Southampton Abbey Single

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

Bottled December 2008; Sampled March 2009
This seems to be pretty well carbonated as a reasonable pour into my large Tripel Karmeliet glass still produces four-fingers of pale, just off-white colored head that leaves quite a bit of lacing on the sides of my glass as it slowly recedes. The beer is a hazy, orangish straw color that shows more of the same, just brighter when held up to the light. The aroma is nice and rustic; a mix of bread like yeast notes, a touch of lemon zest, fresh grain aromatics, young ginger notes, some light herbal hops (more like a mix of wild flower notes with some herbal weed’ish notes). I really like the whole grain note that this beer has, it mixes with the yeast driven notes quite well and makes the aroma seem nourishing some how.

Light bodied and effervescent as it rolls across the tongue, this beer is quite dry and has a solid lightly herbal hop note as well as a touch of lemon zest character. The solid grain character is also in the flavor with a grassy grain character, a hearty cracker note and yeasty character that accentuates a fresh bread like character. This has a fair amount of hop character to it, which is definitely nice in a lighter beer like this; it has a solid bitterness that provides a crisp bite in the finish along with a peppery carbonic bite. While quite dry tasting overall the citrus hop notes accentuate a perceived sweetness in the middle and end of a sip. This seems to accentuate a note that reminds me a bit of pickled ginger, there is also an earthy white pepper note, some savory herbal notes (not quite sage or savory, but something). I really like how light bodied this is, it is not watery though as it does have some texture to it; this is a beer meant to quaff a couple liters of over a hot, sweltering summer afternoon.

Allowing the beer to warm up from its serving temperature of 50ºF / 10ºC really boost the complexity and flavor volume; this is quite the hearty beer for being so low in alcohol. I just love beers like this. Light, low alcohol, and Belgian inspired, these get me every time. This particular beer has a nice lush body to it compared to some of the others in a similar vein. This is a beer I would be happy to have lots and lots of on hand, it is just a really good libation to have a full glass of. Too soon my 22oz bottle of this beer is long gone, if I had another couple of these I would easily continue to consume these for the rest of the evening.

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

On draught in New York City. A golden ale with a thin white head. The aroma was complex and strong with notes of citrus hops and old malts. The flavour was mild with hints of spicyness and was very refreshing.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Poured a hazy golden color with a small, white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of barnyard, hay, citrus and spices. Taste of chardonnay grapes, tart, green apples, more citrus, and dry yeast.