Achel 8 Bruin

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappistenabdij De Achelse Kluis
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Hamont-Achel, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Pours hazy dark amber brown with huge tanned head leaving beautiful lacing. Aroma is caramel, dark fresh bread, fidges, dry hay and malts. Fullbodied sweet mouthfeel. Flavor is sweet, alcohol, slightly acidy, velvety lean, fruity fresh and hoppy. Nice acidy sourish palate. Finishes slightly acidy with great bitter hoppy aftertaste.

330 ml bottle. HHOK8. Finland.
Hazy very dark red colour with lasting average sized light tan head. Belgian yeast, mild hops, malt and some spices in aroma. Flavour is Belgian yeast, moderate hoppiness, caramel, mild roasted malt and dark fruits. Some alcohol warmth and even some alcohol notes when gets warmer.

06/12/2010 - 33cl bottle @ home

Red brown slightly clouded beer, beige creamy head, little adhesive and unstable. Aroma: sweet malts, caramel, dried fruits. MF: light carbon, medium body, slightly creamy texture. Taste: forrest fruits and red berries, fruity and slightly tart. Sweet malts also. Aftertaste: fruity and a little tart again.

Note: so I finally got around to taking some notes for the trappists. I’ve been drinking them for years and usually when I did not felt like sampling something new and taking notes. Tasted them with 2 friends for a trappist review article in the student society magazine.

New Beer Distributors, NY 11.2oz ($5): Pours an amber brown with a beige head that leaves lacing. Aroma of some dried figs, and a little bit of booze, along with some sugar. Taste has a very slight sweetness as well as some low-key hops. The yeast strain is present throughout. Mouthfeel is pleasant from the moderate carbonation. Kind of strange metallic finish, along with the slightest boozy bite. Pretty well-balanced and eminently drinkable.

Small bottle, 5 months old. Hazy brown body with a beautiful rocky head. Aroma has bananas and prunes. Taste is malty and fruity: not just sweet and sour but ripe. It leans more on the sweet side but it’s never cloying. That’s just how I prefer it sometimes.

[330ml bottle, gift from Jim - cheers!] Pours brown with a very large, lasting cream head. A lovely mouth-coating tingly carbonation. Chocolate, brown sugar and crystallised figs with a frisson of black pepper on the tongue in the finish. Warming alcohol by the end. Rather sweet, yet without being too sticky. At first I wasn’t that enamoured, but it definitely grew on me as I drank more - a good late evening sipper.

Brown sugar, caramel, bit of dried fruit notes. Liked it better than the blond, still not too impressed. Wil try again, but won’t be a regular for me.

Bottle - cloudy reddish brown. Huge beige head. Low to medium carbonation. Medium to full body. Beautiful fruity aroma. Sweet. Caramel. Fruity. Spicy. A touch of alcohol. Late bitterness.