Beer Reviews by HANTRAN

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# Beer Origin Style Score Date
1 St. Bernardus Abt 12 Belgium Abbey Quadrupel 5.0

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

Big nose .... raisins, brown sugar, vanilla, oak, whisky. Gentle pour produces a 3-4 finger head that is caramel colored with solid retention and great lace over a deep chocolate brown body that is nearly opaque. Mouth has great tingle with spot on carbonation...... medium bodied and nicely slick. So much going on flavor-wise. Plum, prune, coffee, bitter chocolate, followed by hints of fruit punch, ends with a hint of sour and, although alcohol well masked for 10%, a slight warming. Finish is long and quite clean. Neither sweet nor sour, with a hint of bitterness this is just perfectly balanced! Previous high score for some excellent brews from me is around 4.3 but if this isn't a 5 I don't know what could be. Simply perfection in a glass.

Dec 9, 2022
01:26:54 AM
2 Orval Belgium Belgian Ale 4.0

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

Drinking a late 2019 in mid 2021, not sure how it had been treated. Not getting the fabulous nose oft mentioned. Smells like a mild heffe, some bubblegum, some barnyard funk. Huge, too huge really, white head makes for a challenging pour. Cloudy medium apricot-colored body under that huge head and leaves interesting lace. Mouth is slightly creamy and very full, very carbonated...over-carbonated? I would like to call this finish sour but sadly medicinal is more appropriate. Warming alcohol is a big part of the ending. Starts almost neutral then a rapid hit of bitter, then heads off into the pasture before that unpleasant ending but that goes away and leaves a fairly clean and just slightly sweet aftertaste. Definitely complex. Smooths out s it warms a bit or maybe I am just getting used to the aspirin finish.

Jun 27, 2021
07:58:37 PM
3 Saison Dupont Dry Hopping Belgium Saison 4.3

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

Grass, clove, cardomom, bubble gum in the nose. Beautiful looking beer medium gold body slightly foggy, Rocky egg white head lasts forever with amazing lace. Mouth is full, creamy, not quite chewy. Flavor is good the original is a subtle kiss this is a smack in the face. Cardamom a little clove a little bubble gum a little banana, sour finish not unlike a good hefi. Would be great with a nasty cheese and some stinky meat.

Nov 26, 2020
10:59:32 PM
4 De Proef By Udder Means Belgium Milk Stout 4.6

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

Nose of black licorice, oatmeal, tootsie tool, and grapes. Black and opaque motor oil pour leaves a head that lasts forever and is creamy and caramel/ruby tinged. Fantastic lace, I hesitate to taste cause it looks so pretty! Mouth is creamy and full with perfect carbonation. Taste is simple, which may actually be hard to do. Licorice, milkshake, nice buttering finish, dry yet creamy in the end. Dark roasted malts. Balance? Hell yes, this thing could work the high wire for Cirque! Probably the best stout I have ever had, at least for those under 10 abv.

Nov 26, 2016
12:00:00 PM
5 Bios Vlaamse Bourgogne Belgium Flanders Oude Bruin 3.8

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Nose: dark cherries, sour apple, sweet tarts. Cordovan body with a thin beige head ..good retention and some lace. Mouth is thin with a nice tingle. Alcohol totally masked, hits sour, ends sweet, some raspberry, for sure some sweet-tarts, this is odd but i get a bit of beef fat (in a good way) then ending is pretty clean, after taste is light citrus. This is really pretty damn tasty. Would not be my regular drink but its a nice change of pace.

May 9, 2020
12:06:09 PM
6 Hoegaarden Original White Ale Belgium Witbier 4.0

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

Nose is very floral, lots of esters, vanilla, clove, honey. A wonderful nose. Beautiful and fairly unique appearance; a foggy glass of pale sun; lemony yellow with a nice white head that looks like partially whipped egg yokes. Not great retention or lace but the skim coat remains and is lovely. Medium bodied in the mouth, slick and clean. Typical witbier flavor matches the nose, hits spicy of corriander and clove, goes very nicely bitter and leaves a slight clove aftertaste, really good balance of bitter and sweet. Gets a little soapy as it warms.

