Alengrin (11609) reviewed Canaille from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Witbier ('blanche') as interpreted by Grain d'Orge, now with new label, containing not just the obligatory wheat and obviously barley malt, but apparently a third species of grain as well - which, weirdly, remains unnamed on the label... Thick and frothy, egg-white, irregularly edged, lightly lacing, stable head on an initially near-clear, warm pure golden coloured beer with a suspension of tiny, translucent yeast bits everywhere, perturbed by a swirl of fierce sparkling in the middle; shifts to a misty, more apricot golden robe with sediment added. Aroma of ripe banana, chewing gum, white bread pulp, straw, old dry coriander seed and lots of it (unsurprisingly), pan-fried sweet apples, baking soda, green pear, background dash of old dried lemon peel. Sweetish onset with a sourish edge, estery, hinting at banana (even a tad bubblegummy), pear and red apple, with very active, but 'small-bubbled' effervescence adding minerally accents; slick but fluffy body. Cereally and wheat-soapy, but mostly white-bready maltiness with a sharper grainy edge to it; dry-spicy coriander seed effect in the end, much more dominant than the curaçao and accentuating the wheat soapiness. A grassy, floral hop bitter touch ensues, well-positioned and nicely balancing. I cannot put my finger on that mysterious third grain species they used here - for all I know, it could be a bit of corn, for sheer economical reasons... Generally, though, a classic, flawless wheat ale in typical Walloon style, but I would have preferred a bit more citric effects from whatever kind of dried citrus peel, perhaps.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Grelotte from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 5 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Grain d'Orge's winter ale, apparently a classic that has been around for many years... Pale beige, thick and pillowy, plaster-like lacing, stable head on a lightly hazy mahogany brown beer with warm bronze-reddish hue. Aroma of candied figs, crumbled spiced cookies, blackberry jam, candied cherries on top of a cake, caramel, subtler hints of clove, Christmas pudding, vague coffee powder as used on a dessert, coriander seed, ruby port, muesli, dried banana, gingerbread, red apple, brown bread, damp earth, iron. Sweetish onset, deep-dark candi sugar effect but with a light blackberry-like sourish accent, hints of dried figs, baked bananas and candied cherries, fizzily carbonated. Full, tad resinous body, a brown-bready, caramelly, chocolate cookie-like maltiness with dark lingering sugars and clear, 'growing' spiciness reminiscent of cinnamon, clove and nutmeg with perhaps a dash of dried ginger. This spicy phase does, however, not become overly harsh or astringent due to the spices as such; it leaves enough room for a more toasty-bitterish aspect of the malt bill to develop, along with a herbal hop bitter note and a well-placed afterglow of port-like alcohol. That said, the spices and dried fruits obviously win the game in the end - yet in a more subtle manner than I am used to from Walloon winter ales; this, combined with a fully developed, 'honest' and pure dark maltiness and well-balanced alcohol factor, clearly identify this as an above average Belgian 'Christmas' ale for me. Pleasantly surprised, to be honest.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6
Elderblossom-flavoured blonde ale brewed by Grain d'Orge for the Walloon company Vins & Elixirs de Franchimont, a company that has been commercialising regional 'Franchimont products' for twenty years now; this is the only beer in their portfolio (the rest of their range consists of a mead, a liquor and some fruit wines), so I would not consider them to be a brewery, not even a bierfirma, contrary to what this site apparently states. Anyway: very thick and frothy, rather irregular but very stable, closed, sparsely lacing, eggshell-white head resting heavily on a near-clear, warm and pure 'old gold' coloured beer with fierce sparkling, disrupting a suspension of translucent 'dust' that may well represent elderblossom particles in this case; shifts to a nicely misty apricot gold with the sediment added, with still visible swirls of sparkling raging through the mist. Aroma of indeed 'real' and flowery to even slightly perfumey elderblossom but without that 'meaty' effect it often has in beer, next to halfripe banana, sugar loaf, white soap, old potatoes, stewed turnip, iron (head stabiliser, as confirmed by the 'hand test'), breakfast cereals, apple peel, hard green pear, plaster, mustard seed, coriander, yarrow (but that's probably just the elderblossom again), damp earth note. Sweetish, fruity onset, quite pronounced banana ester mingled with pear and apricot notes, sourish undertone accentuated by the fizzy carbonation (though, thanks to small sized bubbles, less harsh than expected), rounded and fluffy, but also very soapy and somewhat metallic body. Indeed the iron effect from the nose subtly lingers somewhere at the back of a white bread-pulp-like, wheaty core, aromatized by the elderblossom in a slightly perfumey, bit honeyish, eventually even bath foam-like way, when that strong annoying soapiness (a combo of wheat and coriander seed enhanced by the elderblossom, I reckon) gets blended in the mix. Some superficial, light-hearted floral hop bitterness shows up at the back and it seems the elderblossom adds a bit of extra wryness to it, but the sweet banana ester, sweet maltiness and - above all - the soapiness prevail. Too soapy to be pleasant for me, and that iron aspect does not help either; I have seen Grain d'Orge perform a lot better in the past eighteen years of their existence, but the elderblossom as such does add a certain elegance and flair to what would have been a very bland Belgian standard blonde otherwise, even if it feels less 'natural' than in many other artisanal elderblossom-flavoured beers I had (even excluding the elderblossom lambics, such as Lindemans' Blossom Gueuze).
Svesse (15730) reviewed La Hervoise from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
(Bottle, Bier Circus, Brussels, 16 Oct 2019) Reddish brown colour with creamy, beige head. Malty, fruity nose with notes of caramel, dried fruit, orange peel, syrup and red apples. Malty, fruity taste with caramel, apples, pears, brown sugar, dried fruit and a mild bitterness. Almost full body, with a certain sweetness. Interesting, with a good fruit character. Quite nice.
Svesse (15730) reviewed Aubel Pure from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
(Draught at Bier Circus, Brussels, 16 Oct 2019) Hazy golden colour with big, frothy, white head. Fruity, spicy nose with notes of peaches, orange peel, herbs and floral hops. Fruity, malty taste with peaches, bread, hay, citrus and a balanced spicy bitterness. Medium body, with a slight sweetness. Tasty and well balanced. Quite nice.
Erzengel (18514) ticked Aubel Pure from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 6 years ago
Erzengel (18514) ticked Aubel Triple from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 6 years ago
Erzengel (18514) ticked Aubel Double from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 6 years ago
Erzengel (18514) ticked Aubel Brune from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 6 years ago
beerhunter111 (50581) reviewed Brice from Brasserie Grain d'Orge 6 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
33cl bottle. A slightly hazy golden beer with a mid-sized good lasting off-white head. Aroma of strong yellow fruits, pale malt, yeast. Taste of yellow fruits, strong pale malt, champagner yeast, some grapes and apples.