Bruegel Amber Ale - Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

4.31/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Bruegel has a very thick, foamy, rocky, off-white head and a hazy, golden appearance, with lots of heavy lacing left behind and a good amount of streaming bubbles in the beer. The aroma is of sweet brown bread, bread crust, and toffee. Taste is of those elements, with a tea aspect and mild bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium and slick, and Bruegel finishes semi-dry, sweet, and pleasant. Overall, this is a nice, well-made beer, and I rate it as being excellent. I recommend it.

RJT

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 21:24:03 | More by RonaldTheriot

acevenom

Louisiana

4.83/5  rDev +38.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I picked this up as part of a six pack sampler of Belgian beer. Poured into a chalice. This beer had to be poured immediately lest the beer would have flowed out the bottle. The beer pours hazy amber with a large white head that dissipates quickly, but leaves a nice cap of head. This beer appears to be very carbonated. Plenty of lacing is left behind during consumption. The aroma is of sweet caramel and bread. The yeast also brings fruity esters (raisin) as well. It's such a terrific smelling pale ale. The taste follows the nose. It's bready, but also mildly sweet with caramel and raisin flavors. There's also some mild spices and a somewhat grassy flavor. The hop bitterness is low. The flavors aren't strong or cloying, but milder and very enjoyable. The body is light with high carbonation. The finish is slightly dry. The drinkability is very high. This is an excellent beer. If you find this beer, you should definitely try it.

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2012 02:25:31 | More by acevenom

ProfPayne

Indiana

3.8/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I liked this beer much more than I expected too. I think it has a tremendous amount of flavor for 5.2% ABV and it's true to its belgian heritage. Lots of caramel and raisin - balanced. I got it as part of a 6 pack Belgian beer sampler and initially rolled my eyes when I saw that one of the beers was this low in alcohol. But I'm a convert!

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2012 21:22:44 | More by ProfPayne

JuicesFlowing

Kansas

4.4/5  rDev +26.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a New Belgium globe glass. The beer is a shiny bright orange copper color with a foamy, sea-frothy white head that dissipates to a film with large bubbles. Nice sticky lacing. The beer smells amazing, and complex: bready yeasts, fruits, and caramel come to mind. I taste sweet caramel followed by a drier, biscuity bread flavor to finish. It is delicious. The mouthfeel is medium to light with a slightly dry, carbonated finish.

Overall, as I have been finding my way around ambers lately, this one was a delight. It's very Belgian in that it's complex in taste and smell. It's very good, and I could drink a lot more of these if it weren't for the price.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 02:39:19 | More by JuicesFlowing

hoppyweasel311

California

3.53/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dark golden color... good lacing... head didn't last that long. Lot of tiny bubbles rising to the top.

Aroma- graham crackers, slight bit of honey

Taste- Cloves, malt, slight sweetness

Mouthfeel- Thin mouthfeel with good amount of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2011 20:58:59 | More by hoppyweasel311

Gambrinus1184

Connecticut

3.23/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from a stubby Euro bottle into a Grimbergen goblet.

A: Bright and pale golden amber color with a thin head of frothy white foam that leaves some sudsy lace behind. Clarity is nice and streams of carbonation are present.

S: Faint and a little non-descript; some lightly toasted, metallic grains, cooked veggies and a little damp hop leaf.

T: Sweetened cereal malts up front with a lager-like corn taste and light fruitiness near mid-palate. Finish lacks the fruity, spicy, yeasty profile of a well-crafted Belgian. Hop bitterness is very low all around and this hits the mark of mass-produced Bud American Ale than anything else.

M: Thin and sharp with a slightly sticky sweet vegetable resin. Watery with a slight metallic twang.

O: Pretty bland all around and not really what I was expecting or hoping for. Sort of surprised it's a Belgian ale at all, but I digress. At 5.2% ABV, it mirrors the "Bud of Belgians" for the ale category and would likely be accepted among that demographic of drinker.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2011 22:33:10 | More by Gambrinus1184

Filosoof

Netherlands

4.22/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Tonight I had a wonderful dinner in the beautiful Pieter Brueghel restaurant in Hilvarenbeek (The Netherlands). I asked for the beer card and got in stead of that this beer in a hundred year old looking silver mug, as a surprise, to drink blindly. "This is the greatest amber of Belgium", was the only thing the waiter said.

I smellt caramel but in a lightness I don't know from ambers. The taste was even better because of the bitterness I usually miss in ambers. Touch of vanilla and liquorice. Mouthfeel good. Overall: in this occasion it felt that the waiter was right!

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2011 22:02:37 | More by Filosoof

bmwats

Louisiana

3.05/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from 33 cl bottle into a tulip.