Jul 9, 2008
08:15:09 PM
7 Wittekerke Belgium Witbier 3.5

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Strong nose on this beer,lemon and something I can't quite identify sort of a spicy lavender, almost pez-like but in an OK sort of way. Nice long lasting head with zero lace and very white sits over a foggy foggy pale yellow body. Mouth is a bit to watery, not much there, the carbonation is nice but lacking in slipperyness which I expect in the style. Flavor is mild, too mild. I get some lemon, some applea little pepper and a slightly disagreeable chemical hit. The beer finishes very dry which is kind of interesting. Aftertaste of apple without the sweetness. Not the best.

Sep 14, 2009
12:55:14 PM
8 Duvel Belgium Belgian Strong Ale 4.4

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

Bread and honey in the nose with just a hint of vanilla and lemmon. Amazing head! Pure white frothy, huge .....whipped eggwhites is comprised of VERY large bubbles, beautiful to gaze at with the best lace I have seen. This sits on a very transparent pale gold body. Mouthfeel is medium-bodied with a nice tingle. (It might be my imagination but I have had maybe a quarter of the bottle while writing this and I think I am already a bit buzzed.)Flavor is very clean, alcohol very well masked. Its a perfectly balanced flavor that is constantly complex throughout, not a lot of stages to the taste except perhaps a distinct aftertaste that goes deliciously sour and a nice bit of bitter. The alcohol shows up in the aftertaste more as a feeling then a taste. The taste......earthy with a bit of nut flavor, sour ripe fruit somewhere between grape and fig, a complcated yeast component and a nice malt flavor that gives a solid backbone that is ever so slightly sweet and plays beautifully witht the sour. This is just art in a glass; an intense complexity of brewing perfection hidden in what appears to be at first a very simple flavor. This is incredible beer-making! I am starting to think my ratings at the high end are low, this is probably a 4.7 beer as are several others that I have ranked in the low 4's (which are tops of my list.) One other comment, for a strong ale this is incredibly lager like in its character!

Jun 13, 2007
01:13:13 AM
9 Leffe Blonde Belgium Belgian Ale 4.2

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

Pours a great big head with oversized bubbles clinging to the outside of the glass and a lovely soft merengue textured mass floating atop the head. A soft copper colored body slightly fogged with a steady procession of carbonation makes up the body. Amazing Lace! I had to let the head receed a bit to get the aroma of the beer (my fault for pouring it into a tall galss instead of a chalice)which is just coming through now. Vanilla, orange peel, black pepper, yeast,clove, cinnamon, and a hard subtle hard to identify low note, figs perhaps. Mouthfeel starts clean, tingly, and crisp but leaves a sinuous soft coating, absolutely delightful. The flavor starts out upfront and then suprises with a continued complexity. It hits the palette with sweet yeast and round ripe tropical fruit full of esthers... mango and grapefruit and bombards with a peppery zing including clove and cinnamon at almost the same time which predominates in midtaste as it leads to an end note of tart citrus. Aftertaste is vaguely melon leading to grain and now a bit of sour yeast. These components are all incredibly well balanced and present themselves not as seperate stages but as an almost contemporaneous bursting of flavors. This is jsut a very intelligently crafted ale almost impossible to improve upon.

Jul 7, 2006
01:38:07 AM
10 Abbaye des Rocs Grand Cru Belgium Belgian Strong Ale 4.0

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

Ripe dark fruit, and roasted malts in the nose and some cotton candy. A foggy brown body is topped with a moderate off white head with good retention and only a bit of lace. Mouth is medium and a bit creamy with perfect carbonation. Make no mistake, this beer is sweet! Deep ripe fig and prune notes are soon overtaken with cotton candy, amazing to think they add no sugar. 9.5 and is totally masked with only a hint of warming. Aftertaste starts sweet but ends dry and clean. Masterful Brewing!

Aug 23, 2014
12:00:00 PM
11 Saison Dupont Belgium Saison 4.2

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

Smells like your back yard if you happen to live in heaven. Musty, earthy, yeasty with floral notes and a hint of spicy pepper, a very nice nose like rolling in a wet pasture. Pours a hazy pale amber body with a rocky sightly off white head that lasts and provides great lacing. Great full mouth feel with lots of tingly tight carbonation. Complex yet smooth flavor, grassy notes, over-ripe pear, sour and yeasty with a VERY dry finish, a remarkable finish really. They say saisons are a heavily hopped style but I don't really detect that here, perhaps its my ignorance but this is not piney, not very citrusy, and not very bitter. INHO at around 8 the bottle this beer blows away 50 dollar champagnes and I am dying to find a place with this beer that sells good oysters.... I think that would be heaven indeed.

