Blond - Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal

trevorjn06

Washington

4.97/5  rDev +24.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

This is one of the most carbonated beers I have ever had, when I loosened the wire cage the cork shot out of the bottle with incredible force. Pours a golden/blond color with a massive head that slowly recedes, leaving heavy lacing on the glass.

Aroma is wonderful, citrus and earth leap out of the glass. There is peach, pear, lemon, spiciness, black pepper and much more. Honestly it's a bit too complex for me to describe, all I know is it's amazing. Smells like a saison through and through.

Taste follows the nose but adds a bit of husky/grain character. There is effervescent malt, yeast, lemons, pepper, pear, hints of grass and hop bitterness. This beer is everything a saison should be. The finish is incredibly dry, slightly tart and very refreshing. The alcohol hides very well, this beer is incredibly drinkable.

Mouthfeel is light bodied and highly cardonated.

Overall I am very impressed with this beer, it seems to be vying the place of my favorite beer, currently Saison Dupont. I have a feeling that I will be drinking this often, I still need to dissect the aromas and flavors more and really get to know this brew. I had to conscientiously slow myself while drinking this beer, it's so delicious.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2011 02:24:54 | More by trevorjn06

yeahnatenelson

Illinois

4.43/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Note: Be very careful opening, HIGHLY carbonated. The cork shot off as soon as the cage was slightly loosened.

Appearance -- Pours a light amber with MASSIVE tight white head.

Smell -- Bright citrus, coriander, clove and banana, earthy/funky yeast, earthy hops. Stunning.

Taste -- Follows the nose pretty well. Splash of bright citrus (orange peel?) and spice, peppercorn, clove and faint banana, earthy/funky yeast, earthy/herbaceous hops in the finish.

Mouthfeel -- medium to light in body with high carbonation. Just right.

Drinkability -- Picked this up based on a recommendation from a friend, and it exceeded my expectations. Rock solid farmhouse ale.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2010 23:02:11 | More by yeahnatenelson

avalon07

South Carolina

4.38/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Warning: I'm sure everyone else has written this before, but it bears repeating. This is a highly carbonated beer. The cork will fly out the second the cage is removed, so be prepared.

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a dirty orange color and a thick consistency. There was a huge, long-lasting, creamy/rocky head. OK lacing.

S: A blast of saison funkiness hits you the second you open the bottle. There are also traces of yeast, fruit and malt.

T: Tasted of light fruit, malt, Belgian yeast, and mild hops. A vibrant, nicely balanced flavor.

M: An almost absurd amount of carbonation with a super dry finish. Light-bodied.

D: An excellent, complex, drinkable saison.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2010 12:15:05 | More by avalon07

danmouer

Virginia

4.35/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My serving was a 375ml champagne bottle with artificial cork and wire cage. I should have known better, but as soon as loosened the cage a slight bit, the cork blew off with an explosive pop worthy of The first toast of New Years Eve!

Thea beer started to gush, but the glass caught it all, and thank the beer gods for that. My goblet quickly swelled with a huge whipped-cream head and the room filled with the aromas of aromatic hops and malt. As I have noted often, Saison is my favorite be to brew and to drink, and with this one bottle, The Hof ten Dormaal farmhouse brewery is the current reigning star of the style for me.

As the head slowly collapsed in a trail of patchy lace, the mostly clear, orange-amber brew beckoned with a huge aroma of malt and hops. Clearly, there are also fermentation products likes spicy phenolics here, but the dominant olfactory impression is that one is about to sup on a very fine, very huge pilsner!

Slurping up a mouthful does not change that impression except to outline it with zingy peppery-spice notes, an almost oily backbone of hop bitterness, and a palate-soothing wash if warm alcohol spirits.

I fault this beer only for being too alcoholic. I prefer Saison that allows me to suck down a second one without wondering who is driving home. This is supposed to sustain farmers working in the summer fields, remember?

The gravy here is the brewery's rightful boast that they grow the barley and e hops for this beer on their farm. They also grow rapeseed for oil to run the brewery. I award them extra brownie points for that, but they had me as soon as the cork popped!