A: Light brown. Pours about a 1 and a half finger, foamy, white head. Settles slowly. Some nice spider web lacing.

S: Pungency overpowers anything else. Raisin and yeast. Sour milk.

T: Light malty flavor, with slightly sweet notes, and a little bitterness and pine.

M: A little washed out. Plenty of carbonation dilution. Nondistinct bitter finish.

D: Light body, with a little malt, and a slightly bitter, dry finish.

Atmosphere is decent. Really nice, foamy head and plenty of spider web lacing. Nose is a little off putting. Very pungent and sour overpowering character. Flavor is light grains with a little sweet and a little bitter. Overall, this is a fair quaff.

Serving type: bottle

08-21-2011 06:29:55 | More by bmwats

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Smells strongly of honey--the expensive wildflower kind found in organic markets, that is--as well as boasting hints of apple cider, banana, and a slight spiciness that is somewhere between allspice and cloves.

On the tongue, honey is also the first flavor to come across, but that quickly evolves into a far darker flavor than would be expected, given the brew's golden tint. Think sweet molasses or light maple syrup here, or perhaps pure cane sugar with just a touch of pure vanilla. Light fruity esters hang just behind these darker sugars, with banana, apple, and pear notes dancing backstage, and far, far beneath them, lovely little hints of toasted grains. The aftertaste is dominated by honey and lightly-toasted biscuity grains, and lasts a considerable time longer than would be expected. There's virtually no hint of hops in this brew, except for a slight fuzz about the aftertaste.

Overall, this is a fine, full-bodied beer, and brought an unexpected and pleasurable dark sweetness to the table.

Serving type: bottle

08-09-2011 02:21:35 | More by jondeelee

russwbeck

Virginia

3.38/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

A: Clear yellow pour with a nicely sized white head. The lacing is great.

S: Crisp smell. Nice amount of hops with a malt backbone. Hints of candied sugar.

T: Light Belgian yeasts and candied sugar. Balanced out nicely with a crisp clean finish.

MF: Fully carbonated. No hint of alcohol. Light a bubbly.

O: Drinkable, but not great.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2011 10:18:28 | More by russwbeck

NStLincoln

Nebraska

3.55/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours amber as promised that's slightly hazy. The head grows fast and looks like root beer float foam. Tiny bit of sediment poured out at the end.

Metallic smell with some major malt action going on. Like a spiced fruit bread.

Tastes better than it smells. Loads of malt that ends super refreshing hops pop at the end. Licorice and caramel notes.

Serving type: bottle

07-13-2011 22:51:44 | More by NStLincoln

SkeeterHawk

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I picked this beer up in a variety pack that had three beers that aren't readily available here in Houston. Since I have been sipping on Real Ale's Remember the Alamo Golden Ale, I think that my palate should be good with a 5.2% Belgian Pale. Let's give it a go:

Appearance: Pours a frothy clear amber color with a huge 2" head after as mild of a pour as I could do, and there are tons of bubbles rising to maintain the head. The foam itself is of mixed size bubbles. There is a creamy layer on top, but some of the rest of the bubbles are getting pretty big as they all merge together. After drinking the beer, there is a solid amount of lace left on the glass. The whole time, there is a solid stream of bubbles rising to the top of the glass, and the head never goes away...standing at about 1/16" forever. This is a nice looking beer, no doubt.

Aroma: I initially got a little bit of Belgian yeasty esters mixed with some mild toasty notes and and even more subtle caramel presence. There is a good bit of clove coming out as the beer sits a bit. Hops are there, but are more earthy than anything, so they are accentuating the malt more than anything.

Taste: The beer follows the aroma pretty well. Mostly malty with some caramel and toasty notes from the malt and there is some reserved hops. The yeast doesn't seem to be as big in the flavor as it was in the initial parts of the aroma. The beer is medium to light bodied with somewhat high carbonation, so it is quite active as it goes across your tongue. The finish is balanced toward the sweetness with no alcohol noticeable. Only the bite from the carbonation and the attenuation is drying out the finish.

Opinion: This is a pretty good beer overall, but I am not sure how well it fits into the Belgian Pale Ale category. If it was sitting next to just about any of the Ambree styles, it would be a serious contender, so that is how I plan to score it. Overall this is a beer that I wouldn't mind coming back to if I wanted a flavorful light gravity beer, this is one of the better ones that I have had recently. This seems to be a fresh example of this beer, and I am sure that this particular one from the batch would last very long. I may go back and re-review the Piraat beer again from this pack because the last one I reviewed was a bit stale. Anyway, I would not deter anyone from trying this beer, and I hope that you get to try as fresh of as an example of it as I obviously am.

