Archive for the 'Regenboog' category
Wostyntje Mustard Ale
I must first apologize for the lack of activity on the site during the past few weeks. It has become quite apparent that Ben is the driving force behind our beer blog; with me bringing up the rear, clinging to his coattails. As Ben mentioned in his post below he is out of town and without internet access until the middle of August and I have been left to manage the posts, or in this case lack thereof. But tonight I felt compelled to review a beer I picked up on our travels up north, which were chronicled a few months back. The label describes this as a dark blonde ale, a bit of an oxymoron if you ask me, comprised of two types of malts and hops and flavored with candy sugar and mustard seeds. What’s this going to taste like? Your guess is as good as mine. I remember Ben and Jay saying it was pretty good so it can’t be all bad if it has been given the seal of approval from two gentlemen with tastebuds as distinguished as theirs.
I poured the Wostyntje into my favorite goblet, none other than the Grotten Brown, and the color took me by surprise. There is nothing terribly dark about this beer at all. It pours a burnt, golden yellow, with a minuscule ring of foam at the top. The smell is sweet with the corriander characteristics of a true belgian blonde ale. There is also a hint of clove that compliments the citrusy aroma. The taste very light and at the front of the tongue is almost nonexistent. When the temperature of the beer is the initial defining characteristic there’s a high probability the end result will be disappointment. A malty-lemon bitterness does announce its presence at the back of the throat but in my opinion it is still subtle, at best , and at this point it si too little too late. There does seem to be a tiny bite in the aftertaste, suggesting the mustard seeds are attempting to play a role, but this isn’t adding anything to my experience. I would say the delivery is light and pleasant, but the taste does nothing to grab your attention. I hate to say this is a feeble beer but it really has nothing to offer other than its drinkability. In this case I am going to have to respectfully disagree with my counterparts, although this shouldn’t bring the folks at De Begenboog down because 2/3 of sevenpack reviewers believe in their product.