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2011 23:12:54 | More by danmouer

rtepiak

Poland

4.33/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

on tap at hopleaf in the end of august '10

this beer pours two fingers of head on a golden cloudy body. moderate cloudiness. nose is something like a blond and saison. good honey pollen with a farmhouse straw coin to the style. palate is a mild sweeter then most but still well place and rounded. straw and lemongrass bitter with a mild candy orange peel and licorice. peppery mild mineral finish that brings on hunger. great example. not unique but without flaw belgian saison. great.

Serving type: on-tap

09-29-2010 08:10:32 | More by rtepiak

larsenju

Wisconsin

4.33/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Be careful, as soon as the cage was loose it shot off like a bullet.

A-Pale yellow body, slightly cloudy, clean white head, very tall.

S-Herbal and earthy with some yeast and bread notes, a little lemon, maybe some tropical fruit as well. I also got a slight mineral quality, its very rustic.

T-Lemon peel, slight pepper, and some herbal hops. Moving back it develops a bigger bready malt profile and the spice really picks up, finishing the hops take over leaving a big earthy peppery bitter hit.

M-After the very exciting show with the cork and having the bottle almost overflow I was really surprised at how low the carb was. Slightly slick, I would like it to finish a little drier.

D-Very nice, I would even venture to say that its better than Dupont. I was really interested by how well they work in the high ABV, I did detect a little heat but it only helped to bring out the spice and citrus flavors.

Serving type: bottle

02-18-2011 19:58:09 | More by larsenju

barleywinefiend

Washington

4.33/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Poured a hazy orange color with huge carbonation leaving a nice white cap

S: :ight barnyard funk, lighter fruits

T: Tasted of lighter fruit, some funk and horseblanket, Belgian yeast, and mild floral hops. A light spice in it.

M: Light body but massive carbonation

O: An excellent saison

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2011 03:47:55 | More by barleywinefiend

NittanyBeerFan

Pennsylvania

4.3/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Picked up a 375mL bottle of this beer at Tria in Downtown Philly. Poured into a tulip glass.

The carbonation is evident from the outset, as the cork produces a huge POP despite the bartender's best effort to keep it under control. The only thing that I have qualms with here is the carbonation. It is very very primed, even straight out of the cooler where it resided for days to allow the carbonation to move into the beer itself. It is a chore to pour this beer at the outset, but a little patience yields a truly inspiring view of a Belgian saison. Dirty straw colored hazy bodied, capped by the ample coarse head described above, this is what a saison should look like. Unfortunately, the only problem is the foamy mess that it is when I pour it for the first time.

The aroma is great. There is a funkiness brought on by the bittering hops homegrown on the Dormaal farm despite the lack of brett. There are also esters of apple, pear, and banana, coupled with an almost German weizen-like clove flavor. The flavor mirrors this, but it also adds a great earthy dryness to the finish. The apple and clove also really pull through here. Despite the high ABV, there isn't a trace in the flavor.

The feel is obviously highly carbonated, but as the beer sits, it suits the style well. Still light on the palate at 8%, this is a great saison brewed in the traditional manner, with homegrown malts and hops. I am definitely hoping that I start seeing this at more bars, as it is a great representation of this style.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2010 03:26:14 | More by NittanyBeerFan

julian

Washington

4.3/5  rDev +8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First off, be VERY careful when opening this bad boy. I've read reviews where others have experienced the same thing, but my cork took off like a goddamn high school space science project as soon as the cork was slightly untwisted. Scared the bejesus out of me.

A: I'm not so sure I'd call this a "Blond" to describe it's color as it's more on the murky off color orange side. From the bottom of my glass I can very clearly see a stream of extremely fast bubbles rising to the surface. The nucleation site on the bottom of my glass clearly is accentuating this. Head is huge! It's like my beer is swimming in a bubble bath. Definitely takes a few pours, and a few pauses to get this to a drinkable level.

