Brasserie d'Orval · Abbaye Notre-Dame d'Orval
Orval
Trappist Ale Belgian Pale Ale · 6.2% ABV · Bottled Nov 2024 · 17 months
Trappist Ale Belgian Pale Ale · 6.2% ABV · Bottled Nov 2024 · 17 months
Sight
Deep amber-copper, a creamy off-white head settling unhurried, leaving a persistent lacing that speaks to the malt structure underneath. The carbonation is relaxed, composed — seventeen months of brett activity has done its quiet work.
Smell
Inviting rather than assertive. Fresh bread, biscuit, dried fruit — the Styrian Goldings still present but no longer leading, their citrus brightness softened into something more concentrated and vinous. The brett is here but unnamed, working underneath rather than announcing itself.
Taste
The malt arrives first, clean and bready, followed by hops so mellow they read more as texture than bitterness. The brett weaves through the back without dominating — this is Orval before the wild character takes full possession, the three elements in early equilibrium rather than resolved hierarchy.
Mouthfeel
Creamy, medium-bodied, the carbonation fully integrated. Neither thin nor heavy. It carries the complexity effortlessly.
Finish
Moist without sweetness, dry without austerity. It lingers quietly — no sharp edges, no aggressive close. The brett has dried it just enough, then stepped back.
Orval at seventeen months is Orval in its most approachable state. The hops have mellowed, the brett has arrived, the malt holds the centre. Another eighteen months and the wild character will have the last word. This bottle caught the balance before that happens.