A unique beer that is a special treat for me. +++ Sampled from a 11.2 oz brown bottle this beer pours a opaque orange/brown color with a huge orange/tan head that lingers forever and leaves great lacing. The aroma is sour, lightly fruity, a bit bready and has a strong musty funk element. The flavor is tart and sour with a tartness that lingers and is bone dry. There is a moderate dry floral hop element and moderate musty funk. There is a presence that reminds me a lot of champagne. The texture is light and airy, somewhat overcarbonated. Unique.

Pourred an orangy brew with what I consider to be the most beautiful beige head. Head retention for Orval is what other brewers should aspire to since it is the longest lasting I have ever experience. Taste is of complex spice with great fruit aroma. Also, great wheat taste with a strong body. One of the best trappist in my opinion.

2003 bottle Pours a hazy apricot/orange. Plenty of off-white foamy head. Smells of straw, light orange peel, a little bit of baked brown bread. Begins slightly muted. Hmmm, was expecting more of an explosion, this is certainly subtle, to say the least. Dry flavor of hops and a touch of lemon and sugar. Alcohol presents itself in a balanced way. Finish is quite tart, but not overly acidic. Has some vanilla liqueur notes in the middle and is medium to full bodied with no wateriness, though the flavor does thin out somewhat. This is a super dry beer. If that’s what they are looking to make, they did a damned fine job. Perfect for what it is. If I was in a relaxed, philosophical mood, I would drink this. However, this beer needs something more to really make me want to go out of my way to drink it often. Will definitely try again however to see if I can pick up some more flavors/nuances. Rerate WOW! It’s not even that I appreciate it more this time, the bottle I got simply tastes better. Wonderful spice with a slight orange zing to it. Perfect balance and a nice slightly sour yeast finish. Not nearly as dry as I remember, or perhaps, I just taste more flavor to counteract the dryness. Hard to put words on it, just a true true beer flavor that is just right. Oh ya, incredible aroma.
2 year old bottle sampled July 2004. Everything to balance and perfection, just about. Not much to complain about here. Lovely grainy, yeasty and lightly fruity flavors, lots of it. Palate is elegantly simple, yet has just enough texture to take in all of the nuances of this beer. Aroma is still incredible. Everyone I poured this for remarked how good it was, and all of them were swill drinkers who havent seen the light.
Have been drinking this alot in Summer 2005. I’ve had it cold, chilled, warm, next day, straight from the bottle and all I can think of is how great it is and how deliciously quenching. The tart brett and dry but substantial maltiness work excellently together and the wonderful farmy hops seal the deal. Yep, it’s definitely one of the best beers being made right now.

The more I have it I think two things: This stuff really does smell and taste perfect, BUT, the mouthfeel really is a little lacking on account of the filtration (despite being bottle conditioned afterwards). I just don’t think perfection in the beer world involves filtration. Gotta stick to my beliefs!

2023-09-02, 22.05.2003, bb 22.05.2008, 20 years old, 6-5-6-2-12=31
Side to side with a fresh one. The colour is the same. The aroma is a bit cheesy. Dry, with strong woody Brett, but it also has a cardboard note in the finish, which makes it questionable.

2023-08-21, bb 12 01 2006, 22 years old, 6-5-7-3-14=35
Mild Brett, only; but it doesn't taste old or oxidized. Boring.

2023-09-02, bottled 11/04/2023, bb 11/04/2028B, 5 months old, 6.2%, 7-5-7-3-14=36
Holy carbonation! Earthy Brett (not my favourite variant); dry, a bit vegetable. It's not so terrible, I probably need to recalibrate my appreciation for Orval.

2022-03-04, bottled 2021-04-08, 11 months, relabeled 6.8% in BC, 8-5-7-3-15=38
Amber colour, with copper hue, slightly hazy, as usual it produces a giant head. The aroma is more bready than I can remember, followed by the expected Brett. Not too dry, good mouthfeel; strong bready flavour; the Brett is clearly present, with strong woody notes, and some vegetable bitterness.
It's been a long time since I had an Orval, I wonder if this is just a meh batch, if it's too old, or if my taste has changed so much; good, not spectacular.

2012-08-30, bottled 2010-12-13, 20 months, 7-5-7-3-14=36
The amber color is quite clear; it has the usual generous and compact head. Mild aroma of malt and Belgian yeast. It has some malt flavor and Belgian yeast flavor, mild spiciness, almost no Orval character, and a metallic feeling.
Not a great batch, probably.

2011-10-30, bottled 2010-12-13, 10 months, 6-5-7-4-13=35
Cloudy amber color, with generous creamy head. Mild aroma, Belgian but not up to expectations, with very light pukery impression. Some malt flavor, almost sweet for Orval, and very low development of yeast character. The final only shows a shade of that lost character. Pleasant beer, nothing more.

