De Dochter Van De Korenaar (which translates as ‘The Daughter of the Ear of Corn’) is a fabulous family brewery in the town of Baarle-Hertog, a Belgian enclave within The Netherlands.
This was the first DDVDK beer I tried and was the reason I planned a trip to visit the brewery many years ago. My lasting memory of this beer was that it was a delicious tripel, at once smooth and creamy but also sharp and spicy. It has been a while since I’ve had this beer again, so we’ll see how that memory holds up.
It pours a hazy orange gold colour with a thick white foam and an inviting aroma that is a mix of malt and fruit sweetness, classic Belgian yeast notes and spicing.
The beer is smooth and sweet up front. A good bready malt backbone carries the additional fruit flavours of peach, apricot and pear along with some hay and light spice. And that creaminess is still there, probably more early on than late.
The finish is somewhat dry and spicy, pleasantly bitter while still full and flavoursome. Not exactly the average Belgian tripel, it has a three-grain malt bill of barley, wheat and rye. Deliciously different to the norm – that is what this brewery is all about!