the ablution block

08 December 2006

September Beer of the Month: Limburg Oude Reserve

It’s been a long time coming but September’s beer of the month now coincides with that brewery’s closure. Limburg brewery has just recently closed and, although the main line-up will still be available (brewed by Steam Brewing in Auckland), special beers along the lines of Oude Reserve will not be seen again.

Here’s my thoughts:

Tasted 15/09/2006. Leftover rigger from BrewNZ. These thoughts are from myself, tyrrell and bmackenzie... Pours a burnished copper, bright, with no head at all and just a tingle of carbonation (we’re drinking this a little warm, perhaps, at about 15c). Sweet malt - almost syrup-like - on the nose, with barley sugar, marmalade, a slight meatiness and a definite sherry-like oxidation character. Tyrrell is reminded of barley being toasted for haggis at Miro Street. Tempting and quite lovely. More malt sweetness in the mouth; toffee and liquorice in the middle; a warming alcohol and spice finish, bordering on hot; and a late lingering bitterness. More meatiness and sweet toasty malts linger on the palate. Softly carbonated and a full weight. I tried this first at BrewNZ 2005 and thought it was good but needed a bit more age to mellow. This taste proves it - a truly fantastic NZ ale! Well done to the Limburg team. We opened a Chimay Bleu after this, which seemed almost bland on comparison. (4.5/5.0)

More on this beer at my “Beer O’Clock” post on Not PC: promoting capitalist acts between consenting adults.

Other top drops in September:
Emerson’s Anniversary 1812 (4.4)
Twisted Hop Golding Bitter (4.1)
Dupont La Biere de Beloeil (3.9)
Deschutes Black Butte Porter (3.6)

Labels: ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home