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Even Disney has a character name Hades! Pours a mostly hazy off yellow color, with no help from me adding the sediment. A fluffy white head with great retention and lacing through the tasting.

The nose is on par for a more fruity Belgian blond. To start there is a with sweet Belgian Pils malt that leaves a soft finish. Noticeable candi sugar notes as well. There are plenty of Belgian esters, pepper, orange peel, hibiscus, and rose peddles. Minor cloves and banana notes as well. Some yeasty notes as well, mango and citrus and a hint of plums on the back end.

The taste follows right along with the nose. A sweeter malt presence with a heavy candi finish. More complexity from the malt but is enhanced by the more fruity yeast notes. More of a citrus kick with lemon, oranges and peaches. This is enhanced by more hibiscus & rose flavors. Very clean overall with no real solvent characteristics. Very palatable.

The body is light and very easy to drink. A bit high for carbonation but ok for style. Very nice beer, surprised not rated higher.

Served In: Pint Glass

Bottled June 2007, Sampled April 2009
A solid pour into my 25cl tulip glass produces a three finger thick, slightly meringue like, off-white colored head that leaves some nice lacing on the sides of my glass. The beer is well carbonated with lots of bubbles rising up through the murky, orange-gold colored beer. When held up to the light the beer shows a white-gold color that is similar to a Wit because of the haziness. Fruity aromas of pear and green apple subtly perfume the aroma along with a spicy, almost pepper like character. The finish has some cracker-like grain notes to it that can be somewhat pronounced at times. There is perhaps a touch of herbal honey aromatics here as well. Not a bad aroma, I find that it is pretty nice too. Coming back to the aroma after drinking this for a bit, it can be quite aromatic; spicy, herbal and with a solid fruit backbone, it is really starting to grow on me a bit more than it did initially.

The first sip is lightly sweet tasting with a fruitiness that accentuates this. The beer finishes with a touch of a carbonic bite as well as some lingering, light, but biting bitter hop notes. There is a touch of metallic character here, some touches of white pepper, a definite ginger note and some lingering, turpene driven clove like flavors that lingers on the tongue. The fruit notes remind me most of pears, but there is also a touch of sweet green apple. The hop character is pretty subdued, but there is a touch of herbal hop character that goes along with the more apparent hop bitterness.

Quite a bit fruitier than Duvel, and it is also a fair bit sweeter too. It is quite a bit different than Duvel, but it similarly needs to be enjoyed with a dedicated full bottle and a bit of time as it starts to grown on you if you spend some contemplative time with the beer. But this is quite a bit better than the beers reputation had me thinking. This is definitely an enjoyable beer that is a bit too easy to drink given the beer’s strength.

Served In: Tulip