Lentebierenavond

One of the last remaining ’bières de mars’, a forgotten tradition in which Belgian and northern French brewers made a special spring beer in March due to the fact that the spring water they used, reached its best quality in that time of the year. Industrialization wiped out the dependence on nature for having good brewing water, so this tradition all but disappeared. Contreras, however, kept it in honour and produces this delightful variation on their Tonneke each year. It has a copper colour and firm, thick head, a sweetish, gentle aroma involving caramel, almond and berries and a malty, spicy, rounded palate with relatively high complexity for a beer which in the end stems from an era when complexity was not yet something brewers sought after in their beers. I hope this special little ale will not die out too, like its forefathers did.

Bottle at home Pours clear amber , good , fast fading white head . Smell is sweet, fruity yeast . Taste is yeasty , some sugar . Very fruity ( yeast ) , refreshing. Some grains . Unique and quite good ! surprisingly low ABV

Flasche (33 cl). - Goldbraun, reichlich beigefarbener Schaum. Antrunk karamelmalzig: Keks, Brotkruste, deutlich karamelsüß; zurückhaltende obergärige Fruchtnoten, mit ganz leichter pikanter Säure abgeschmeckt. In der Mitte etwas Gemüseartiges, das aber den guten Eindruck nicht nachhaltig stört. Im Abgang pfefferminzartig kühle Hopfenherbe. - Sehr angenehmer Belgier, der mich entfernt an ein fränkisches Landbier erinnert.

Smakerna ligger kvar länge på tungan, lagom syrlig och fyllig med mycket smak. Gott.

Hazy, dark yellowish colour. Smells sweet, fruity, yeasty and abricots. Tastes accordingly. Mouthfeel is okay, but it’s slightly too heavy on the carbo.

Hazy dark yellow to orange color, small head. Sour, acidic aroma, with berries. Taste light sour, berries and other red fruit. Firm carbo, ok body.

bottle from beerplanet.eu golden caramelly brown, smooth offwhite head. aroma is very nice yeasty, orange, lemon, orange peel. Yellow fruity, belgian aroma. Aroma have a nice balance between fruity and bitter notes. falvor is fruity, orange, peach,mild spicy bitterness, belgian yeast. malts. tasty.

12th January 2009
Orange-brown cloudy beer. Very thin head. Just a little carbonation. Smooth and slightly frothy. Light malt with a citrus tone and a whisper of marmite! Slightly odd combo but goes down okay.

Fruity, viny aroma, oxidized, with raisins, light spice, some caramel. medium amber color going towards orange, with a fine, thick, low head. Sweet, fruity flavor, lots of raisins and honey, a little caramel and citrus. There is a distinctly tart aspect. Not excessively bitter, rather dry at the end, though. Smooth, somewhat low carbonation. Seems slightly oxidized. Well-balanced but not all that interesting. Seems like it would be better if fresher.