Corsendonk Summum Goudblond

 

I've been impressed with the Corsendonk abbey beers and Goudblond is no exception, although it is perhaps my least favourite of all the Corsendonk beers I've tried.

It's a very dark golden/light amber ale with a thick, tight and robust cream coloured head.  On first opening, it smells a little floral with notes of caramel and hops.  The aroma then seems to develop into a more soapy smell which is a little offputting.

Thankfully, there's nothing soapy in the taste.  It tastes of sweet caramel and malt with a tangy, fruity hint of hops to remind you it's a Belgian ale.  The sweetness lingers on the lips and the whole flavour combination actually reminded me of caramel waffles.  It has a medium body and carbonation is perfect with lots of soft bubbles to tingle the tongue.

It's quite a sweet blonde ale but I have a sweet tooth so I rather liked it.  It would definitely have scored higher if it hadn't had the weird soapy smell.  Unfortunately, it's not in production any more but if it was brewed again, Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium
7.8% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery

Corsendonk Pater Dubbel

 

Pater is a dark brown, mahogany tinged Belgian dubbel with an amazingly tight and frothy cream head.  It looks absolutely splendid and I couldn't wait to dive in for a sniff and a sip.

The aroma is so deliciously malty with a hint of tangy hops, as you would expect from a Belgian beer, along with notes of boozy fruit, like you get in a Christmas cake.  It also has a slightly soapy floral fragrance that was a bit strange and prevented it from scoring full marks for aroma.

It redeemed itself in the taste though.  It's very malty with notes of dark fruit, liquorice and treacle followed by a slightly dry, bitter coffee finish.  It really does have a lovely sweet/bitter balance.  It's very well carbonated and full bodied, giving a full tongue-tingling experience and resulting in one or two bubbly burps.

This is a lovely Belgian dubbel with a sweetness that reminded me of treacle pudding and Ale Be Seeing You again.

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium

6.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery

Corsendonk Agnus

Agnus is a lovely deep golden slightly hazy Belgian Tripel with a tight frothy off-white head.  It's quite lively on opening so it needs a slow and steady pour to get it out of the bottle in one go.  The head lasts well and laces the glass.

The aroma isn't strong but it has hints of honey, caramel, hops, biscuit and sweet fruit.  The overall smell reminds me of bananas drizzled in honey.

It really twanged my taste buds when I had my first sip.  Lashings of caramel over ripe banana provide a big hit of sweetness followed by tangy hops and a slight spiciness before finishing with a lovely dry lingering bitterness.  It's pretty fizzy with champagne-like prickly, tingly bubbles and has a medium body.

It's a very refreshing, fruity and well-balanced ale, especially if you have a sweet tooth as it leans more towards the sweet side of the scale and it seems to get sweeter as you drink it.  With the distinctive hoppy, spicy tang of a Belgian Tripel, it's very moreish but at 7.5% ABV you can't glug it too quickly.

Another one that's cracking value, purchased for £6.99 for 4 from Lidl.  You can't go wrong for £1.75 a bottle and it's a quality Belgian ale to boot.  Look out for these hitting the shelves again and Ale Be Seeing You!

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium
7.5% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery

Corsendonk Summum Roodbruin

Corsendonk Summum Roodbruin is a dark mahogany brown coloured Belgian Dubbel with an amazingly tight beige head that doesn't budge, lasting and lacing until the final drop.  The head is amazingly robust, leaving thick lacing on the glass.  

There's a light aroma of malt, fruit, treacle and tangy hops along with a slightly metallic hint.  There's nothing light about the flavour with a big hit of roasted malt, dark fruit, sour hops and treacle.  As it's a Belgian dubbel with an ABV of 8.1% ABV it's no surprise that there's a slight hint of alcohol in the taste but there's nothing harsh or raw about it; it's more of a warming taste of alcohol as if the beer has been brewed in bourbon casks.  As it develops, I could taste more caramel and even a hint of liquorice giving it a bitter/sweet finish.

Medium bodied with good carbonation, it has an abundance of prickly malty bubbles with a sour fruit centre that burst in your mouth.  It's a real lip smacking beer with sweet caramel lingering on the lips and slightly sour dark fruit and malt on the tongue.

You can tell it's a strong ale as you're drinking it but without any raw alcohol taste it goes down far too easily.  A very easy to drink Belgian ale, it's perhaps not the best dubbel I've ever had but at £6.99 for a pack of 4 from Lidl it's definitely good value.  My four have now all magically disappeared but I'll be keeping an eye out for these hitting the shelves again and Ale Be Seeing You.

Brewed by Corsendonk Brewery, Belgium
8.1% ABV

My rating:

My Untappd score: 4.25/5

Find out more at Corsendonk Brewery