Heavyweight Baltus O.V.S.

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

Pretty forgetful. This is my 2nd or 3rd time with Heavyweight and they just haven't done much for me. I know they're out of business for the most part. Wasn't sure what to make out of this beer. A Belgian Strong? The beer poured out an amberish-red color with a medium sized head. First whiffs and all I got was malt, sour malt in fact. Yeast also shows up with a bit of tobacco notes. Flavors was like a plum extract or rotted plums..I don't know which. Alcohol and spices are also very prominent. Seemed like a dubbel somehow. A bad dubbel. Anyways, not tasty at all.

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

Poured an amber color. The flavor was quite funky and yeasty with some chocolate, caramel, and other dark fruits maybe raisins? The finish was somewhat sour. Not bad but nothing out of this world either. Jeezus alot of haters of this beer!

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

I didn't like it. If I knew it was supposed to be a Belgian Strong, I probably would have liked it less. This defies style...and is somewhat of a mess. Aroma smelled like sour wine. The flavor was a sour wine with sour butter. Flat mouthfeel (which I hate) and cloying. Distinctive (I'm trying to be positive), but flat out unpleasant.

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

Bleh. This is one of the worst Belgian Strongs ever. A hybrid? Maybe that's where they went wrong. Pour was amber-red color with a small initial head, weak lacing. The aroma was sour, off, maybe some wood and butter. Flavor was that sour buttery flavor typical of some English Strong Ales. Brown sugar and molasses notes came through with an astringent and vinous character, just really not good. I boo this beer and regret buying it just because Heavyweight is going, going, going, gone! Boooo!

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Sorry, I'm not digging this one....

Yeah, I do like the "outside the box" thinking -- a Flemish Sour Belgian Strong Dark Ale (FSBSDA?). Has the makings of something new and interesting, on paper at least.

But in practice? The samp,e I have has some issues, starting with the presentation. Not a wisp of foam, nor carbonation to be seen. Looks aren't everything, or even much of anything really..., but when a murky looking dark brown soupy mess of beer winds up into my De Koninck glass, it's hard to get excited about this one.

Some intriguing notes in the nose, that hints at some rather interesting things to come at the first sip. But..., after the first sip, and the second and third, and forth and fifth, there just isn't much going on here.

Yeah, it's got some sourish/vinegary notes, that I like to see in Flemish Sour-style beers -- but not nearly enough to rescue the otherwise sugary and candy-ish malt bill and. Sweet & Sour makes for some tasty Chinese food, but I'm not buying it from this beer.

Suspect that I'm missing something critical here -- and would be happy to reinvestigate this beer at a future time. But considering that I hand-carried this back from the Washington DC area, the odds of me running across future samples easily is rather slim. Shame too, since I would like to give this beer another chance.

But in the short-term, it just doesn't do it for me...

Music: 2005 self-titled album from Candlemass.
//TB

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

Bottle, 04.26.04. Pours a middling brown, no head, no lace. Aromas are sour apple, green wood, something sweet (some kind of jam?). Flavors are all over the place...at first I get unripe plums, a sweet but sour fruitiness; in the middle, more sourness, more unripe fruits but a lingering plastic quality like the smell of packing tape (really); as the finish comes, the sourness becomes more tart, though this beer never gets bitter, and a deeper sweetness emerges that reminds of old fashioned hard candy. Some light molasses also comes through in the finish, as well as something that reminds me of young port. In all, this is my second time sampling O.V.S. and although it is unusual, I think something about it is really growing on me. I just can’t decide if the beer is muddled or complex; I’ll cellar a couple to see what happens to the sweet/sour qualities.
03.02.05
After nearly a year, the beer has mellowed considerably into something totally different, more complex, and fabulous. Strong tobacco notes have developed across the palate and nose, along with a leathery must. The sourness is all but gone, as well as the tart fruitiness; in place, a rum and apple soaked raisin quality has moved in. Tobacco, leather, and raisin. The sweetness has been allowed to emerge nicely, unencumbered by acidity, not so sweet as to be cloying. Layer after layer of flavor. Well done! If I knew it would turn out this good I’d have cellared more.
At this point, I’d score it around a 4.2, but I’m averaging the two scores to just bump it to 4.0, adding a point for aroma and one for overall. Original score was 7,3,9,4,14

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 8

Deep dark chestnut brown with a moderate cream colored head. Definite belgian yeast nose. Interesting brew, sweet with plum,raisin and toffee. Malty with an acidic finish. An enjoyable drink.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

It was on tap. Nicce deep, dark in color. Very good beer. Really enjoyable. It has a warming feel to it. It warms you up. Fruity nose.

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

Dark brown color with a durable, lasting tan head. The aroma is pretty complex with molasses, coffee and sweet malt. The taste is roasted malt, bitter but not like hops were used, but bitter some other way, spicey (pepper and clove), taost and chocolate. I really don’t know what to make of this, as far as style goes. All that matters is if I like it or not and this is a beer I’m going to have to drink a few more times to see if I really like it or hate it. Very strange.

Aroma: 0 | Appearance: 0 | Mouthfeel: 0 | Flavor: 0 | Overall: 0

All Heavyweight products are very good. Almost all have a high ABV which does not make it bad. This one pours dark and the high ABV can be tasted.