33 cl bottle. Honey gold pour. Yeasty malt aroma. Notes of banana, white wine and mild citrus. Earthy, bitter notes on backend. Decent.

*rating uit 2016* Flesje gedeeld met familie. Het is een donkergeel, licht troebel bier met weinig schuim. Het aroma is fruitig en hoppig. De smaak is bitter en hoppig. Nasmaak is bitter.

Botella de @El Cabanón, Avilés. 17/06/2022. Color negro opaco corona de espuma beige, aromas tostados, licorosas, sabor licoroso, tostado, café.

Spiced amber lager intended as a winter beer by Spencer, the only American trappist brewery, which recently announced that brewing activities have ceased – sadly, because I have always liked them: old-fashioned as they may have been to the present-day American beer geek palate, they did create a bunch of perfectly fine beers in styles which were never before executed by trappist breweries, and did it technically flawlessly. This winter warmer had a thin and open, off-white ‘ring’ for a head consisting of tiny bubbles, on a clear deep copper-brown-hued amber robe. Ethereally-spicy nose, hinting at clove, star aniseed, cinnamon, perhaps vague nutmeg and even a background touch of liquorish candy, patchouli even springing to mind, caramel, bread crust, peanuts, tea, honey, dried apricot. Clean, sleek onset, typical lack of fruity esters because this is a lager, so immediately turning to maltiness, sweetish and caramelly with a peanutty edge and light carbonation-induced minerality at the edges; the finish brings a toasted malt bitterness to the foreground and pairs it with the spicing, again reminiscent of clove, star anise, nutmeg and light cinnamon, with very herbal-ethereal effect. Quite firm leafy hop bitterness appears in the tail as well, matching with the toastiness and spiciness; it is the toasty effect which lasts the longest. ‘Mulled’ Vienna style lager as it were, clean, sleek and bittering with a very spicy profile – quite an interesting combo in fact, drawing from different European traditions and combining them to create something altogether new. Enjoyed it – cheers to the zealous trappist monks at Spencer, they can commit to other tasks than brewing now, but I will never forget how solid many of their beers have been (and often challenging to obtain here in Belgium, too…).

The trappist monks at Spencer started out with the Belgian idiom back in 2013, then ventured into more Anglo-Saxon style beers, and finally returned to Belgian style brewing with this witbier. Tasted from a can at Tournée Trappiste. Snow white, moussy, small-bubbled and creamily lacing, but quickly opening head; clear, warm pale orange-tinged peachy golden robe with lively sparkling. Aroma of bread crust, dried orange zest, biscuit crumbs, drying grass, unripe peach, apple peel, light honey touch and some very vague ‘rusty’ oxidation already setting in. Fruity onset in a sleek, only subduedly sweet way, apricot, apple and light banana, lively carbonated even with minerally, bit stingy effect; smooth, slender bready malt core, bread crumb- and dry biscuit-like with wheat-slick edges, gently spiced with a mellow dried orange peel zestiness and agreeably lingering floral hop bitterness, making for a somewhat ‘bittersweet ending’ with some breadiness at the back. Pleasantly drinking wheat ale with a Belgian twist in the form of dried orange peel spicing, an ingredient used in Belgian wit since the late sixties, but strangely looking less ‘white’ than the Spencer Premium Pilsener we had next to this one… In any case an elegant, refreshing and fruity wheat beer, delivering what it promises.

355ml bottle from Beers of Europe and drunk at home. It's dark gold, almost with a hint of olive, and clear. Scent of overripe orange and tropical fruit peel and pine, pine, pine. Taste is far sweeter than I expected from the aroma but the pine is still there in a big way. Finish is a little bit more balanced with more bitterness coming in. Thick oily body with grapefruit and orange oils in the aftertaste. I was really sorry to see Spencer stop brewing, they weren't to everyone's taste but I liked the beers I've had.

11/VI/22 - 12Fl. Oz. bottle @ Tournée Trappiste (Oostvleteren), BB: V/14/23 B40 08:21 (2022-688) Thanks to Alengrin for sharing today’s beers!

Clear orange beer, practically no head. Aroma: weird, sugary, bubble gum, peaches and peach flavoured candy, bread, yeast. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice acidity, wow, very fruity, lots of peaches and apricots, a bit sugary, malty touch, banana, yeast. Aftertaste: still very fruity, yeast, apricots, peach candy, very decent, I actually like it!

Tasted it again, from a bottle I had around the house, and it was really bad...
31/VIII/22 - 12Fl. Oz. bottle, shared @ home, BB: II/6/22, B3 10:18 (2022-xxx)
Ap: 6/10; Ar: 4/10, Fl: 1/10, Txt: 6/10, O: 1/10, Total: 3/10

Clear orange beer, small creamy beige head, unstable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: wow, lots of butterscotch, all diacetyl, peach flavoured candy, sugary impression, more butterscotch. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: oh my, this is very bad, tastes like burned rubber, urine, very dirty, really disgusting, a bit sourish, sugary, very very bad. Aftertaste: disgustingly bad, lots of diacetyl, vinegar infection, oh my, super bad. Might be the date of the bottle, but a couple months past the expiration date shouldn’t hurt a beer this much. So more likely either this batch was infected, or the cap of my bottle was somehow broken, but since the beer was still fully carbonated, I doubt it.

11/VI/22 - 1 Pt. can @ Tournée Trappiste (Oostvleteren), BB: n/a, canned: X/20/21, batch: BD89 (2022-682) Thanks to Alengrin for sharing today’s beers!

Clear amber orange beer, small creamy off-white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very malty true Vienna lager style beer, toasted caramel malts, spicy, some ripe banana, star anise, more malts. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: malty, some caramel, soft acidity, grains, spicy, a bit earthy. Aftertaste: some banana, a little bitter, lots of toasted malts, nice clean malt profile, subtle spiciness, good!

11/VI/22 - 1 Pt. can @ Tournée Trappiste (Oostvleteren), BB: n/a, canned: VII/4/21, batch: B53 (2022-681) Thanks to Alengrin for sharing today’s beers!

Clear blond to light orange beer, creamy white head, a little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: lots of banana, bubble gum, a little malty, sweet impression, more rip banana. MF: ok carbon, medium to light body. Taste: a bit malty, wheat notes, gentle acidity, some banana, a bit of bubble gum. Aftertaste: malty, grains, a little bitter, malty, banana peel, decent, but lacks some coriander. More of a German weizen than a belgian Witbier if you ask me.

11/VI/22 - 12Fl. Oz. bottle @ Tournée Trappiste (Oostvleteren), BB: IX/12/22 (2022-680) Thanks to Alengrin for sharing today’s beers!

Pretty clear to a little cloudy pale yellow blond beer, small creamy white head, little stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: malty, a little fruity, some bubble gum and banana, sweet impression. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty malty, a bit sweet up front, then a good bitterness, pretty dry, a bit grassy, a little oxidized, fruity touch. Aftertaste: nice clean bitterness, almost medicinal, malty, grains but not sweet, a bit oxidized.