Viven Ale - Brouwerij Van Viven

richmof

Belgium

3.75/5  rDev +10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy amber/copper colour with a small but creamy head and limited lacing.

Fruity on the nose (orange and some tropics), malty biscuit and a bit of farmyard funk.

This is a spicy, hoppy ale. There is some fruit (ruby grapefruit) a bit of malt and a bit of farmyard yeast but the finish is underwhelming.

Another good beer from Viven. Less going on than the imperial IPA but much, much more drinkable (the IPA is heavy and -while very good flavours - one is enough). Reminds me of a Zinnebir. A nice drinkable pale/amber ale.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 14:29:22 | More by richmof

Sunnanek

Sweden

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%

05-18-2013 18:11:12 | More by Sunnanek

bark

Sweden

3.01/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3

The colour is deep gold (10 EBC), the liquid is clear. There is quite a lot of yeast in the bottle, but it stays there. The three finger head is yellowish and airy, it sinks slowly leaving some lacing.

The smell is quite light. Smooth sweet notes, some caramel and a touch of earth. Tobacco? Mild bitter notes in the background. The expected yeasty/spicy notes are mild.

The taste is first bitter and fresh, then semi-sweet malts and some phenolic yeast kicks in. The flavours are mild and very balanced. Light to medium body. The aftertaste brings hints of fresh cheese, some tart wheat-notes and growing alcohol. The finish got quite a lot of alcohol and some fresh herbs.

The carbonation is medium strong. The large bubbles are short-lived. The liquid is a bit dry.

I found this beer balanced and smooth, but also a bit boring.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2013 20:52:26 | More by bark

His_Royal_Hoppiness

United Kingdom (England)

4.25/5  rDev +24.6%

11-26-2012 18:31:40 | More by His_Royal_Hoppiness

benfons

Belgium

3.6/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: hazy copper colour; nice head that disappears fast.

S: pineapple, orange, some clove and malts and a hint of hops

T: a lot of bitterness coming form hops and malts, still some orange; Not as well balanced as their imperial

M: dry and creamy, decent carbonation

O: not bad but i prefer their imperial

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2012 20:38:43 | More by benfons

samEBC

Belgium

3.75/5  rDev +10%

05-06-2012 11:30:34 | More by samEBC

patra7

Greece

2.5/5  rDev -26.7%

02-28-2012 21:48:27 | More by patra7

Arborescence

Finland

2.7/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance: Golden, hazy, visible bits of sediment from bottle conditioning.

Aroma: Light, tiny bit of fresh hops.

Taste: Much stronger flavour than you’d expect from the aroma. Good combination of malt and hops, although there’s something peculiar about the hoppy characteristics in what seems to be a fairly typical Belgian ale with a malty background. Some bitterness in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Nothing peculiar, quite light.

Overall: I was pleasantly surprised by the stronger than expected taste, the lingering aftertaste makes this interesting as well. However, it’s really a pretty standard Belgian ale, and I’ve certainly had much better ones. This appears to be a fairly new brewery, only established in 1999 — I’ve not come across it before. They do a smoked porter which might be interesting, if I could find it somewhere… I found this bottle from the Finnish alcohol monopoly, Alko. I don’t think that it’s a part of their standard selection, but they had some sort of an Octoberfest campaign and I belive this beer was a part of that, no they’re already removing it from their selection.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2012 13:59:06 | More by Arborescence

dansmcd

Australia

4.03/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Bubbly orange body beneath a creamy foamy white head with excellent retention. Chunky rings of lacing.

S - Yeast, orange, vanilla and dough. Nice combination.

T - Similar to the nose, yeast and orange are forward, with some zest and bread backing. Really nice but lacking some complexity.

M - Light to medium bodied with generous carbonation. Dry and smooth.

O - A really tasty little Belgian style session beer. Just 5% abv.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2012 12:31:00 | More by dansmcd

dasenebler

Maine

3.25/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

33cl, best before 2/11/12, purchased in Belgium.

Pours a clear, coppery amber with a nice and thick white head. Lacing is good, as is retention.

The aroma has some fruity notes of orange, and a woodsy, herbal character.

The flavor is boring. Bitter, with a slightly spicy character. Pretty malty for a Belgian pale ale, but there's not really a whole lot to this stuff. Reminds me of English Bitter, actually. Finishes very dry. The mouthfeel is smooth and well-carbonated.

Underwhelming. Go for Viven's IPA.

Serving type: bottle

07-06-2011 15:24:00 | More by dasenebler