2010-08-20, bottled 2010-05-05, 3 months, 7-5-6-3-13=34
Extreme carbonation and huge head; the classic orange-amber color is very cloudy for this fresh beer. The aroma is mild, almost soapy, with some Bretts and cork, and lightly biscuity too. The malt flavor is quite poor, and very green; it has a dry mouthfeel, with some astringency, but all this is not enough to constitute a character; there is a light trace of bitter oranges. The final is correctly bitter but without backbone.
Too young.

2010-08-20, bottled 2009-10-05, 10 months, 8-5-7-4-15=39
Extreme carbonation and huge head; it has the classic orange-amber color, just hazy. The Bretty aroma is evident, delicate, yet sharp. Good mouthfeel, almost round; the malt flavor is spicy enough, with character, even if not the top of the Orval. And so it is, balanced till the end.
Complex, balanced, very good.

2010-08-18, bottled 2010-02-18, 6 months, 8-4-7-3-15=37
Light amber color, hazy; huge head, frothy, it seems that the carbonation is more than usual. The funky aroma is mild, instead there is a stronger citrusy character; woody. Dry mouthfeel, more malty than usual, not enough Bretty, and instead it has a strange cork flavor. Strong bitterness, with some bitter oranges. Not the best.

2009-12-26, bb 2006-01-12, 8 years old, 10-5-7-3-16=41
Bright copper color; generous, frothy head. The aroma is very fresh; there is cellar aroma, Bretts, spices (black pepper); amazingly, it's even fruity. The body is rather thin, the mouthfeel is dry; dry caramel flavor, average Brett astringency; strong ending bitterness. The deposit in the bottle adds some complexity. Not at its peak.

2008-05-21, bottled 3 months ago (2008-02-11), 9-5-7-3-15=39
Magnificent appearance (forgot to mention the thick lace, last time). It has a very nice aroma, in which the bitter orange is more evident, and with a white pepper touch. Unfortunately, besides a respectable body structure, the flavor is lacking in complexity, the bitterness comes out too late and I wonder where the hop and spice bite has gone. Too young?

2003-08-13, 2 1/2 years old, 10-5-8-5-17=45
Golden color; big thick head; wonderful perlage. The typical powerful aroma, dry, old hops, oranges, wood. Dry taste, again the Orval yeast, but less incredible than the aroma.
A unique beer!.

2003-08-13, fresh bottle
Very similar, but not completely mature, and less hop character.

(330 ml bottle). Cloudy deep golden with an enormous creamy head. Intense, overwhelming but lovely aroma of ensilage, horse stable, leather and spicy fruit cake. Spicy complex flavour, hops stand out, dry aftertaste. Clearly a world class beer.

Nice brownish hue with a good looking foam and lots of carbonation upon pouring. I have had this beer twice and it does seem better the second time around but i really do not see why this belgian is any better than any other trappist.7/5/7/4/15.

5 year old bottle (best before 6/12/2006) graciously gifted by Willblake, thanks Jon. Labeled 6.9%. Pours with a large head into my small tulip glass but the foam quicly dissipates into a strong lacing. Color is deep amber, slight copper. Lots of clarity surprisingly. Aroma is nice sour brett with a slightly milky, earthier feel then I am used to. Taste is very original, kind of earthy, toasty but with a slight overall belgian feel. Mouthfeel has nice lively carbonation with s spikey mouthfeel and a medium body.9/4/7/4/16

Notes from about 5 months ago, bottled on 31/01/2006 so it was about 8 months old at the time. Poured into large rounded wine glass. Present brett out of the bottle, not overpowering, just tells you its there without being overarching. Some tart cherry aroma. Taste is very dry and slightly acidic. Just a bit of bitterness in the end.9/3/7/3/16

Almost an 8 year old bottle, best before 04/09/2005, label states 6.9%. the nose is so amazing, lots of brett but its not super strong or anything. Pineapple, light orange, light spoiled citric fruit, and some other funk. Still seems so fresh and the brett is not overbearing. There is kind of muskiness to it as well. Taste is best ever with a light sweet mandarin, a very light fruit citric syrup. It finishes very dry and has a light pity citric funk. Leaves an awesome feel on the cheeks, tickles a bit yet just comforting light sweetness. This is the best bottle I have ever had. I could guess it has some age just from the light spoiled fruit and syrup-like aspect flavor but it is still amazingly alive and funky. 10/4/8/4/17.

Overall: Funny early rating. I liked the fruitiness present in the fresher bottle but I also like the strong brett that developed in the aged bottles. Always a great aroma and everything seems to get better with age.