S: Lovely. Some pear, green apples, mild earthy hops and a crisp light peppery aroma.

T&M: Right off the bat, this thing is highly carbonated which isn't surprising considering it's attempt at taking my eyes and possibly putting me into a mild coma during it's decorkage. Nevertheless this is very crisp and clean. Taste is wonderful. Lots of awesomely traditional Saison character. A little bit of bready and peppery yeast come through, some earthy bitterness mixed with some apple and pear flavors.

O: This is a wonderful unassuming little Saison. It would be even better if they could get the carbonation under control but definitely would seek this out and drink it again. My first offering from Hof Ten Dormaal and I'm very impressed.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2011 01:29:22 | More by julian

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.28/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Picked up a 375ml bottle at Abe's Cold Beer in Bethlehem for $4. I'd call it a good deal. Sure it was overcarbonated and the cork was halfway out, but once the hazy yellow beer settled down I had a heck of a beer on my hands.

It's full of sharp Belgian spicy phenol with the same coriander, fresh pepper corns, and orange peel that I tasted in the Dormaal Amber. There's also a big bitter Euro hops character of floral, herbal, and earthy citrus note.

Overall, this reminds me a bit of Saison Dupont, and might be just as good. Find this beer, you won't regret it.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2010 23:38:37 | More by tempest

argock

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from 12.7oz green bottle into a Duvel tulip. Notched for best by but only 2013 decipherable. Purchased at Wine Warehouse (Charlottesville, VA) for $6.49.

A: Pale straw gold with huge billowing big-bubbled white head which leaves some spots of lacing.

S: Pleasant mix of lemongrass, pepper, mustiness, and pale malt sweetness.

T: Lemony with strong bready yeast overtones and the thick mustiness that finishes with a mild tartness. Pale malts keep the tartness from being puckering. A very tight package all-around.

M: Much more heft than most saisons, but not unpleasant, and despite the huge amount of pressure, the carbonation is not overwhelming.

D: A really nice saison with a good classic aroma and flavor with a bit more body than most in the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-13-2010 04:40:36 | More by argock

timtim

District of Columbia

4.25/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pop! be careful. the beers from this brewery seem to be loaded. excellent beyond that though. hazy peachy-blond color with a white head that hangs out for quite some time and leaves proper lace as the beer disappears. first thing that hits me in the nose is a cereal-like sweetness from the grain, followed by spicy/herby phenols and earthy barn. taste comes off in balance with all the spiciness and mildly-sweet maltiness playing well off of each other while being amped up by the alcohol and wrapped up with just the right amount of bitterness from the hop. medium body that translates as creamy-fluff zippy. yum. proper classic-style beer with tons of it's own personality.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2011 21:56:56 | More by timtim

LiquidAmber

Washington

4.23/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a cloudy light golden amber. Upon release of the wire bail the cork shot out with such force that it hit the roof, ricocheted off a wall, hit a lamp; I still haven't found it. Although the bottle itself was not a gusher, I had to remove a half cup of foam during the pour to get even a 1/3 of a glass of ale. Needless to say, massive head and lacing; great carbonation. Aroma of sweet malt, Belgian spicing, yeast, light orange and grass. Flavor starts with sweet, somewhat caramel malt, light fruit and Belgian spicing. Flavor changes to dry fruit and finishes dry with light fruit and a touch of wild yeast funk. Medium bodied with spicy active carbonation. A very interesting flavor progression; at first I thought "this is no saison, it's a Belgian blond", but as the finish developed I thought "oh, yeah, there it is". Nice Belgian with a pleasant combination of characters from two styles.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 03:26:42 | More by LiquidAmber

RuudJH

Netherlands

4.22/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Small bottle with a cork on it. 37.5 cl. bottle.

Colour is golden with an orange glow, hazy, with an active carbonation, creating a huge head and nice lacing.

Smell is fresh hoppy (citric and floral), clean yeast and malts.
Taste is malty, spicy and earthy. The hops are pronounced without being agressively bitter.

