Nouveau Riche - Vieilles Fortunes

Rosemary-flavored wheat ale by Dochter van de Korenaar, the Belgian brewery literally surrounded by the Netherlands; it does not just contain wheat but buckwheat as well and has in this ‘Vieilles Fortunes’ edition – unusual for a wheat beer – been aged on wine barrels too. Thanks to Steve for sharing. Egg-white, moussy, medium but quickly thinning, loose and dissolving head (weirdly unstable for a wheat beer – I guess because of the barrel ageing treatment); misty ‘old gold’ robe with apricot tinge. Very herbal aroma indeed, a wave of dried rosemary, green tea, old lime zest, thyme, lemon verbena, wheat flour, herbes de Provençe, white grape skins, old wood, jasmin. Sweetish onset, hinting at banana peel and apple, supple body with softish carb; slick wheatiness indeed, mild bready buckwheat spiciness, smooth with utterly strong and dominant herbality on top – the rosemary again, bringing the whole Provençe experience to the foreground as well as adding something tannic that matches well with that touch of old wood in the background. It also seems to accentuate a gentle but notable hop bitter moment – which comes across as more herbal than it probably is as a result. I never liked overspiced beers – unless it is a spice I really, really dig, which is logical of course – and though I have nothing against rosemary (I use it regularly in cooking), I do not want to find that much of it in my beer. Interesting concept, sure, but a bit over the top in sheer ‘herbality’ for me.

Ruikt zoet en naar rozemarijn/tijm. Smaakt heel zoet, wat hout, rozemarijn, vanille. Tikkie vreemd. Heel zacht spul, koolzuur ook zacht. Wel interessant maar ik hoef 'm geen 2x.