A curious, stout bottle, reminiscent of Maredsous, which I picked from the WF loose Belgian bottle section. It's brewed with sweet gale (bog myrtle), an herb used in Medieval gruit ales, apparently. The foamy head is indicative of its Belgian origin, as is its yeasty, slightly spicy nose. It's rather sweet tasting, not merely a sweet malty taste, but legitimately sweet like a sugary candy. It is, however, in moderation and balanced, and I would expect no less from a Belgian beer. There is a slight flower petal taste and finish that is refreshing, and a hop character is not very noticeable. It finishes clean and slightly dry with bit of dried grass.
I'm always up for trying interesting beers and that usually means beers brewed with random plants. This is an interesting, albeit somewhat tame, beer. I'm not terribly familiar with gruits and this may actually be the first I've seen related to the style. I can only give this a decent rating, in all honesty. There is nothing truly memorable about the taste itself, unfortunately, and for the bottle price, it's not really worth it.
- Appearance: Dark straw color; foamy head subsides to moss with a slight residue.
- Smell: Typically Belgian yeasty, spicy aroma.
- Taste: A bit like a tripel but with less assertiveness and dominated by a flower petal sensation. Overall, though, it is quite mild.
- Mouthfeel: Dubbel to Tripel-like carbonation, very full and light in the mouth due to the carbonation with a slightly dry finish.
- Drinkability and Overall: This is a decent beer. At 7.5%ABV, it's not out of the question to try this for a round, but it's not something I would want around. An interesting concept with a rather ordinary taste.
Also, I'm further abusing my "abbey" tag to be somewhat analogous to "Belgian". I should fix that some day.
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