Sweetbitterness aftertaste, very smooth medium to full body. Some dryness too. Easy alcohol. Clean and sweet.
Not too carbonated.

All in all a great example of strong belgian ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-26-2010 18:01:19 | More by RuudJH

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.22/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Pretty good beer overall. Cork exploded out of the bottle as soon as the cage was untwisted, went straight up and straight back down and bonked the opener on his noggin. Poured with an over the top off white head that turned into suds. Color is a hazy amber with some sediment. Aroma is malt, wine, skunk, yeast. Flavor loses the skunk and is quite good while being true to style. Body is good and so is carbonation. Finish is like flavor and of medium length and lots of alcohol warming.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 02:38:46 | More by drpimento

StaEva

Pennsylvania

4.2/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Nice light straw/ autumn wheat color. Big, wild head that dissipates quickly and leaves a small white cap. Smells of grassy, floral hops, nice subtle, rustic malt body and some herbal vanilla(?) too; very appealing. Taste is just as I'd expect a Blond farmhouse to taste: mild yeast-spice, fresh and crisp malts with a floral/earthy hop finish. Very nice beer. The mouthfeel was unique on this; it felt like the carbonation expanded when the beer touched my tongue, and it filled my palate with a full foaminess; not prickly, but just foamy. It was great and very unique.

I would definitely get this again. A great beer in a style that my nature tends to lean toward.

Serving type: bottle

08-29-2011 15:13:58 | More by StaEva

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.18/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Served from tap into a tulip. Poured a hazy golden yellow with a one finger pure white head that subsided to a minimal amount slowly. There was no lacing evident throughout. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, bread, and banana. The flavor was of sweet malt, bread, banana, and wheat. It had a light feel on the palate with low carbonation. Overall this was a decent brew. You could definitely tell it was brewed in Belgium with the heavy Belgian yeast influence and fruit flavors going on here. Had a good aroma and flavor though. I really had no idea this was a Saison, thought of it as more of a Belgian Strong Pale Ale. Pretty good to say the least...

Serving type: on-tap

01-12-2011 18:04:00 | More by thagr81us

flagmantho

Washington

4.1/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from 375mL bottle into a tulip.

Appearance: lightly hazy silvery-gold hue with a moderate effervescence and a huge 3+ finger cap of frothy white foam. I like it.

Smell: rich, sweet malt aroma with a distinct graininess. Decent enough, though there was also a quick whiff of skunkiness when first uncorked.

Taste: rich malt flavor with a lighter graininess than in the aroma. Very smooth and with just a tiny hint of funkiness and sourness toward the end. Sweet, but not cloyingly so.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a huge carbonation and basically perfect creaminess. Love it, love it.

Overall: a tasty and satisfying brew. Highly reminiscent of a good triple; drinkable and with a first-rate mouthfeel.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2012 02:53:06 | More by flagmantho

number1bum

Pennsylvania

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Best by 4/2012 notched on the side. Popping the cork on this one lets out a huge pop and I immediately thought it was going to start gushing. It didn't, luckily, but it did produce a super fast rising, foamy white head that made for a very slow pour. It's a cloudy, somewhat musty looking golden color with some sediment floating around. Head keeps a full, chunky lace that takes about a year and a half to fall down. Leaves some splashes of stick on the sides.

Smell is very grassy with spicy and fruity notes as well. Sort of lemony and peachy, with black pepper and some herbal aromas. A dash of sweetness and some must as well.

Taste also has a ripe fruity flavor, peaches again come to mind, less lemon than the nose. Maybe some pear as well. Has a modest sweetness like the nose did. Very spicy and musty. Lots of herbal flavors going on here, those plus the black pepper spice makes for one spicy drink. Pretty clean in the finish with some herbal, earthy flavor left lingering.

Mouthfeel is a super crisp medium body. Very aggressive carbonation, puckers the mouth a touch. A little too aggressive imo; hurts the ability to savor the complexities this is offering.

