Moeder Lambic-Orval

Given that the only beers Becky likes are fruit lambics, when we found this amazing beer bar in Brussels, I knew we had to go there that night. Moeder Lambic was one of the best craft beer bars I visited during the trip because they were so knowledgable and had some more experimental options than most other places, including extensive offerings of all types of sours. Even though I was tempted by some of those, including an Oud Bruin (sour brown ale), I ended up being unable to resist giving this Trappist brew a try, and I am glad I did.

Orval pours a slightly hazy apricot color with a big creamy head. It has a nice bready, fruity aroma with a little bit of liquorice spicyness too. Additionally, it has a slightly sour funky aroma almost smelling like pungent cheese. The beer enters the mouth very softly and is much less carbonated than many of the other Trappist brews I've had. It has a very crackery malty flavor, bordering on bready. Furthermore, it finishes on a slightly sweet note, but still maintains a fair amount of dryness for high drinkability. This is by far one of the best beers I had on the entire trip, and I am thrilled to have been able to try it at such a great beer bar as Moeder Lambic.