Amber - Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal

metter98

New York

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

A: There was so much carbonation in the bottle that the cork exploded out as soon as the wire cage was twisted off. The beer is hazy brownish amber in color and poured into a snifter glass with a three finger high foamy off white head that has good retention properties. It took a long amount of waiting and several pours to finally get all of the contents out of the bottle.
S: The nose has lots of yeasty aromas and is quite spicy. There are also some hints of fruits.
T: The overall taste is filled with flavors of grainy malts and spicy hops.
M: It feels medium-bodied and dry on the palate with a very high amount of carbonation.
D: Drinking this beer takes a lot of patience because you can't pour out everything out all at once due to the overcarbonation.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2011 16:47:22 | More by metter98

sitarist

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours an opaque, tarnished copper color. There is three fingers of foamy off white head taking its time receding. The head falls to a thick foamy top-coating that leaves patches of lacing.

I smell over ripe apples, musty basement, lemon, caramel, and wet dog. Its not as spicy or phenolic as I expected, but it is funky.

I taste ripe apples, pepper, coriander, and lime. The flavors are a lot more spicy than the nose suggested. It has a weird / funky aftertaste.

Medium body with quite a bit of carbonation that scrubs across my tongue. It has a long finish.

I find it easy to drink despite all of its weirdness. I could go for another.

Serving type: bottle

01-13-2011 02:43:10 | More by sitarist

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #44 (Sep 2010):

Heavy sea-foam head, turbid amber color. Spicy nose, a bit creamy with vague caramel or confection, lemon-ish herbal and obvious yeast flavors. Big burst of crispness from a lighter, dryer body. Bready, buttery, earthy. Dried fruit of apple, pineapple and kiwi. Yeasty with dried grain throughout; phenols are present, but are on the light side. Wet and alcoholic as the warmth creeps farther down the throat. An interesting beer to try, no doubt, but it just seems scattered and almost a chore to drink.

Serving type: bottle

01-11-2011 18:17:09 | More by BeerAdvocate

smakawhat

Maryland

3.08/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

From on tap in to a tulip glass

Consists of a cream colored appearance of very tight bubbles of barely a finger head. The rest of the beer is of a perfect caramel color opaque, that leaves a decent lacing upon quaffing

Nose. what nose? There's a nose on this beer? I smell barely ANYTHING, some faint yeast that's about it.

Taste however gets a considerably better after the closed bouquet. A very light aromatic body with faint tastes of honey, but still rather empty. Pleasurable and above average but lacking in a bold profile or of something distinct.

Afterfinish is incredibly sharp guessing from the so called barley/hop content. It is not bitter but is "sharp" it jumps out in the finish which is kind of jarring. There is also a slight club soda finish, and a feeling of a slight chewy wheat ale consistency also. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

Drinkabiliy I would say is just about down the middle, I could have another, but I am not aching for one. Lord knows I've hard worse Saisons. However, as you continue drinking it the sharpness is less noticeable making it more enjoyable.

Serving type: on-tap

12-04-2010 03:06:30 | More by smakawhat

SummitVA

Maryland

2.65/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A - The half bottle that wound up on my kitchen counter after the cork popped from merely removing the cage was a nice ruby auburn; the half bottle that wound up in my glass was a brilliant muddy brown with about 4" of head. Overcarbed to say the least.

S - Nice phenolic spiciness. Sweet malt and dark fruits. Some mustiness.

T - Saison yeast characteristics foremost with huge clove flavor. Grainy sweetness finishing with a metallic flavor that I can only attribute to the disturbed yeast pulled up from the initial explosive opening. A bit of the mustiness in the nose is here. Much spicier than I had anticipated.

M - Medium. A decent "amber" saison.

D - Just not that pleasant in its current state, which I admit is entirely a function of the pour. Fortunately there isn't that much to drink.

Overall - Would love to try a bottle with carb levels in line, but as this brewery has nearly killed me and a friend (who almost put an eye out opening a blond), I think I'm done.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2010 04:38:59 | More by SummitVA

rtepiak

Poland

4.18/5  rDev +13%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

the darker of the two in the series. Really into the self sustaining brewery and this one has a good sense of character. Just as much a ridiculously voluminous head as the blonde. I warn. Both bottles i had as soon as the cage was removed the cork went. You have about a half a second to start pouring. Pour is a lot of aggressive head which is a precursor to the body. One was a head and nothing but in a pint glass and the rest enjoyed in a tulip. The other had a nice head of three finger that grew as the intense carbonation rose. But it subsides. And at first that beer abv is separated in feel when the carbonation is that potent. Color of cloudy amber. Nose of orange and licorice. Palate is malty but of toasted and burnt toffee. Some clove, licorice and the and interesting bitter but sweet grassy of a candied bitter orange peel. Meaty mineral finish. Not better but better as it milds in carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

10-20-2010 00:57:55 | More by rtepiak

DeanMoriarty

California

4.33/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Purchased a corked 37.5cl bottle from De Bierkoning and poured it into a tulip glass (it's the best I could do with what was provided for glassware at our apartment for the week).

