Corsendonk's Abbey Brown Ale (Belgian) (Other Belgian Beers)

Member Name: TheGreatReviewer

Product:	Other Belgian Beers
Date:	07/04/04 (74 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Taste, Complexity is Awesome

Disadvantages: Too much money!

**NOTE** This is my first review after reading all the excellent input from some of dooyoo's esteemed readers/raters. Too bad that you guys had to kick Critic88 off! **


I live in American, so I guess the Bottom Line This is: this is the "real" thing! It's smooth and wonderful. It is also very expensive. I'll stick with the Unibroue products in that are more reasonably priced from the North.

***** THE BODY OF THE REVIEW ******

I headed over to our local alcohol distributor in Washington, D.C. to grab some new brews to help me pass my last weekend. I have been consuming a lot of Belgian-STYLED ales, so why not actually grab a Belgian ale to see what everyone?s talking about. The US has some good ales out of New York and Canada has some great ones as well. But until last weekend, I had not tried a "real" Belgian ale imported to the USA.

I selected Corsendonk?s Abbey Brown Ale. I have never heard of the Abbey before, so I decided to try to look into it when I returned home. I could only find information from the actual distributor, Phoenix Imports, Ltd. They import Corsendonk?s Abbey Brown, Abbey Pale, and Christmas Ales right to my next door state, Maryland.

The monks of Corsendonk (Corssendonc), located in Oud-Turnhout, Belgium, started brewing in 1400 and their tradition lasted until 1784 when the abbey was closed by Austrian ruler, Jozef II. In 1906 Antonius Keersmaekers opened a secular brewery to revive the monk?s brewing traditions. The recipe and license is now in the hands of Antonius? grand
son, Jef. Most brewers that have an Abbey?s license for recipe and yeast have to pay royalties to the monks. I am unaware where Jef pays the royalties as the Abbey is now an International Conference Center.

Corsendonk?s information is hard to find because it is a beer marketing company or a contract brewer. Jef actually pays Belgian brewers to produce, bottle, and ship his pr
oduct. Two breweries that are known to produce Corsendonk are: Brasserie du Bocq and Van Steenberge brewery.

Corsendonk Abbey Brown is a dubble fermentation ale that results in 7
.5% ABV. The ale can mature for 1 to 5 years. My bottle said best used before 1/30/05, so hopefully this has been on a shelf or stored somewhere for almost 4 years.

* THE POUR*

Corsendonk is a very dark, opaque amber color. I poured the ale into a large wide mouthed 500 ml glass and the result was awesome. The initial pour resulted in a ½? light tan head that dissipated slightly but never disappeared throughout the whole 750ml bottle. The pour did not allude to any mild to heavy carbonation whatsoever. Even thought the cork almost exploded off with just a slight twist, I could pour the ale at an average rate without creating all foam and no brew.

* THE NOSE *

The cork and the pour released a fruity breeze. I first smelled plums or raisins (the bottle says the raisins). The head covers most of the scent and you do not catch the aroma of the ale until you are about to take another drink or are just setting it down.

* THE TASTE *

The taste is what I had been waiting for all along. The pour and nose were not too far from the Belgian-style ?imitators,? so what was the real thing all about?


There was a slight bubbly carbonation to the ale that was extremely pleasant. Nothing like the US yellow beer additives that make you burp all night long. The ale is fruity and sweet upon first contact with your palate and it slowly gives way to a mild sourness.

The most unique thing about this ale is that after 30 seconds or so your palate is completely neutral. I guess the only way to explain it is that you do not have any ale sensation of dryness or bitterness that I actually enjoy from other products.

Just like the neutral aftertaste, the alcohol itself is extremely smooth. The slight carbonation and sweet
and sour taste go down quite well. It does not even seem like you are drinking a rather strong ale. I even thought that a non-alcohol consumer could actually start with this ale and think it w
as quite pleasant. A wine or port drinker would also enjoy the smoothness of the ale.

* THE AFTERTASTE *

I would definitely purchase this ale again if it did not have such a lofty price tag at $6.97US for the corked 750ml bottle.

The smooth taste and pleasant aftertaste it leaves is change of pace and something to look for to compliment most meals of meat. It would also go well with dessert or a quiet period after dinner. I actually prefer the Unibroue products to this Belgian Abbey. I enjoy the assaults on my palate and the battle between sweet and sour. This Corsendonk is just too mellow for me.

Summary: