De Ranke XX Bitter - Brouwerij De Ranke

Neorebel

New Jersey

4.48/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Pours a hazy yellow straw color, with some fine sediment visible. Notably carbonated. This is fine, of course, since it is an unfiltered beer. A frothy, sort of soapy-looking head with a nice inch thickness sits on top. It does go down a bit, but it does in fact provide some great lacing on the side of the glass as it clings to the side.

Smell: Wow! This is immensely complex... I can detect the pineapple-like hops, but I am also getting yeast, farmhouse funk, strong pepper, a certain tartness, and malt sugars. I like complex. This is going to be good!

Taste: Very bitter initially, which I like... Resinous hops, very tart fruit, and white pepper notes are picked up. But there is also a sweeter, phenol fruit character that is a bit more subtle. There is this nice duality to it until the two forces converge into a strong bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: This beer is surprisingly soft and medium bodied. The finish is terrifically dry, as previously mentioned, slightly herbal, and pleasantly numbing. Definitely leaves one to want some more. Being only slightly warming on the way down, you cannot detect the alcohol presence here.

Overall: XX Bitter has some of my absolute favorite beer characteristics in it. What at first seemed like a niche selection to me, I now realize is something closer to a crowd pleaser, if one is already inclined towards Belgians and craft beer, that is.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2012 04:40:32 | More by Neorebel

chefpeet

New Jersey

4.75/5  rDev +15.9%

05-23-2013 16:50:57 | More by chefpeet

laituegonflable

Australia

3.6/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a dusty orange colour; decent cloud, bit of bead feeding a thin white crown of tight-bubbled head. Lace clings nicely. Maybe more head would be nice, but otherwise looks great.

Smells rank from the pour. Nice, wild organic notes with a touch of lucerne, some raw bread dough and a whisper of vinegar at the back. Maybe a touch yeasty, but the tang of the hops is pleasantly refreshing.

Taste is very grainy indeed. Lots of cereal notes, honeyed oat and puffed rice on the front with a touch of caramel. Hops come through midway, with some grassy and slightly herbal notes. Decent earthy bitterness, fairly mild which is nice but a bit too mild so the sweetness is not totally balanced out and cleansed. I like it well enough, but it just seems a little drab.

Not bad, really. Lots of texture, quite bitty with a bit of fizz.

To be honest I'm not seeing what the big deal with this beer is. Implications seemed to be that this would change my mind about Belgian IPAs. It's a little different maybe and perhaps a bit more cohesive but it still strikes me as quite a middle-of-the-road drop.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 03:09:06 | More by laituegonflable

BigBry

Alberta (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.4%

05-17-2013 20:11:34 | More by BigBry

Ciocanelu

Romania

4.5/5  rDev +9.8%

05-15-2013 18:51:27 | More by Ciocanelu

beernads

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -14.6%

05-08-2013 07:45:50 | More by beernads

tigg924

Massachusetts

3.74/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Bottle says best by January 2015.

Appearance: 1 inch head, clear, bright yellow in color, high carbonation

Smell: smells like hoppy sparkling wine

Taste: mineral is the predominant taste I get, light dry hops as well--light citrus

Mouthfeel: only slightly bitter but a nice dry taste towards the end, light bodied with high carbonation

Overall: A solid Belgian IPA that had more of a Belgian feel than a hoppy one that I get with American versions of this style. The beer has a super dry finish. Left me wanting to have another one, yet there are others in the style I would go to first.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 14:25:01 | More by tigg924

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%

04-29-2013 02:06:58 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

Jason1337

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -2.4%

04-24-2013 15:55:15 | More by Jason1337

MarioM

California

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%

04-22-2013 02:21:37 | More by MarioM

soxandbeer

Massachusetts

1.5/5  rDev -63.4%

04-21-2013 14:30:27 | More by soxandbeer

RedneckBeerz

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

04-08-2013 15:08:02 | More by RedneckBeerz

JeffNev

Nevada

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

04-05-2013 04:39:16 | More by JeffNev

Sparky44

Illinois

4/5  rDev -2.4%

04-04-2013 01:40:29 | More by Sparky44

Elbrownbag

Netherlands

3.75/5  rDev -8.5%

04-02-2013 20:19:00 | More by Elbrownbag

BAsbill

California

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

03-30-2013 04:27:31 | More by BAsbill

nzerbe

New York

4.75/5  rDev +15.9%

03-30-2013 00:27:10 | More by nzerbe

mizx

United Kingdom (England)

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

03-20-2013 16:09:49 | More by mizx

wesley14

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

03-19-2013 00:14:31 | More by wesley14

magictacosinus

California

4.41/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Suddenly I'm seeing bottles of this everywhere at my favorite stores. Poured into a chalice out of a 11.2oz bottle. Freshness date is imprinted on the cap as "25/08/17." Pretty impressive for a beer edging 6% ABV!

Pours a very cloudy, hazed yellowish-amber color, complete with a little bit of foamy white head that slowly vanishes to about a half finger in size. Definitely the carbonation sticks around for a while, to the point where lots of spotted circles remain at the top in a scattered way. Alcohol legs are modest here, with slight lacing at the beginning. Definitely well carbonated at first, with layers of bubbles sticking to the sides of the glass within the liquid. There's a yeasty haze permeating this thing, but otherwise it's pretty and modest in presentation.

The aroma is a dried hop explosion of lemon and grass combined with crisp grains and lots of candy sugar. Reminds me right off the bat of most great Belgian tripels, except something's clearly different here. For one, the hop profile is undeniably more prominent, to the point of ridiculousness. The bitterness rises exponentially with each whiff, but definitely the yeasty phenols resembling apricots, apples, and sour nectarines are all there. Really fantastically refreshing take on the style.

The flavor does definitely continue the dry hopped bitterness in the aroma, but does so in a far more astringent way. Big citrus aromas meld and then seemingly melt with peaches, oranges, and slight tropical flavors. The carbonation, yeastiness, and thickened malt profile provides a bready, hearty experience without feeling too overwhelming. Gets progressively sour as it warms up, though. A bit of graininess at the finish adds some balance, but the focus is truly on the bittered dry hops and candied sugar here. Not exactly balanced, but still zesty and tasty unlike any Belgian beer I've had to date... Definitely a sipping treat here, and not to be toyed with.

I really do love this beer, despite its bittered excessiveness. There's a lot of wonderful fruity esters and a dried citrus finish that makes it really unique and sublime. This pairs with spicy food like a charm, as well as fried fish with lemons and pesto pasta - which is what I had this with. Fans of tripels and colorful bitter beers must try this for sure.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 04:31:40 | More by magictacosinus

UCLABrewN84

California

3.65/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky light orange with a foamy off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, citrus zest, yeast, and some peppery aromas. Taste is much the same with a grain flavor on the finish. There is a medium amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but the flavors don't match up to the smells I am getting on this one.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 05:02:42 | More by UCLABrewN84

spycow

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +9.8%

03-11-2013 06:01:40 | More by spycow

jman005

Kentucky

4/5  rDev -2.4%

03-08-2013 01:54:10 | More by jman005

ihmurria

Saskatchewan (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.4%

03-04-2013 21:07:10 | More by ihmurria

imperiallibations

California

4.25/5  rDev +3.7%

03-02-2013 08:40:43 | More by imperiallibations