Biere Darbyste

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

An ale made of fig juice, that is something that is rather interesting, and therefore something I have to try...and it was good! It pours a cloudy gold colour with reddish hues throughout, and an off-white head. The aroma is light fruits, wheat malt, and yeast. The flavour has some tartness up front, and earthiness afterwards. Different, complex, and flavourful.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours out in a hazy amber colour with low creamy white foam. Yeast, wet wood, figs, mild blackberries and spices in the aroma. Medium-bodied with notes of imature berries, figs, wood, yeast and herbs. Spicy finish of yeast, figs, herbal hops, black currant and mils spices. Concentrated mouthfeel.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

a lovely hazy golden hue, an oily head recedes to leave a nice creamy cap. Fresh saison-esque farmhouse character. A spritzy mouthfeel at first...... It doesnt scream fig, but figs add a great taste to the beer and a delectable sweetness along wit citrusy flavors, malty wheat, and a mellow biscuity spice. All fairly complex. I dig it

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Pours a pristinely clear amber on the first pour with a huge, booming white head that has good staying power. The problem with that head is that it's powered by carbonation that goes a bit too far. The aroma is a bit like lemon oil, and strong, harsh phenols. I'm not really getting much fig at all, to tell you the truth.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

This was *exactly* what I was looking for, at the end of a workday. Not too massive in gravity or alcohol, but nothing simplistic and unchallenging, either. A "good drop", as some of the Aussie military tech reps I've been working with lately might say.

Took some work to get the caged cork out of the 750mL bottle, and once I did, a few ounces worth of foam escaped. Poured this into my good ol' Duvel glass, and again had to work to make sure the foam didn't get too far out-of-hand. Once the foam finally settled down to a more earthy realm, I was finally able to get my first taste of this.

"Earthy" is an appropriate way to start to describe this. Very much the way I imagine a beer to be when it's described as a "Farmhouse ale". Kinda spicy, kinda biscuity, with a nice solid malt backbone to keep this beer on-track.

I've also read that this is made with an odd little addition of fig (probably in the conditioning tank, would be my guess). To be honest, I would not have picked it out amongst the more standard slighty fruity yeast-driven undertones if I wasn't told to look for it.

Either way, this a very nice and very enjoyable beer, and a bit more interesting than other, more mainstream "normal" Belgian Pale Ales I've had in the past (e.g. Palm, De Koninck, etc) -- especially in the mouthfeel.

Nicely drinkable, and at 5.8%ABV, won't keep you from enjoying the rest of the evening, too. Recommended.
//TB