3.9 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
2000 vintage. I love the first line of the commercial description -- "really needs to be tasted to be truly appreciated" -- unlike all those other beers that one can appreciate without tasting. Fruity, spicy aroma, some lemon frosting, orange, cinnamon, apple and faint alcohol. Reddish-copper color, head forming just a slight ring. Flavor is sugary, lightly alcoholic and estery, with notes of butterscotch, toffee, vanilla and spice. Very still and smooth with a fruity finish. Interesting beer.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
(2000 @RBSG2003): Clear copper body with minimal off-white head. Aroma is sweet, fruity, raisin, light alcohol. Taste is sweet, fruity, raisin, orange, finishing with nice alcohol warming/light burn. Medium palate.
4.1 AROMA 9/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
Caramel colored body with moderate off white head. Has a big sweet aroma. Flavor of vanilla and finishes sweet. Very good.
4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: MAY 9, 2005 This brew pours a small head of finely sized bubbles that leave a fair lacing and it has a transparent dark amber body. It also had a strong alcohol aroma. Initially, the alcohol flavor comes through, but later softens in the finish.
7/4/7/4/14
Rerate:
Large light brown foamy fine mostly diminishing head. Transparent copper dark ruby red brown body with a fair lacing. Vinous caramel malt aroma. Tingly smooth initial very strong tingly vinbous malty biting finish. Very yummy strong vinous caramel malt rasiin port like flavor.
7/4/9/5/18
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
UPDATED: APR 6, 2004 2003 Vintage sampled on 4/6/2004: Pours a murky dark brown with a nice tan head. Aroma is very bready and full of caramely Belgian malts with a nice balance of yeastiness. Good sweetness and flavor throughout, but still could use some mellowing to reach its full potential.
2000 Vintage sampled on 5/20/2003: Pours a cloudy dark copper with a thin lacing head. Aroma is a complex mixture of soy, brown sugar, and port. The light syrupy palate leads into a smooth, semi-sweet and robust body with a medium bitterness. Belgian malt and a touch of candi sugar are prevalent. Very well rounded, and a great American Belgian beer.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 18/20
Very, very smooth brew, and one of the best palates I've tasted from a Belgian strong. Caramel, vanilla and a silky maltiness. Very subtle and wonderful to drink. Celebrated this at a graduation party.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
UPDATED: OCT 28, 2007 (2-3 year old, 2000 bottle): At the summit of a massive vanilla tower, a velvety caramel wine pool undulates and emits a creamy alcohol bouquet to soften voraciousness...Prodigious chocolate grapevines hug berry-scented candelabras...An object of comfort and romance...
(Quite fresh 2003 bottle) : Creamy alcohol perfume emanating from stately chocolate-coated fruit and vanilla...Similar flavor profile but much more mature and reverend than Maîtresse du Moine...
(1 and half year-old 2003 bottle) : Aging beautifully, no important change and exactly the same points once again. It’s excellent, no doubt about it.
A more recent batch had obvious raisins and cherries atop the roasty touches and caressing alcohol; still a marvelous sipper, perhaps a little too clean/filtered for my tastes in the style, but at this level of quality, I certainly don’t mind.
4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 5/5 OVERALL 16/20
I hear its passed its prime, wow, I loved to have it in its prime. Cloudy, carmel colored(not served proper?), small head. Aroma of Belgian yeast. Slight bite up front, malty,caramel flavor. Vanilla comes thru, but maybe I've had too many Imperial Stouts, I can't say the Chocolate come thru. Some sweetness on the finish, nice brew!
4.2 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 9/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
2000 edition. I have a feeling this bottle may have aged a bit differently than others. Color was copper with an orange hue and a huge white head. The aroma was sweet, faintly malty and dominated by chocolate and orange. Complex flavor dominated by chocolate and orange. Just like an orange flavored chocolate bar. Behind these flavors were sweetness, plum and sherry notes, and a light spiciness in the aftertaste. The alcohol was also a bit noticeable in the aftertaste, but not overpowering. Full mouthfeel, light carbonation, and a little syrupy. I wish I had more bottles like this to go with dessert after a wonderful meal.
2.1 AROMA 4/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 4/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 8/20
UPDATED: NOV 12, 2006 2006 bottle. Virtually no head. Body is hazy dark amber, unfiltered. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, caramel), with notes of sherry/cardboard and alcohol. Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Medium body, watery/syrupy texture, soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Not much to like here...as is often the case with Alesmith bottles, virtually no hiss and little carbonation. Oxidized aroma, another Alesmith hallmark. Sad.
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