here's my review. And here's to a long season of good beer on the deck! Cheers!

4.21/5 rDev +0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from 11.2 oz. bottle into tulip glass. The bottle is dated 4/6/2015. It pours a hazy, orange-brown color-like apple cider-with a huge, foamy, milk-white head and extensive lacing. It smells of yeast, citrus, green apple, banana, and spice. The taste is primarily bready malt, yeast, lemon peel, and spice, with a hint of sour apple. It is quite dry, sour throughout, and bitter at the finish. I don't taste the banana I smelled and there is only hint of sweet malt. This ale is medium-bodied and highly carbonated; the head and lacing persisted throughout the pour. The manageable ABV of 6.9% lends to easy drinking but to me the sour bitterness militates against having a second pour. Overall, I appreciate that this ale is legendary and it is certainly worth enjoying from time to time but I won't make a steady diet of it.

 

Not having tried it before, I have no basis of comparison but I would have enjoyed a bit more fruit. Still, it was quite good.

 

Cheating slightly here as I actually had this last night which is rather a coincidence.

2014 Vintage


Appearance: Lighter than newer bottles that i've had, the sediment evidently dropping. Rich amber hue, large head that did not subside.

Smell: Rich, spicy, green apple, some citrus and funkkkkk

Taste: Very, very dry, the funk really taken over this age. The spice and green apple are there but more muted than fresher bottles.

Mouthfeel: Prickly carbonation, thinner than newer bottles.

Overall: One of my all time favourite beers, I actually think I prefer this beer somewhat fresher. Having had it at three months, six months, and twelve months, I would say twelve months would be the sweet spot for me personally. Still fantastic, and one of the best examples around of what aging can do to a beer.

Cheers!

 

Never known a beer with as much bottle variation as Orval. I've had bottles where the brett has fully taken over after and year and year old bottles where it tasted more like a traditional Belgian Pale with just a little funk. Really is such a unique beer.

 

I think I got one in that sweet spot @wesbray :


Pretty much a year old.

The nose is still pretty vivid. It's equally floral (goldenrod, honeysuckle) and earthy (straw, mild barnyard), and pretty seamless where the contributions of hops and/or brett are concerned. A little deeper I get the spice, candied orange peel and a drizzle of caramel. The finish is dry and long with bitterness, wood and buckskin.

It's the perfect yin/yang of light and dark elements. I'm really loving this one- shoulda bought two .

 

Yeah I love it at that age because it really does have the best of both worlds.

And you should have bought ten

 

Cheers you all! I am sorry I could not join you for this one but I am sure going to enjoy all your tasting notes and reviews. =)

 

Hey Guys & Gals, This is some good stuff. I need to pick up a chalice. Because of the glass, I poured this really slowly, still got a pretty nice head and the Sauvin glass really makes the aromas pop.


Here is my review from the first time I had it a few weeks ago:
4.69/5 rDev +12.2%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

APPEARANCE: A burnt orange, hazy almost to rust. Foamy off white head for days, and it lingers forever. Carbonation is hard to see even with a flashlight up to the glass. Thick lacing down the glass.
AROMA: Almost white wine like. Green grapes, funky, floral...almost smells like hand lotion! Definitely get the yeast in spades.
TASTE: A pleasant sourness, lots of white grapes, the yeastiness you'd expect. There are some really nice, unusual flavors in here that I really can't describe or equate to any other beer I've had. This is unique!
FEEL: Creamy right off the bat, then the nice amount of carbonation really begins to move the flavor around the mouth. You get a nice drying quality a few seconds in and then that goes away and it returns to that creamy vibe.
OVERALL: Probably the most unique beer I've had so far. Hard to describe but I love what i'm getting from it. It's kind of a mystery in some ways.

***Two things I'd add or change: Got lots of green apple this time, and there was no creamy feel. Very dry all the way through. It's from the same batch as last time so I don't know where creamy was coming from, maybe something I was eating at the time? Anyway, I really enjoy this beer, and it is always in stock. Won't be my last! Cheers, and enjoy!!

 

I'll crack mine a little later, but as compared to the NBS and WBAYDN threads, this thread is already becoming groundhog day, same beer, same pictures over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over

Maybe I should have bought several and posted as I cracked each!

 

Any excuse to drink orval I'm happy.
Love this stuff. Funky beers are my favorite and this is the OG!
Poured from a year old bottle ...crazy copper burnt orange color, huge thick head super carbonated.
Awesome bready malts, some tartness...then just funk like a musty old basement!
Taste is nice and floral some cloves and bananas. Wood.
Then the tart funk comes in with tons of basement..and barnyard.
Nice prickly and light mouthfeel makes it super drinkable.
Love this beer. Ticks all my boxes. Need to grab another to hold onto. But as others have said with about a year it is perfect!

Cheers! Happy Orval day!

 

Bottled September 2014. Close to perfection IMHO.
Let us pray...

 

In the sweet spot. That is exactly what I'm tasting in this 1 1/2 year old, but I'll be damned if I could pick it all out. An amazingly complex beer. Thanks for the perfect description.