Nov 26, 2009
12:00:00 PM
12 Collective Arts Stranger Than Fiction Canada Porter 3.9

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

Dark malts and dark overripe fruit in the nose. Opaque deep deep Brown body with a decent head and lovely lace. Medium bodied with a nice carbonation level a bit slick on the tongue and somewhat drying. Unapology sweet with dark chocolate flavors espresso and cotton candy it is a fairly dry finish and the finish is lengthy.

Jan 25, 2022
12:49:48 AM
13 Unibroue La Fin du Monde Canada Abbey Tripel 4.3

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

Very nicely done! Poured in a flute, ala Hefe style, a great head with a wonderful nose of spice, biscuit, peppers, anice, an overwhelming nose, that sits ontop of a foggy deep gold body; excellent. Nice mouthfeel, medium and fizzy as should be. For its style the flavor is delicate, lots of fruit and grape notes but a solid malt body, tastes a cross between a Hefe and a Saison, just really nice, tart and earthy with deep fruit. This is an excellent beer, very well done!

Nov 26, 2008
03:50:26 AM
14 Budweiser Budvarceske (Czechvar) Czech Republic Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 3.5

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

Decent pils, good malt and biscuit in the aroma, nice golden body, OK head with minimal lace. Medium mouthfeel, full-flavored for a pils, lots of malt and bread, a wee bit of peppery spice, an OK pils.

Nov 22, 2008
11:26:22 PM
15 Pilsner Urquell Czech Republic Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 3.6

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Nose of malt and grass, noble hops. Clear medium gold body with almost nonexistent white head. Wee bit of sudsy lace. Mouth is thin with a low level of carbonation. Flavor is mild but well balanced, clean and simple, light bread, grassy hops, bit of pepper on a very clean ending. Highly sessionable.

Feb 26, 2021
10:21:07 PM
16 Ayinger Bairisch Pils Germany Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 4.6

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

Perfect pils aroma... Lemon zest, fresh cut grass, maybe a hint of almond extract. Pours a very clear pale gold with a decent head that doesn't have much staying power and leaves no lace. Great mouth.. tingly slippery and clean, slightly light body. Pills flavor doesn't get any better than this.. tart, a little bit of must, slightly astringent towards the end, perfectly bittered and perfectly balanced. And some lemon rind and fresh grass the super clean finish.

Apr 14, 2024
10:23:33 PM
17 Krombacher Pils Germany Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 3.7

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Nose is grass with just a hint of bubblegum surprisingly enough and just a hint of sourdough. Boys are fairly deep golden body with a massive head that leaves quite good lace. Mouth is slightly slick a little bit watery. Very mild flavor perhaps what a good American Mass brewed beverage should taste like but doesn't. There's some grass there's a sourish finish there's some fairly Noble hop hits but just barely there. It's extremely drinkable.

Oct 18, 2022
01:40:28 AM
18 Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel Germany Dunkel Weizen 4.4

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

Aroma is faint, very bready, a hint of baking spices. Pours a lovely deep golden brown body with a off-white foamy head that has great retention and lace. Mouth is fizzy in a pleasant way, slightly creamy and clean. My first Hefe that is Dunkel and I like it a lot! The banana, clove, bubblegum flavors are quite laid back and just excellently balanced with the sweet wheat malts. The is brewing at a top level!

Jul 17, 2022
07:52:34 PM
19 Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Germany Hefeweizen 4.0

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

Typical Hefe nose with the esters is just a little bit more on the mild side. More clove and spice than banana which I think I'm going to like. I didn't have a proper hefe glass but the poor has the head that won't expects frothy and white the lovely clear gold body tending towards the Amber side. Mouth is foamy medium to light bodied proper tingle. Flavor is following the nose. Light on the banana somewhat heavy on the clove hints of cardamom wheat malt is there but barely. Reminds me an awful lot of what I drink in the pubs in Switzerland. So I'm probably going to kick it up a little for sentimentality sake.

