Vapeur D'antan 1996

Vapeur d'Antan, Brewed in 1996. Ale brewed with spices, 7.5% Alc./Vol. Product of Belgium, brewed & bottled by Brasserie A Vapeur, Pripaix, Belgium.

So, what's the story, here? They saved some barrels for 17 years or so, and bottled them for our contemporary consumption? Well, I know I like this beer before (original notes will follow), but let's taste it as a teen.

Capped and corked, this one. Virtually no head, practically still, with a clouded, dark amber appearance.

Aroma: funky Belgian yeast hits first, followed by a plethora of fruit notes. Stone fruits, apricots and peaches, with a twisted, tart turn. Not sure if it's through any barrel-aging they did on it, or just the yeast doing it's work over the years, but I like it.

Taste: on the tongue, more sourness ensues, large puckeration. Mild hop bitterness, lean-bodied, malt is mellow…the work of the years has been to sour it up and fruit it out. Pronounced spicy notes to complement the tart arises through hops and yeast.

This one drinks down wonderfully, if like a good, twisted, soured-up Belgian ale.

Here are my original notes from October, 2004:


Deep orangish color, no head at all, .

..aroma: citric, lemon and orange, blitzes of spice, very musty, so much like a farmshouse Belgian...really rustic...

Taste: very sour at the front, big puckeration, then it mellows, and becomes rather smooth and mellow...still, with a citric, spicy bite..big mouthfeel, huge presence on the palate...enormous, powerful feel on the tongue, reverberates and resonates....this is a very nice beer, a wonderful thing.