Serving type: bottle

07-04-2011 03:06:49 | More by SkeeterHawk

BricksandPorter

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

Poured refrigerator cold into glass tulip after one (maybe) too many Gulden Draak’s.

P – A pale Copper-yellow with hues of red and orange. A clear pour runs a quickly receding chalk white head that sits on top, fades to a ¼” thick cream film and doesn’t move. No chance for an overpour here. And the label is wicked cool – Belgian bagpiper.

N – Buttery malts, no hops. Hints of wheat, minerals, and a faint whisp of heather. Kind of disappointing.

T – Vanilla, butter and citrus are medium to low contingents. The most identifiable taste is the mineral-ness of the water. It almost gives a citrusy –lime feel to the whole thing. This is a very light, and delicate flavor with very little in the way of bitterness, but the aroma on the taste (and especially the burp) give a backdrop of a Saaz hopping. I hear that aging the hops is big with Belgian trappist type brews, perhaps that is where this taste is coming from. Its more along the lines of a light American lager than a Belgian pale.

M – Medium to low carbonation makes the character a bit flimsy. Uneventful weight combined with the delicate flavor makes me wonder if this is an experiment of some sort. Its not BAD, but in all honesty, its not GOOD. Kind of syrupy. Kind of clammy. Kind of mineral-ly. Probably the worst part of this brew.

D – I hate to say it, but the mouthfeel kind of ruins it. If you take a sip and enjoy the taste for a microsecond and then swallow, it will be alright but if you stop too long and enjoy, you’re in for a bad experience. I couldn’t do too many of these. Too much mineral. Almost tastes chemically.

Serving type: bottle

06-30-2011 03:43:53 | More by BricksandPorter

FosterJM

California

3.13/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

566th Review on BA
Bottle to Tulip
330 ML

Gift pack of Belgium from Bevmo

App- For a pale ale this beer is a little bit on the dark side but has a very nice one and half finger head to it. Slow to disspate. Nice retention on this beer.

Smell- A way off note of grass and bread that seem to work for me. It was a bit off but still retained a pale quality which I was kind of expecting.

Taste- This was a tad too buttery for the style and a bit too malty for me. Its pretty average.

Mouth- Light bodied and almost high carbed. Left a bit of a dough film on my tounge.

Drink- For a free gift pack for dad's day. Ill take the chance to try some new beers. Probably will give it another shot in the future but may wait awhile.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2011 02:16:07 | More by FosterJM

chinchill

South Carolina

3.13/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle from a Belgian sampler 6-pack. A towering head quickly filled my pint glass as I hastily poured beer from a bottle that overflowed upon opening. Several pours were needed to empty the bottle into my oversized glass.

A - clear light amber with a huge sudsy head with medium retention. Leaves globs of foam on the sides of the glass.

S - sweet & yeasty, with lightly toasted malts. Detectable hops. Hints of butter and bread dough.

T - Sweet; more yeasty and less hoppy than aroma suggests. A light bitterness and a bit of sour in the finish. Has Belgian yeasty complexity, but is less hoppy [for BPA; not for an amber], or more yeasty, than I would like. Relatively poor finish.

M - good, if rather high, carbonation; medium/light, near watery body; crisp, semi-dry feel.

O - about average for style

Serving type: bottle

06-11-2011 01:18:54 | More by chinchill

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.98/5  rDev +14.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Sampled on June 6, 2011. There is an amber-yellow pour with a puffy, long-lasting head, and a slight cloudiness. The aroma is malty but there is a melted butter type character that I cannot otherwise define. Maybe it was the yeast. Not much in the way of hops on the nose.The body is better than medium although it breaks down into carbonation quickly on the tongue. There is a weird bitter and buttery combination in the flavor with a slight hopped ending.

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2011 20:18:59 | More by puboflyons

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

330ml stubby bottle.

This beer pours a hazy medium golden amber hue, with two fingers of foamy, almost rocky, off-white head, which leaves a coral reef ring of lace around the glass on its way out. It smells of sweet, muted caramelized malts, a bit of breadiness, and some nice, earthy Belgian yeast. The taste is more bready in the way of malt, some fruity spiciness, that unavoidable Belgian yeastiness, very soft in this case, and earthy hops. The carbonation is moderate, the body medium-light in weight, and a little too zingy to deem outright smooth. It finishes off-dry, the yeast coming up a bit more to challenge the malt for top billing.

An generally enjoyable Belgian amber ale, the expected sweetness mostly tempered by the inherent yeast complexities.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 01:55:13 | More by biboergosum

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.13/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

11.2oz Bottle

Appearance – Clear copper colour with a large size fizzy and frothy white coloured head. There is a lot of carbonation and there is some good lacing. The head lasted for close to 6 minutes before it was gone.

