Witches' Brew - Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.79/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Bottle: Poured a hazy bright golden color ale with a super large foamy head with good retention and some great lacing. Aroma of fruity ester with peppery yeast and sweet Belgian style malt notes are quite nice. Taste is a mix between some fruity ester and peppery yeast with some rustic Belgian malt notes with light residual candi sugar notes. Body is fuller then average with good carbonation and no apparent alcohol. Well brewed and enjoyable without re-writing the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 18:02:28 | More by Phyl21ca

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

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

A - Pours a clear golden colour, two thumbs of big bubbled head with solid retention and some chunky sporadic lacing.

S - Sweet cloves and yeast esthers, hints of mandarin amidst bready malt notes, and a touch of citrus hops on the finish.

T - Fruity cloves and sweet yeast notes dominate, some sour caramel and sourdough bread come through alongside a hint of ABV sweetness and a touch of citrus hop bitterness that lingers on the finish.

M - Lighter bodied ale that fills the mouth, goes down a tad prickly, but finishes nice and wet.

O - Insanely drinkable 9+% tripel that offers up a solid flavour profile and is a nicely balanced offering. I think I might grab myself a few extra bottles before they run out because I really enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2013 00:35:15 | More by andrenaline

TerryW

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Looks great, after that it's rather run-of-the-mill.

Monster big fluffy head that lives forever. Big and chunky pretty much all the way down. Clear golden orange colour.

Nose is fairly sweet and fruity. Has a touch of the Belgian about it. Also sweet and malty to taste. Noticeable alcohol and yeast, a touch of spice.

Serving type: bottle

12-24-2012 03:13:51 | More by TerryW

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle from the LCBO, 750ml into a tulip. Best before August 13/14.

Clear golden orange, gargantuan white head that sticks around for days. Obligatory lacing and chunks of retention. Nose has some light hopping, a hit her ak with some faint citrus. And a good bit of spice from the yeast. Taste has some hops upfront, moderately sweet malt and finishes with some light fleshed fruits and bitterness. Some sweet gum/chewy candy as well. Alcohol is moderate to minimal, medium full feel and despite the massive apparent carbonation is quite low on the palate. A nice Belgian pale/tripel.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 00:35:29 | More by liamt07

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.81/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Though I'd love nothing more than to make some kind of spooky reference, Witches Brew legitimately looks like it belongs around the neck of an Olympian. Polished and golden, the beer sports perfect clarity and athletic bubbles. Tripels characteristically look light compared to the huge strain put on them by a heavily weighted head, but this offering is modestly carbonated.

The aroma has the prescribed amounts of sweet cereal grain, fruity esters, and floral phenols, but while it meets quotas, it far from exceeds them. Tripels are notoriously perfumed, so while this has a relatively heightened level of aromatics, it's actually fairly underwhelming given the style. That said there is a faint note of vanilla cupcake that persuaded me to up the score.

The mouthfeel showcases a much more pronounced mineral presence than is typical for tripels (or Belgian ales on the whole for that matter). It's like calcium or magnesium or who knows what mineral gives an almost 'salty' and definitively chlorine-like tinge. It is awfully bare too and drinks with a coarse graininess and occasional hiccups of unchecked alcohol. Should be less 'raw' and offer more complexity.

Despite cereal notes of wheat and oat, the flavour procures a subtle banana cream-like taste and vague traces of vanilla. There is a slight grassiness and iron salts (or whatever mineral) that really impress on the palate as well. Also, an old book-like mustiness. This has nowhere near the ageworthy structure of the highest-rated brands nor does it pack the high-flying dynamics, but it's certainly very palatable.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge has a long history of underwhelming me and, indeed, Witches Brew is far from bewitching (sorry, I couldn't resist the pun). While it makes a perfectly serviceable strong golden ale, it doesn't touch Belgium's best tripels. The fact that similar, better beers can be more easily found at similar price points makes this hard to recommend, though fans of the style should be able to justify the pickup.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 20:02:05 | More by biegaman

Digimaika2

Ontario (Canada)

3.68/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(4.0) A: Hazy golden colour with a tall and large-bubbled foam head. Very good retention and outstanding lacing down the glass as this one really clings.

(4.0) S: Wheat grass, banana, apricot, pineapple, cloves, bubblegum, and cotton candy. Solid mix of aromas with a noticeable sugary candy aroma that is pleasing to the nose. Have to dig a little bit to find some of the aromas but they are inviting when found.

(3.5) T: Similar to aroma with quite a dominant sweet taste and less of a focus on the bitter and dry qualities. Very ripe banana and sugary bubblegum are examples of the sweet with the grasses presenting some contrasting bittering qualities. Perhaps a little too focused and not all that dynamic in the taste profile, nonetheless still very tasty.