Aug 7, 2023
09:00:02 PM
20 Hacker-Pschorr Münchener Gold Germany Helles / Dortmunder 2.6

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 6

Sorry to ask us to put up a description so here it is. At the end of the 19th century, Munich took great pleasure in two new beaming additions to the city: the golden Angel of Peace and the first lager beer speciality, Münchner Gold. Still brewed by us to this day according to the age-old recipe, this slightly stronger beer is a mature masterpiece and delights with its enticing malty aroma and its slightly stronger original wort. Color pale, golden-yellow Flavours balanced Bitterness balanced Alcohol 5,5 % vol Calorific values 46 kcal / 100 ml Choice hops Hallertauer Tradition, Hallertauer Herkules Premium malt Marthe, Grace and Catamaran barley varieties Perfect with: Our Münchner Gold is particularly tasty as an accompaniment to traditional Bavarian snacks with bread, salad, sliced meats and typical cheese specialities such as Obatzda (Camembert spread) and blue-veined cheese. We also recommend it with fish, seafood and juicy roast chicken. Decent mouth slightly watery very short finish. I know it can't be but this tastes like corn to me. Christian Moulton and some very lightly bittering hops, it's like a better Budweiser. NOW A REVIEW Hell nose of malt and grass. We are medium gold body not much lasting to the head and no lace. Maybe it's just not my cup of pee.

Aug 13, 2023
08:03:17 PM
21 Schneider Weisse Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock Germany Eisbock 3.8

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Nose: Bubblegum, clove, banana. Appearance: dark brown body carmel color and head with short retention leaves the skim coat not much lace. Mouth: extremely fizzy of the tongue. Rather thin with a long finish. Flavor: starts pretty sweet with a little bit of bubble gum, candied fruits, toasted malts creep in, some raisin, there's some pepper in the finish the alcohol is warming and the finish is extremely long.

Aug 13, 2023
11:48:41 PM
22 Weihenstephaner Kristallweissbier Germany Krystal Weizen 3.7

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

Nose: Clove, bubble gum, grass, violets. Appearance: Indeed a crystal clear body, moderate short-lived head leaving more suds than lace. Mouth: medium body, slick, decent tingle, not coating. Flavor: Surprisingly sweet, drinking a bit on the warm side and getting maple syrup, clove aspect is there and is drying on the mouth, short finish is dry and baking spice. Bubblegum is there. Slightly more hops and less esters than a straight hefe as it should be.

Sep 3, 2023
10:38:45 PM
23 Weihenstephaner Korbinian Germany Doppelbock 4.5

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

Nose: raisins, creme brulee, clove and banana faintly present. Appearance: opaque deep brown body topped with a long-lasting beige head with nice lace. Mouth: Fizzy for sure, clean with medium body plays strongly on the back of the tongue. Flavor: Damn this is tasty! Light coffee and sweet cacao in the front. Esters and phenols are present but very minimal..... I love this balance. Creme brulee really coming out as it warms slightly. Alcohol very well masked but slightly warming in the middle of the taste. Very very long finish which starts slightly sweet but really ends clean. Could be my new favorite brew.

Sep 10, 2023
10:23:15 PM
24 Weihenstephaner Vitus Germany Weizenbock 3.4

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

Nose: pea, bubble gum and a little hint of white pepper. Pours a hazed medium gold body, minimal Head has poor retention. Nice mouth tingly clean. Flavor is all banana at first... Fouls was slight clove flavors which are understated which I appreciate. The bubble gum is definitely there. Just a hint of pepper in the end and I'm going white pepper here. Like a mild hefe which I suppose is appropriate.

Nov 5, 2023
08:20:08 PM
25 Ayinger Jahrhundert Germany Helles / Dortmunder 4.2

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

Drank this for the first time last night followed by several other brews at an Oktoberfest dinner I threw, (yes this is not an Oktoberfest brew) so didn't have the chance to really study and rate it. However I can say it is under rated here IMHO. Will not some impressions here and come back for re-rate in the future when I can spend some serious time with this wonderful lager. Mostly malt in the nose with a hint of hops, beautiful pale golden body with tight white head. Soft medium mouth with perfect carbonation. I love the taste of this one, lost of malt; bread and biscuit with a fair amount of grass and hints of lemon, very nice balanced with he hops, dry finish, extremely drinkable!

Oct 11, 2010
12:00:00 PM