Zatte Bie from Brouwerij De Bie / D'Hellekappelle
Rating: B-
Bottle looks OLD, American import label peeled off as soon as condensation collected when it came out of the fridge, revealing the belgian label underneath (no barcode, yes notched bottling date). Bottled in June of 2003 - this bottle is more than three years old - luckily, this style is cellarable and should have improved with age.
Appearance: red-tinted dark amber, looks somewhere between sparkling red grape juice and cola. One finger off-white head with decent retention and some lacing.
Smell: Belgian yeast aroma, candi sugar, hops, and what I want to describe as a "cola" like character. Some dark fruit as well.
Taste: Fairly subdued character as it enters your mouth. Not as flavorful as I'd hoped or expected. After a second or two of sloshing around, though, it starts to open up. Lots of residual sugars, sweet. Dark fruits (raisin?). Hop bitterness is enough to balance the malts. Very mellow, a touch tart. Aftertaste is earthy, toffee.
Mouthfeel: Not as carbonated as it looked when I first poured it. Medium mouthfeel.
Drinkability: hides the 9% ABV rather well, I think. Not as good as I'd hoped when the label peeled off and I saw this had been inadvertantly aged three years, but fair drinkability all the same.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 07-11-2006 23:40:27
Rating: B-
Bottle looks OLD, American import label peeled off as soon as condensation collected when it came out of the fridge, revealing the belgian label underneath (no barcode, yes notched bottling date). Bottled in June of 2003 - this bottle is more than three years old - luckily, this style is cellarable and should have improved with age.
Appearance: red-tinted dark amber, looks somewhere between sparkling red grape juice and cola. One finger off-white head with decent retention and some lacing.
Smell: Belgian yeast aroma, candi sugar, hops, and what I want to describe as a "cola" like character. Some dark fruit as well.
Taste: Fairly subdued character as it enters your mouth. Not as flavorful as I'd hoped or expected. After a second or two of sloshing around, though, it starts to open up. Lots of residual sugars, sweet. Dark fruits (raisin?). Hop bitterness is enough to balance the malts. Very mellow, a touch tart. Aftertaste is earthy, toffee.
Mouthfeel: Not as carbonated as it looked when I first poured it. Medium mouthfeel.
Drinkability: hides the 9% ABV rather well, I think. Not as good as I'd hoped when the label peeled off and I saw this had been inadvertantly aged three years, but fair drinkability all the same.
Serving type: bottle
Reviewed on: 07-11-2006 23:40:27
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