Jan 20, 2014

Pauwel Kwak

Pauwel Kwak
Brouwerij Bosteels
0,75l 8,4%

The final bottle from the Dr.H collection. I saved this beauty for a while because of the high alcohol content and the fact that I am getting older and strong beers tend to get me tired... BUT I'm doing it all for you, esteemed readers and shall try this malty goodness.

The bottle - like most Belgium beers - looks worthy its name. The 750ml bottle is corked and the cork is held in place with the classical wire we know from champagne.
The label collector in me is a tad bit sad as I usually remove the label when possible and file it.... alas in this bottle there is no label to collect... the needed information is hmm painted onto the bottle, which makes it look even more worthy.

I am lacking the classical KWAK glass which as my research told me is a recent invention and not as old as they make us believe and was never used by riders but hell it makes a nice story. I picked a thin Pilsner Glas I had as it does have a bit of an hourglass shape like the original KWAK glass.

It pours really nicely with a very fine foam of light cream color. Foam dissipates relatively fast but there is a small layer left.
It smells very sweet-tart, scents of fresh lemon peel and cinnamon, banana mixed with other fruit.
Funnily I just read some articles that criticize the smell while I'd say it ranks amongst the best smelling beers I know.  It does smell like a wheat beer funnily.

Time to try the babe!
Mhhh goody good. The carbonation is perfect, it holds a bitter start that quickly dissipates to rich fruit tones only to then die away with bitterness again. A nice sensation for the whole tongue. The alcohol is nicely hidden amidst the taste which is a good thing.
Definitely ranking high on my list!

Thank you Dr.H.!

Prost!

DMW