Achel 8 Bruin

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

huge gusher, dark brown color, clear, big soapy head, crazy lacing... light spice on the nose, some brown sugar, light alcohol... lightest sweetness, medium body, warm finish, expected more dark fruits... dry finish, not very lively... nice beer...

It’s a decent Trappist beer, but not really special. Taste is decent, smell a little below average.

330 ml. bottle. Pours a exuberant ivory head, which gradually collapses into a thick foam, with heavy lacing, over a hazy copper (SRM 17) body....nose is heavy with dried fruits including fig, raisin, plum, along with brown sugar, toffee/caramel.....taste is sweet dried fruits (raisin, plum, fig) to start, leading into drier spices (allspice, touch of clove) finishing with minimal bitterness and lingering spice....mouth feel thick, slightly sticky, alcohol adds a light heat, carbonation medium after the initial enthusiasm. This is a lovely complex mixture of malty sweetness, phenols, esthers. It is quite delicious, and is a great representative of the style. BJCP 8/3/15/4/8

bread, toast, brown, hazy,light brown foam, light sweetness, lightly bitter, medium body, creamy, soft carbonation, long nice finish.

Brown coloured and unclear. Has an off-white head, lasting. Malty, sweet aroma, yeasty too, notes of faint banana, red berries too. Sweet malty flavor, faint acidic, moderate bitter finish. Creamy texture, soft carbonation.

11.2 oz bottle. A definite five for appearance. A gorgeous, flowing, golden cream head, small bubbled, and clumpy, cloud-like head. Completely opaque, and a cloudy, mysterious body, deep crimson-amber body. An aroma with notes more subtle than the flavor. Light and wispy, but not without presence. Rich caramels and toffee, nutty cookies, cherry fruit, and certain roasted sweet malt. The body prickles sugary sweet, malted and smooth, and though strong, not too heavy and drinkable. Nutty pecan and cashew cookies in the start, then sweet toffee, mixed Belgian fruity esters of cherry and dates. Also, a subtle herbal quality through the finish, though dark sweet fruits and nut maintain their prominence. All in all, I felt this was an outstanding ale, even though it lacked some of the complexity of other Belgians of the style. Things really did come together well. The whole just happened to be greater than the sum its parts. Really nice.

Bottle from Alko. Originally rated on 13.4.2010. Great, well balanced trappist strong ale. Notes of raisin, malts and spices.

Even amber caramel brown with a huge white head. Aroma is candi sugar with cinnamon and clove. Taste is light and rummy with prominent alcohol and not much else. I’m a bit underwhelmed. €2