Smell – Malts, an earthiness, metallic, breads/grains, wood, butterscotch

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount of carbonation. I can taste malts mixed with grains and a smokiness. There are also notes of butterscotch and a bit of a cherry sweetness. I can also pick up on a metallic and rusty flavour. It finishes with a malty burnt/roasted aftertaste.

Overall – It seems like a well crafted beer but it was a little harsh tasting. It seemed to get better as it approached room temperature but it still wasn’t all that drinkable. Another beer that falls in the category of ‘happy I tried it, but wouldn’t seek out again’.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 18:51:10 | More by spinrsx

Beer4Baltimore

Maryland

3.23/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

- from the notes and a brewery sampler pack.
A - coppery colored clear ale with plenty of bubbles.
S - just a little yeasty with some sweets.
T - slightly metallic sweet with more bitter than the nose picks up but not much.
M - a crisp light feel with a little residual coating.
D - one is fine.
It's just too metallic to be a session beer for me.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2011 21:53:40 | More by Beer4Baltimore

DaveBlack

Virginia

3.9/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Rich copper color with very little head that fades into a mottled layer on the top of the beer. What little head there is sticks to the sides of the glass fairly well, leaving some gentle lacing.

S: Not a whole lot happening on the nose, and this is, in my opinion, this beer's weakest characteristic. A weak smell which packs a heavy amount of malts and a slight banana aroma from the yeast.

T: Not as much malt on the taste profile as I would have guessed. Gentle malt sweetness rolls into big hit of the banana yeast flavor, slight bitterness on the finish from some hops and the mouth is left feeling sweet.

M: light-medium body with quite a bit of carbonation from minuscule bubbles. Smooth, coats the cheeks and roof of the mouth ever so slightly.

O: I'm pretty pleased with this beer. Though not a great beer it has a lot of the Belgian characteristics that i like in a might lighter, lower alcohol package. Very easy to drink, and won't sneak up on you the way some beers can.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 21:47:40 | More by DaveBlack

impending

California

2.7/5  rDev -22.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

33cl into a tulip. Pours a clear gorgeous pure copper color, the purest copper I've ever seen in a brew. Minor head was fleeting, low carbonation, little lacing.

Aroma of a diluted tripel, sweet, yeasty and fruity.

Taste begins well enough, flavorful, but then the taste disappears down a steep incline, as if in a hurry to leave my mouth. Tiny bit of tart rings a bell starting for the aftertaste then . . gone. Thin mouthfeel.

Perhaps this style brew needs to exist, relatively low abv and a non offensive flavor. Hot from labor on a late summer day in Belgium, a brew such as this well chilled would be very pleasing.
cheers
jd

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2011 20:27:00 | More by impending

ksmi116

Louisiana

3.88/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a goblet.

A - Pours a medium gold, with a large white head that initially started to foam over in the bottle.

S - Malt and Belgian yeast twang. Pleasant, nothing too strong

T - Much like the smell. Malt is heavy on the front, and it finishes with some floral hops. Nothing overpowering, it's a well balanced beer.

M - Good carbonation, nothing overpowering again. Coats the mouth well, but not syrupy.

O - Good session beer at 5.2%, and easy to drink. One of the best in the sampler pack from this brewery

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 05:45:04 | More by ksmi116

BelgiumBill

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Gorgeous copper/amber clear color producing a thin head which left nice lacing throughout.

Faint smell of yeast and malts. The flavors were similar but more intense. A nice feel in the mouth and at 5.2% would make for a great session beer, so high marks for drinkability. Not overly complex but enough there to keep me wanting to sip at it some more.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2011 00:35:14 | More by BelgiumBill

tugdriver7

Maryland

3.8/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I picked this one first from the sample pack simply because it was mid-day and it was the only bottle with an ABV less than 6%. Good choice. Nice (light) maple syrup color with decent carbonation (I also had the bottle foam over the top before pour). Malt and subtle floral hops in the nose. Initial taste was similar--very mild yet interesting flavors, though never any negative bitterness or off flavors. Nothing too complex but quite drinkable. I enjoyed it.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2011 19:11:20 | More by tugdriver7

xodin

Louisiana

3.85/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a pale reddish amber, filtered, with a tall, highly retentive head. Mild aroma of caramel, grains, and light fruit notes with moderate to subtle complexity. Has a pretty decent flavor, similar to the aroma, with aspects of caramel, well balanced--with grassy hops and some clear candy's poking through. Moderately full bodied, like a traditional authentic Belgian ale. Smooth through the swallow with a slightly dry finish. Living up to it's namesake as a Belgian pale ale, perhaps lacking a bit in ester complexity, but enjoyable nonetheless. Worthy of a spring or summer's eve.

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2011 04:00:10 | More by xodin