(4.0) M: Medium bodied with a moderate-high carbonation. Solid oily texture with a bit of grainy chewiness.

(3.5) D: Glad I had an opportunity to try this. Not as varied in the taste profile as I would prefer but still a solid Tripel and one that I would recommend trying.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2012 05:34:15 | More by Digimaika2

peensteen

Ontario (Canada)

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

Golden honey colour, 3 fingers worth of big fluffy white head, nice lace all the way down. Smell is fairly fruity, spicy belgian yeast, grassy hops, green apple and some bubble gum with a faint bit of alcohol. Taste is of green apple, fruity and a bit of spice as well, a little bit of spice, lightly sweet, medium hop bitterness, drying in the finish. Fairly high dry carbonation, medium body, good feel. Quite the nice Tripel, not terribly complex but still rather enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 18:02:01 | More by peensteen

jrenihan

Ontario (Canada)

3.93/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

BB August 13, 2014.

Beer is golden coloured with a very large white head. Very good retention, head stays forever. Lots of lace.

Smell is a bit faint. Belgian yeast, a bit of spice. Some dry fruit scents, apple and pear.

Taste contains Belgian yeast, white pepper, banana, bready malt and peach. Moderately sweet, with alcohol noticeable but not overly so. A bit creamy, with a honey flavour. Good, but nothing exciting or particularly noteworthy.

Full bodied, highly carbonated, very active in the mouth.

Overall, a very solid tripel. Nice beer, but certainly not one of the greats.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 01:39:08 | More by jrenihan

JayQue

Virginia

3.9/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pretty good Tripel. Served in a Chimay goblet from a corked and caged bottle. Pours a hazy apricot color with a medium size delicately bubbly white head. Head retention is pretty good for this style.

Smell is fairly mild until the beer warms. Since I split the bottle, and it was good, I drank most of it before it warmed up. Cold...a little light fruit (especially pears) and some alcohol. As it warmed there was a yeast aroma as well.

Taste is good warm or cold. Mostly light fruit...some alcohol and a good yeast presence as it warms. Not a great Tripel but a pretty good.

Mouthfeel is rich and the alcohol presence is not overwhelming.

In all...a solid (but not great) Tripel.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2012 04:25:30 | More by JayQue

Murrhey

Montana

3.3/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a large 750ml bottle into a wine glass in high elevation Libby, Mont. Reviewed live.

A- Two finger cloudy white head that recedes rather quickly to a 1.5 inch head with peaks and nice lacing. Relatively large bubbles, and torrents of carbonation. Cloudy straw color with nice density. Appealing.

S- Bubblegum and banana, cream, yeast and light fruits. Alcohol is present on the very edge of the aroma but is not heavy.

T- The alcohol comes into much heavier play here. The light fruits and bitter backbone of yeast are here in full force as well. Pineapple? Sweet but finishes bitter.

M- Medium viscosity, wet and full at first, dry finish. Semi-vinous feel.

O- I had higher hopes, although admittedly I am not a huge fan of Tripels.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2012 00:57:24 | More by Murrhey

smakawhat

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from the bottle into a tulip glass.

A real nice peach orange color, cloudy a bit with a real nice off white banana like yellow colored head. Makes a nice somewhat creamy/soapy presentation, but also gives real nice carbonation rising too.

Wonderful nose on this tripel. Clove spice and sweet nutmeg, light taffy sugars, a real nice brown toasty dry spice and sweetness. Just classic tripel smelling really digging this.

Taste has a real great feel first and foremost. Creamy and just a hint of wet but gives big depth to the palate. Rich malt and slight booze, but a real mix of clove and hop bitter. Big warming in the pit of the stomach finish with no burn. Mild sugar sticky sweetness combining with a creamy milk also. Crisply carbonated just a hair to make it playful, with honey coating lips on each sip.

A delicious tripel, going to be buying more of this in the future for sure.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 02:39:21 | More by smakawhat

superspak

Michigan

4.23/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle into chalice, 26HH bottle code(?). Pours lightly hazy golden orange color with a good 2 finger foamy white head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing clings to the glass, with a small amount of carbonation streaming up. Aromas of apple, pear, apple skin, caramel, grape, candi sugar, raisin, clove, herbal, earth, and yeast spiciness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity. Taste of apple, pear, raisin, grape, clove, candi sugar, caramel, herbal, earth, and yeast spiciness. Lingering notes of light fruits, caramel, candi sugar, clove, earth, and yeast spices on the finish for a bit. Awesome balance of malty flavors with great complexity; no cloying sweetness at all. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a fairly creamy and slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is extremely well hidden with hardly any warming noticed after the finish. Very smooth to sip on. Overall this is a highly excellent tripel! Great flavor balance and complexity; and very smooth to sip on. Really enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2012 05:31:34 | More by superspak

rapidsequence

Virginia

4.03/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml bottle. I think Erin bought it at World Market- somewhere. No date.

