Corsendonk makes some wonderful beers.  We have reviewed their Christmas Ale. And even though I hate cheese, you have to respect a brewery that makes their own, which Corsendonk does.  I fully plan to review some of their other stuff just to have it on here. Because I like their products so much, I decided to take a chance and spend the money on their Belgian Apple White (I think it was around $12-14/bottle range).  As many of you know, sometimes chances pay off and sometimes they don’t.  I guess you’ll have to read on to find out if it paid off for me.

Apple White was very pale straw blond and had an extremely active body.  The active body helped this beer maintain its very meringue-like head, which was definitely puffy and cloudy.  I poured some in my Lindeman’s glass just because it seemed appropriate.  

As expected, this beer had some very fruity apple aromas to it.  It would almost be disappointing if it were otherwise.  Some very Lambic-type smells were prevalent (the tart and straw-like comparison is what came to mind).  The beer was almost sourish in aroma.  Even some zesty coriander (lemon) qualities were apparent in the nose, although also in  taste.  

In taste, it was very similar to a light apple cider.  Touches of wheat streamed through this very delicate and light alcoholic beer (around 3% ABV).  Because of the fact that this beer was very active, it gave the impression of a very nice fullness in the mouth.  It was immanently tart and effervescent.  There was a very late hop bitterness that I felt on the finish of this beer.  I don’t normally mention or care about it, but this was some of the nicest lacing that I’ve ever seen occur on a beer. Gorgeous!

Even though it is delicate, I remember thinking that this beer would pair very nicely with a robustly flavored and spicy dish like Indian or Thai curry.  It would stand us well against a Riesling wine for the task of spicy foods.  It’s refreshing and tart nature balances out a strong dish nicely.

As far as the beer standing on its own…  It was a little too juicy (and I mean juice-like) for me.  My wife loved this beer, and I’m not saying that you won’t because I didn’t like it.  At the beginning of this article, I mentioned that I took a chance on this beer.  Like I said, I didn’t like it…but, I’ve always regretted most of all the chances I didn’t take.  Would I buy it again?  If I were pairing it with spicy food on a special occasion, yes.  To drink on its own, no.  Perhaps the charm of some beers is that they are great pairing beers, and I’m not going to discount them for that.

Mike’s Rating:

Overall Satisfaction:  

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