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 slightly hazy and deep brown with a light head. Intoxicating aroma! Caramel, nutty, brown sugar, molassas, so inviting! Similar taste, lots of brown sugar and caramel and burnt sugar. Medium body, bit of a dry finish. Loved it!

330 mL bottle at St. Veronus. Presents as a cloudy deep brown beer with a nice beige head. Appealing aroma of brown sugar, stewed fruit, and toasted walnuts. Sweetness and dark fruit hit early in the flavour, but bitterness joins in midway through, followed by a surprisingly dry finish. Alcohol is completely hidden. Not as complex as some, but a pleasant and very drinkable beer.

Bottle. Moderate aromas of nutty, caramel and milk chocolate for the malt, light herbs and earth for the hops and yeast, with hint of raisin, port wine, toffee, and alcohol. Head is average sized, fizzy, off-white with no lacing and is mostly lasting. Color is clear amber/brown with a small amount of large to huge particles. Flavor starts lightly sweet and moderately acidic, then finishes light acidic and bitter. The fizzy carbonation makes the body feel more medium than full and the texture is watery. It finishes heavily alcoholic. Those big chunks scared me a little, but all in all a pretty good Belgian Strong.

nuts, caramel, herbs, brown, hazy, aminimal head, medium sweetness, lightly bitter, full body, long finish, soft carbonation, creamy, slick feel,

Poured a slightly hazy brown color with lighter hints at red. Thin, soapy lacing. The aroma was light yeast, malt and raisins. The flavor was kind of sour, yeasty and malty. Thin body and a pretty watery mouthfeel. Tasted like a fairly generic Belgian ale. I didn’t click with this one.

33cl Bottle. Even though it’s widely available here for some reason I had never tried it before. Ruby colored with a nice head. Dark fruit aroma and similar flavor with a dry finish. Nice one overall but not in par with other Trappist.

Slightly funky, lightly sour aroma, with lots of dark fruit. Complex flavor with both sour and bitter edges, and dark, slightly funky fruits. Bitter finish. Complex, but something about it is imperfect, expecially when compared to Rochefort and Westv. 8s.

Bottle hopduvel, 6 months or something old. Gusher! Then pours murky brown with a ruby shine. Huge head, frothy. Rosewater and chewy caramel aroma. Alcohol very tasteable. Boring and flat. Compared tasting with Deca Oud Vleteren which had a lot more to offer.