Abbaye des Rocs La Montagnarde (Ambree)

Brewed by Brasserie de l’Abbaye des Rocs
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Montignies-sur-Roc, Belgium

Pours a cloudy burnt orange/honey/tan color with a medium sized long-lasting head. Aroma is pretty complicated and varied quite a lot with temperature and amount of sediment in the glass. There was caramel, white chocolate, dates, prunes, hay, some sort of cool spicy clove-scent and a bit of saisonish funk. Big sweet and fruity. Sweet taste follows the aroma pretty well with a bit more brown sugar, toast, and finishes more vinously with a bit of toast and pepper. Lingering flavor of wwhite chocolate, brown sugar and honey goes on and on. Medium to full bodied, drinkable, moderate carbonation, and thankfully creamier than other De Rocs beers. Fantastic beer, this captures so many different good flavors.

Bottle. Slow oozing gusher. Body-dark honey/amber body with a fading foamy off white head. Nose-very muted, light metal, some light phenols, malt extract. Taste-low to medium sweetness, very light metal, spicy, light vegetal sweetness, light dry ginger, light caramel, watered down orange juice, big very nice yeast character, the “spice” really is the most original and outstanding characteristic if this beer, low to medium sweetness, honey, good unsweet malts, lightly flowery on the back end, white pepper, scorched sugar. Good sharp mouthfeel that leans slightly towards the sweet side. All in all a damn fine uniquely spicy beer. Wonderfully crafted.

Bottle at home ... bad bad sediment ... Rich sweet yeast nose little pear... Alcohol shows quite fruity again a little pear. Not bad just not great, I expect much more than this from a 9% beer... Disapointing as i really like the brune

Bottle @ Brassigaume fest. Impenetrable amber with filmy, off-white head that fades. Fruity, malty nose. Sweet, with apples, pears, honey and booze. Tasty and complex. Alcohol is fairly restrained, considering its strength, but I found the beer a bit cloying in the end. Happy to give it another try soon.

BB 2008. What a gusher! Pours into the glass with an average, creamy, frothy, off-white head after the fizziness settles; body is a hazy, orange color and head is lasting with decent lacing. Nose is really quite fruity and spicy; notes of banana bread, ginger, cinnamon, bready yeast, lots of peaches, and backing perfumy, peppery, caramelly notes. Flavor is similar with quite fruity, spicy and yeasty notes; malt and yeast notes of sweet breads, buttery biscuits and light caramel; fruits of peach, banana, and citrus peel (tangerine?); spices including ginger, cinnamon, and light pepper, hops which add a moderately light bitterness and notes of perfume and light floral, and even a woodsy tinge. Palate is moderately dry, soft, round, moderately full, with only a minimal warmth felt near the finish. Finish is somewhat dry, mostly sweet, and quite long with the bitterness staying in the background; notes of peaches, lingering caramel, yeast, and spices still backing. One of the most intriguing lighter BSA’s I’ve tried. Unique and extremely drinkable. Des Rocs has yet to disappoint me, my favorite non-Trappist Belgian brewery.

Bottle. Pours peach-cheddar orange with an aroma of peach, tea, and cinammon. Flavor is cheddar cheese and peachy yeast. Thick mouthfeel. Not bad.

Hazy red with medium head. Aroma has yeast and toffee. Fruity flavor, with raisin and orange. Yeasty and ends rather dry. Warming alcohol in the end.

Pours with a small but thick head that turns into a sticky lacing. Color is marmalade orange with spots, those spots are the infamous de Rocs floaties, but here it looks pretty nice. So still and thick looking, very murky but enough translucent light to make it radiate. Aroma is very original, first starts with strong tangerines that are kind of like sweet and sour, which is buttressed by a sweet Belgian yeastiness. It ends with a sweet floral perfume-ness. Taste is yeasty-citrus with medium sweetness. Again, rather original, very fruit/yeast beer with strong floral aspects. Talk about original, the mouthfeel is like drinking orange juice with pulp, never have I had something so... full of bits. A lighter side of medium body that’s pretty easy going down. Finishes with an abrupt sweetness that doesn’t overwhelm, so quaffable yet full of... well everything. Very different and enjoyable beer. Best before 2008, 750ml bottle, Hobgoblin tulip glass.