Appearance: Its a quite lovely, perfectly clear golden color with a big, fluffy white head. Excellent hea retention and lots of sticky lacing.

Smell: Candy sweet with pear, apple, and peach notes. Spicy yeast-- clove and white pepper dominate. A little doughy. Some herbal, grassy hops too.

Taste: As the smell advertised, very yeasty, spicy and sweet/fruity. The prominent sweetness has some balance thanks to a bit of hot/bitter alcohol and a nice herbal/bitter hoppiness that was a little unexpected.

Mouthfeel: Soft and creamy, with a stickiness through the middle. It doesn't dry out quite enough, but thats minor.

Overall: A pretty solid tripel. There are better ones for the price, but this is worth drinking.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2012 01:34:07 | More by rapidsequence

stakem

Pennsylvania

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

Big thanks to Eric for gifting me with a bottle of this quite some time ago. 750 corked and caged bottle poured into a couple of tulips. The brew appears a clear copper with 3 fingers of yellowish head. The composition is big and flufy with a constant stream of supporting bubbles. A wall of lace coats the glassware.

The smell is lightly earthy but with a suppoerting candy sweetness instead of malt. A solid spicy yeast inclusion brings out a scent of clove, coriander and it is mildly vinous with a hint of cork/old musty wood.

The taste is sweet like candy sugar just like the aroma indicates. However, the flavor blends from candy sweetness into a caramel/toasty maltiness as well. Spices from the yeast keep things lively in the mouth with hints of clove, earth qualities and pear skins.

This is a medium bodied brew that is big and bubbly with the carbonation but fitting for the styke. It is quite a warming brew that hides the alcohol well initially bu really gets warming through the experience. All around a solid brew that I enjoyed with some unique character.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2012 14:13:22 | More by stakem

BellsFan

Michigan

4.48/5  rDev +16.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured it from a 750 mL wine bottle into a Samuel Adams pint glass. EXTREME HEAD! It took a few pours to top up the glass. You know the drill: pour, foam, wait, repeat. But the wait was worth it!

A: nearly off white leaning to all white head, with a ton of foam
S: Smelled of sweet-bread with honey
T: reminds me of mead but better; its sweet with an alcohol finish
M: thin and crisp
O: I'd buy it again

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 00:38:36 | More by BellsFan

LiquidAmber

Washington

3.63/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Review from 3/2011 notes. Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a murky medium orange amber with a huge white head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of sweet malt and light fruit, with Belgian spicing. Sweet fruit and light malt start, with an almost metallic spicing. Finishes sweet with hints of fruit, caramel and honey. The somewhat astringent middle does not meld well with the other flavors. A well made ale with some nice flavor, but marred by the spicing.

Serving type: bottle

03-28-2012 02:57:11 | More by LiquidAmber

ryanonline

Florida

4.33/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer pours very clear, bright, orangey, yellow with a lot of foamy head and some serious lacing.

Smells super sweet and a wee bit spicy. A touch of cinnamon and clove offset a slight hippy bitterness.

Taste is very similar but the sweetness is much more dominant.

Mouthfeel is clean and slightly prickly while very creamy and medium bodied.

Super drinkable. Almost dangerously so.

Overall a wonderful beer that goes down smooth and gives ya quite a kick.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2012 03:29:03 | More by ryanonline

RTJakarta

Kentucky

3.73/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours into a snifter.

A: Pours a very beautiful orange-y gold, with a nice fluffy head that fades away pretty quickly. Leaves behind some decent lacing as your drink. Very nice.

S: Not what I expected at all. To me, smells like green apple, coriander, other spices. Good yeast aroma. Very sweet.

T: Much like the aroma. Fruity, citrusy, and spicy. Definitely a good deal of what tastes like Belgian candi sugar. Overall, very bold spiciness, but smooth citrus notes as well. Tasty tasty tasty.

M: Pretty full body, good carbonation. Feels as big as this beer is.

O: Overall, pretty good. The beer kinda heats up the more you drink it, but the flavor is still very nice. Considering I got a bomber for $6.99, I am very satisfied. Worth checking out if you can and you like the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2012 03:10:36 | More by RTJakarta

jktedder12

North Carolina

3.58/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750ml bottle into a Chimay tulip glass. Burnt orange in color with a very foamy head, which dissipated fairly quickly, but still leaving a thin covering throughout the session. A fair amount of lacing remained as well. Smell of spices, cloves, nutmeg, with a slight hint of brandy. Strong taste of spices with some fruit. Alcohol also noticeable with a bitter aftertaste. Nice bold mouth feel, as a strong ale should. Overall, very enjoyable ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2012 00:12:37 | More by jktedder12

billybrew21

Connecticut

3.35/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I've had this lying around since around Halloween, but decided to pop the cork and give it a try tonight.

