Broederlijke Liefde (Brotherly Love) is a slightly higher gravity interpretation of the saison style. It is fermented with two yeasts – a classic saison yeast as well as brettanomyces from an original gravity of 1066 (16.5 plato). These yeasts yield a dry and slightly spicy ale with a strong hint of farmhouse character that will continue to develop with age. The use of Target and Styrian Golding hops at 37 IBUs add floral aromatics and a balancing bitterness.

Yep it’s Sunday…that means another new episode of Breaking Bad and time to open something special. This is a collaboration brew between Brian O’Reilly of Sly Fox Brewing Company and Dirk Naudts of De Proef to celebrate Philly Beer Week 2011. I’ve never been to Philly Beer Week, but if they celebrate it by offering a special one off beer with Brett, then that’s a helluva event. If it wasn’t already cool enough the folks at Philly Beer Week held a raffle where a consumer would win a trip to be at De Proef’s brewery in Belgium on brew day. But it doesn’t stop there… that winner got to choose a Philadelphia area brewer to be the partner collabrative brewer. Beer week and festival organizers take note, THAT IS HOW YOU ELEVATE CONSUMER STANDARDS AND GIVE BACK TO YOUR LOCAL BREWING COMMUNITY WHILE NOT LOSING A DIME.

Appearance-Golden Amber, reminds me of how most Belgian Golden Strongs look. White head that falls like snow flurries, however head sticks to the glass and laces throughout the pour. Pretty clear for a Saison, just an ever so slight haziness.Good carb that lets loose nice tiny bubbles.

Aroma- First smells I get in order: Pepper, Lemon, Peach and Apple. The Brett is not very forward, I had to search (not very hard) to find it. The De Proef signature Brett aromas of wet hay, grassy, musty.  There is no mistaking the Styrian Golding hops which I am a huge fan of for late additions. As I pull the glass away I pick up some Rose aroma.

Taste-The taste was a bit weaker in complexity versus the aroma. A bready malt flavor along with apricots spark my tastebuds first. A dark fruity Brett flavor that turns to almost pear overtakes the malt flavors fairly quickly. Ends with a classic saison tartness. It does not taste like an 8% beer, not alcoholic and not warming at all.

Overall– First I have to confess my beer nerdiness. I did use a small de-carbed sample of this beer to take a gravity reading. At the time of tasting It was 1.006. But overall I’d say it is a tasty beer that I wish was as complex as the aroma. I wish the Brett was bigger, but I understand that when appealing to the masses subtle is good when introducing the wild. **Rambling** I would venture to say that this and Orval would be the perfect beers to help someone ease into Brett beers **Rambling done** I’m glad I have one more bottle of this to cellar for atleast a year. However this is a solid beer when you look at the overall picture. Well done, balanced, and served as a great representation for an event I hope to attend one day.

This post also marks the first time I have used my new light box to take all the photos. I hope the more detailed pictures will help in the overall quality of the website. All the pictures should be clickable and zoomable for even more deatiled views. Cheers!