Abbaye des Rocs La Montagnarde (Ambree)

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

Orlando, Fl. - Knightly Spirits, 750 ml capped bottle. Pours a dark murky orange, quickly fading off-white head, with an overabundance of floaties - you can actually chew them - a tad disconcerting. Molasses, dates, and raisins in the aroma, a hint of chocolate. Flavor is decidedly sweet and malty. Hints of prunes, dates and molasses. Chocolate and toffee permeate the back end, a touch of maple syrup and apricots finishes it off. Thickish mouthfeel, but it loses a bit of its luster when you have to chew your way through the floaties. Overall decent, just a bit too sweet.

(33cl bottle) Hazy, amber colour with a medium-sized, light-beige foamy head. Sweet, slightly sugary and bready malt aroma with toasted elements, a moderate fruit-character and notes of marzipan. Sweet flavour, full bodied with a surprisingly soft carbonation. Slightly toasted malt-accented and moderately fruity taste with a tinge of caramel; residual sweet, malty and subtle fruity finish with notes of honey and a fairly well-integrated alcohol (24.03.08).

Bottle at Delirium Cafe. Unclear brown - offwhhite head. Caramel, amber-malts, light metallic, rusty iron, berries, fruity, yeasty. OK - besides the metal !!!

Shared at Cleveland tasting 3/15 Bottle: Pours a hazy copper color with a white head. Aroma, yeast and caramel, some spice, fruity notes. Flavor, spices, yeast, floral notes, caramel, brown sugar.

Pours from the bottle a hazy amber-orange hue with a fair amount of yeast floaties. Pour produces a tight and dense 1" thick beige head which shows great retention throughout the chalice. Curtains of lace coat the sides as the glass drains. Aormas are ripe fruity sweet with notes of apple, honey, pear, brown sugar, caramel candy and roasted almonds. Some faint lemon and yeast notes are noted in the background. Palate was silky, creamy and full. An ample amount of carbonation kept the mouthfeel lively, but finished very smooth. Flavors were sweet-tooth’s delight. Sugar Daddy caramel, orange blossom honey, toffee, brown sugar, apple cider and orange marmalade abound. Finishes with just a faint touch of herbal, spice bitterness. Landed this one at a clearance price of $4.99 for a 750 (best by end of 2008). Still in great shape! Delicious and I’m goin’ back for more.

750ml bottle. Murky orange color with a nice fizzy head. I’ve had this one in the US as the Ambree and in Belgium as Montagnarde. This is a really exceptional beer, by one of my favorite Belgian breweries. Full of fruity yeasty flavors, with a really good hop balance for a Belgian ale. Amber malt creamyness, the crisp hop character, and the lack of candi sugar domination make the beer quite drinkable for a beer of 9 percent. A classic beer.

750 I got in person via trade in Texas. Pours orange with a 1 finger tan head. Nose is sweet and light. Taste is sweet, syrupy and overall pretty yummy.

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Stockholm) Amber colour with huge, off-white head. Fruity, spicy, slightly citric nose with notes of apricots, oranges and a hint of yeast. Fruity taste with orange peel, apricots, caramel and a spicy, slightly citric finish. Sweetish, medium to full body. Lots of taste but retaining a nice balance. Nice one!