750 ml bottle with no freshness date poured into a Duvel tulip.

This one pours a slightly hazy orange-honey color with a massive almost off-white head comprised of soap like bubbles, some of which shine incandescent in the light. The head is not as thick or condensed as I expected, and dissipates rather quickly compared to other tripels I've had. Leaves nice lacing though and remains around a half centimeter throughout the duration of drinking. Funky Belgian yeast dominates the smell, accompanied by an herbal characteristic (coriander, clove?). I also get some banana type fruit scent, as well as alcohol esters. Not getting much hop scent, which is strange considering how it's advertised as being on the hoppy end for tripels. The taste starts very sweet with some fruit and spice. I get that funky yeast right around the middle, but it doesn't linger as the alcohol comes through a bit strongly on the finish. Some green apple rind flavor at the end as well. There's a malt backbone definitely present, but not very noticeable. The tartness of the beer tingles the tongue at first and the moderate carbonation creates a pleasant mouthfeel. Light bodied and dry, even with the ABV, this is a significantly drinkable beer. Decent qualities for the style, I neither love nor hate the taste -- just not sure how I feel about it. I'm glad I found this and was able to try it. I might come back to it this fall.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2012 05:44:42 | More by billybrew21

Vixie

Illinois

3.48/5  rDev -9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a bit brighter orange than I expect from this style, but doesn't mean it's not a nice looking beer. Forms a huge off white head, and plenty of bubbling.

Fairly intense aroma. Very fruity, mainly citrus. I can also smell the yeast and malt, and a bit of pine, and floral notes.

Comes across as very spicy. There is fruit there, then a dose of peppery spice hits. Not detecting a whole lot else here.

A bit on the thin side for the style.

Overall just an ok beer. Lacks the complexity I expect from this style. It does go down nice and easy, but I feel there should be more depth of flavor. Worth a try, but there are better tripels out there.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2012 02:50:46 | More by Vixie

hopfacebrew

Colorado

3.5/5  rDev -9.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Received this is a gift frombrandon722, thanks!

Poured from bottle to globe glass.

A - The beer pours a slightly cloudy yellow gold color with 1.5 fingers of a cream colored head. Decent retention with minimal lacing.

S - A fair aroma of clove, coriander, Belgian yeast and malty sweetness to pair the minimal floral hop character.

T - The beer starts off extremely sweet. It develops a little throughout but remains sweet. The middle brings a mild hop bitterness along with the yeast, clove, and coriander flavors on the nose. Ends with a bubble gum flavor.

M - Medium bodied, little carbonation. A little oily.

D - Hides the alcohol well, but not all-together that drinkable.

Overall, glad to have tried this beer as I am not sure I would have picked it out.

Note: This review was a re-post from my former account, jmkratt, which was hacked and I lost all my reviews...sorry for the redundancy.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 03-01-2011 19:03:23

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 14:23:56 | More by hopfacebrew

zachary80

Indiana

3.28/5  rDev -15%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Cork and caged, no visible date information

Thick white head, golden orange hue, thick lacing

Aroma is very citrusy, tart, peppery on the finish. Smells like a cross between a berliner weiss and a tripel.

Flavor is somewhat bland and doesn't match the aroma at all. Yeasty but not very complex; somewhat sweet, somewhat peppery.

Mouthfeel is good, nothing notable.

Overall Witches Brew is above average but not special

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2012 02:06:05 | More by zachary80

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

4.1/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750ml served in a Tripel Karmeliet tulip.

A - Golden honey color with a firm 3 finger white head that leaves lines of sudsy lacing around the glass.

S - Dry spices-mainly clove. Dry and musty basement yeast, sugary dough, apricots, and peaches. Dried skunky herbs mellow out as it warms. Spicy alcohol vapors.

T - Sugary stone fruit-peaches, apricots, and persimmons. The clove and herbal spices lace the outside of a full and rich Pils malt while finishing nice and dry orange-flavors and light peppery alcohol.

M - Moderate carbonation helps lift the sweet and heavy body and turns almost creamy. Finishes slightly herbal and dry.

A wonderful Tripel! I thoroughly enjoyed this brew. Great fruity and funky yeast. Finished well and had a good mouth feel.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2011 00:52:25 | More by StaveHooks

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

3.43/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Nice beer, but somewhat standard. Goilden orange with a big white head. Malty scent, with spicy hops, candi sugar and fruits.

Nice malty tasty. Spicy, with hints of sugar and fruit. As it warms, banana and apple are quite noticeable in the flavour.

Good carbonation. Fizzy, but not overdone. Light alcohol profile. Not spectacular, but definitely a nice beer. Worth drinking again, but not the best.

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 07:59:16 | More by BDTyre