I'm surprised that this is classified as a saison rather than a BSPA. It does say Farmhouse Ale on the lable, but it drinks a lot like a Duvel or something in that vein in my opinion, albeit in a more rustic, less refined sort of way. It alson doesn't have the funky farmhouse sort of character that most saisons do. No matter, I like it. It's flavorful, crisp and easy drinking, save for the super aggressive carbonation. Definitely worth picking up.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2011 01:35:58 | More by number1bum

BillHilly

Washington

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served at 55 degrees in a Duvel tulip.

A: Huge head, slowly collapses to 1 finger, golden & sparkling, massive yeast action off the etching.

S: Musty, banana, yeast and more yeast, old hay

T: Tastes of yeast, apple, light hops & faint pears

M: Huge carbonation, perfect viscosity for a saison.

O: A worthy buy, great saison, too bad the bottle isn't bigger! My only complaint.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2012 01:52:08 | More by BillHilly

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.05/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle from Whole Foods on P Street NW. Served in a Mikasa tulip. Pours a cloudy light copper with a thick head and some nice spotty lacing. Good cap throughout. The nose brings earth and light spice plus some backing grain and hay. Flavor adds a bit of bitterness and a nice dryness. Light pepper and just a bit of fruit. Light-medium body with high carbonation. All around a very nice saison.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2012 21:15:52 | More by Thorpe429

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Max's during Baltimore Beer Week.

The beer pours a slightly hazy honey gold color with very good head retention and considerable sticky lacing all around. The nose is attractive, showing orange citrus, honey and vanilla. The flavor profile replicates the nose, though the initial light sweet honey is dominated by the orange citrus and bitterness on the finish. As a result, the finisih is fairly dry, bitter and long in this nicely crafted beer. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a fairly long finish. Drinkability is good, though you can tell there's some alcohol. Nevertheless, this is a well made, easy to appreciate, well made beer. Good stuff.

Serving type: on-tap

10-15-2010 21:36:44 | More by johnmichaelsen

Neffbeer

Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

375ml bottle caged and corked into a tulip:

A: I am greeted by a loud pop. Very bubbly frothy white head, opaque body. Head retention was minimal, with a small amount of lacing.

S: Candy sugars, banana bubble gum, black pepper, and clove. The yeast is also very pronounced in the nose.

T: Yeast and bread followed by some fruitiness. Finishes dry and kind of metallic. There is a bitterness at the end that I can't quite put my finger on.

M: Highly carbonated and full bodied.

D: Decent saison. Solid example of the style, but not my favorite.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2010 01:17:42 | More by Neffbeer

farrago

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Huge bone white head, easily half the glass at first, sticks over the rims and looks like a puffed pastry, for its fineness good retention, if you can wait for it to dissolve there's plenty of lacing. Cloudy pumpkin yellow in color, certainly opaque with some glow, you can see a maelstrom of tiny bubble beads inside. Clove and sweet ginger in the nose, estery banana and bubblegum accents, pear, green apple, apricot fruit ripe but not juicy, nice firmness, good dose of pepperiness and grassiness, sorghum, perfectly full nostril presence, yet balanced and not heavy. Full-bodied, close to creamy in feel despite the swirling carbonation, attractive counterpoint. Pepper, clove, ginger, saltlick, the sweetness comes from the bananas, pink grapefruit to orange citrus and finally the apricot, pear, green melon, peach fruit. Mouth feel dries as it moves forward, brings the dried straw, earth to the fore, almost evoking a bitter twist. Changes a good deal as it warms, arguably better colder. For a beer of its heft goes down easily.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2010 21:17:37 | More by farrago

EPICAC

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Hof Ten Dormaal's Blond pours a cloudy golden, and is topped by a tall, white head that fades away very slowly. The aroma has a sourdough breadiness, notes of banana, and hay.

Upfront there's a clean but quite sweet maltiness that yields to a banana and citric fruitiness in the center, and moves into a yeasty finish with only hints of bitterness. This beer is light-bodied and highly carbonated.

Pretty aggressive for a saison, but quite tasty.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2010 17:36:39 | More by EPICAC