My beer drinking has I'll admit become a bit snobish. I shall, have, and will continue to shun the mega breweries. This has led to my palette developing a taste for ...well taste!! Hence a lot of belgian beers have come my way. And a ways back Goose Island whipped out four belgian clones.
Which brings us to Matilda. Matilda is a clone of Orval . A fairly nice one I'll admit. I think a little light on the caramel notes but the hops and brett are darn near dead on. So I took the time to saveor afour pack. I drank over three days and all tasted about the same. It poured unusually hazy the aroma was good, (being a relative term here since there is alot of brett), A little damp wool and orange peel. The body seemed lighter than I remember but the haze of suspended yeast helped to fill it out some. The aroma seemed to carry through the beer. Light on the caramel as I said, but the orange flavors played well with the fading hops. A few hints of brett that lingered on the tongue weere pleasurable.
Overall I would like to say that I found this beer quite tasty, (I will review both the 2009 and Orval later) Although from the haze and intensity of brett character I feel as though this may have been improperly stored for a period of a few months. Although I feel it as a tribute to the brewer that this misstorage did not create an unpalatable result.
