Scheldebrouwerij Hansje Drinker

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

Pours out in a hazy dark golden colour with a low lasting white foam. Canned oranges over-riped pears, metal, neutral yeast and all spice in the aroma. Medium to full-bodied with notes of of over-riped oranges, straw, neutral yeast, spices, apple-skins and sugar. Low bitterness in the finish with notes of oranges, red apples, mild yeast, spices, and alcohol.

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

~ Initial Review, 04-09-2004:
On of the many obscure Dutch offerings from Tom Nickle's O'Brien's -- and a beer I can honestly say I enjoyed quite a bit..., warts and all, so to speak.

33 cL bottle, which apparently foamed up quite a bit on the ever-lovely Marilyn the bartender, since I got the bottle a little wet, and a little less than full. Nonetheless, poured this carefully, and ended up with a goblet full of Dutch nectar.

Spicy to no end -- major props there, since this seemed almost "peppery" in execution, in the both the aroma and the flavor profile. In other words, this kinda like a Trippel "kicked up a notch", if I can quote Emiril the cooking-show geek.

A little less thrilling in the mouthfeel, but this is interesting enough to warrant some serious drinking, I should think.

A quirky and rather left-of-center Tripel, that warrants some attention, I should think. Recommended.

~ Re-Review, 10-05-2004:
Not a whole lot to add here, except to say say that I have a hard time of thinking of this as a Tripel, really. The mouthfeel and (especially) the flavor profile seems to say "Farmhouse (Belgian/Dutch) Ale" more than anything else.

But no matter how you cut it, this is a tasty beer boy-o. Recommended.
//TB