A: Pours an unfiltered murky brownish/golden hue with a thick head that lasts the entire beer with just minor lacing in its tracks.

S: Sour, fermented, sweet and bready with a noticeable hop presence; also somewhat malty and woody with a liquor finish - absolutely phenomenal.

T: This stuff blew me away, the flavor is unlike any i've tasted - a cross between a tripel and an aged bruin. Sour and malty, yet sweet and bready with a distinct aged flavor (woody and spicy), the hop is there too (maybe Saaz and Amarillo ???).

M: Silky and light/medium bodied, well carbonated but with small bubbles that roll across the palate perfectly.

D: Bought one just to try it out and wish I had another. Perfectly balanced for easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2010 18:55:07 | More by DeanMoriarty

avalon07

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a brown-orange color and a thick, cloudy consistency. There was a huge, long-lasting, foamy/rocky head. Below average lacing.

S: A sweet aroma of hops, fruit, malt, and sugar.

T: Tasted of sugar, malt and light fruit up front, with a slightly hoppy finish. Generally, a well-balanced flavor.

M: Like Hof Ten Dormaal's Blond, this beer has an absurd amount of carbonation with a fairly dry finish. Medium-bodied.

D: While I didn't like it quite as much as the Blond, the Amber is a highly drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2010 12:18:32 | More by avalon07

augustgarage

California

4.05/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Best before 2012. Poured from a 375mL caged-and-corked bottle into my Troubadour tulip.

Utilize caution, as the cork emerges with dramatic violence!

Cloudy golden brown/rust body with burnt orange and amber highlights. A voluminous angry outburst of papaya whip foam fills the glass, receding slowly to a lasting half-finger, leaving behind messy lacing and an adherent cakey collar in its wake. Glossy clear legs.

Candy sugar, spicy (noble?) hops, fermenting oranges, earth and vague spice in the nose.

Muscular yeast and barley on the palate. Faint caramel-like flavors emerge but are tamed by the phenols and some "barnyard" elements as well (though this funk remains earthy rather than sweaty or tart). Moderately bitter, grassy, and with a bright dry finish. Great evocation of terroir (as to be expected when the ingredients were all sourced from the farm it was produced by).

Effervescent, well carbonated, medium-bodied, and slightly slick.

A touch rustic, but still reeking of small-batch, high-craft authenticity. Definitely seek this out if you are a fan of traditional farmhouse ale.

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2010 22:25:30 | More by augustgarage

yeahnatenelson

Illinois

3.83/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

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

Appearance -- Pours a rich amber/orange with MASSIVE tight white head.

Smell -- Bright citrus, coriander, dark fruit, earthy/funky yeast, earthy hops, some alcohol.

Taste -- Follows the nose pretty well. Splash of bright citrus (orange peel?) and spice, peppercorn, clove and faint banana, earthy/funky yeast, dark fruits, caramel and cane juice malt sweetness, earthy/herbaceous hops in the finish. Mild alcohol presence.

Mouthfeel -- medium to light in body with high carbonation. Mild alcohol warmth.

Drinkability -- The commonality between this and the Blond is pretty significant, although this has more sweet and caramelized malts and more alcohol presence. I preferred the Blond, but this is still exceptional.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2010 00:46:17 | More by yeahnatenelson

tempest

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +17%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Picked up a 375ml bottle at Abe's Cold Beer for $4. The cork popped right off after I uncaged it and it took a good 5 minutes for the head to die down, leaving a hazy, dark amber body.

Like the Blond, this beer is dominated by a big spicy Belgian yeast character. It's full of cracked pepper, coriander, and clove with a mild floral undertone. There's a bitter, herbal hop finish and then a hint of bready malt.

This beer isn't super smooth like so many great Belgians, instead it has a rich bitter feel like a great IPA. I suppose I'd describe it as a dark Saison Dupont. Find this beer, it's delicious.

Serving type: bottle

06-25-2010 23:28:56 | More by tempest