Zythos Bierfestival 2010
ABV: 10%
Origin: Écaussines d’Enghien, Hainaut, Wallonie
Website: www.brasserieecaussines.be
Ultrabrune d'Écaussines
This new generation farmhouse brewery, founded in 2000 by Hugues and Isobel Van Poucke, tends to pop up more in the export market than in Belgium, so it was great to see them represented with a full range of bottle conditioned ales among a number of Wallonian micros at the Zythos Bierfestival.
Ultrabrune is a big sweetish brown ale, reminiscent of the high alcohol brown Trappist and abbey beers such as Rochefort 10, though with rather more overstated flavours. It’s brewed using pale malt, two different caramalts and torrefied malt, and comes out a cloudy deep ruddy-brown with a creamy yellowish head and an intoxicating dark malt and herb aroma. A full and dark malty and herby palate has lots of flavoursome estery notes, some fresh fruit, raisins and chocolate.
Red fruit rises on the swallow, and there’s more chocolate on a notably sweet, roasty and generously fruity finish that’s very light on hops. I suspect this could mature into something even more interesting.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/ultrabrune-10/11031/
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