Alvinne Mano Negra

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Imperial Stout
Heule, Belgium

Bottled@The Chriso Gaylord Tasting. Deep brown, close to black, colour with mediumsized beigeish brown head. Aroma is roasted malts, some coffee, liquorice and mild burnt sugar as well. Flavour is roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, liquorice, some slight warming alcohol as well as some mild sugary notes. Lovely.

Rating 7000. 75cl bottle bought at De Molen I think. I had this first in May 2009 when I rolled up to the brewery and found Davy brewing the bock for the De Molen festival at the end of October 09. It was about 10.30 in the morning and this beer had recently been bottled and Davy cracked it open. 10.30 am and I was driving and we had a 75cl bottle of a 10% imperial stout. Welcome to Belgium. From the first time I visited this brewery with the Burgundian Babblebelt, it became one of my favourites. Passionate, inventive and hosted the best beer event I have been to, the first pre ZBF festival in 2009. Oh and the beer shop at the brewery is awesome. Good drinkable impy stout. Good dark malts, choccy and some coffee, but the choc in particular is good. Decent hops on end. Not overly roasty or oily which makes it really solid in the mouth. Good malts. Well balanced. Not over the top, but benefits from being balanced. Thanks to everyone who has helped me, shared a beer, given me a beer, given me some gen along the way. In particular to the London Crew, without whom, I wouldn’t have done half the fantastic things that I have done. Oh and the guys from Struise for being just so inspirational.

Precious gift from Davy and Glenn straight from the conditioning cask on day #10. Thank you gentlemen! Dark chestnut color, flat Aroma of dark chocolate and dark mixed fruits, with a hint of vanilla. Flavor starts with milk chocolate and vanilla, very smooth, and progresses to roasted coffee beans. Chewy! Wonderful stuff, can’t wait to see it at maturity!

Bottle 70cl. @ The Danish Summer Gathering Tasting, TSODRBSG09.
Clear dark brown color with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige to light brown head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, coffee, cacao dusty, licorice. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and heavy bitter with a long duration, bitter and sweet licorice. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090822]

A Mes rate. Bottle at 1st Borefts Beer Festival.
Close to black with a really good tan head. Full of dark bitter chocolate and really good roasty notes. Faint wisps of smoke around the edge add plenty of character. Good woody notes and restrained but elegant bitterness to the finish. Really well crafted and while not a big scorer, a really enjoyable brew.

Bottle, 75cl, courtesy of fonefan. An almost black beer with a nice, dense tan head. Sweet, coffee-aroma with some chocolate and a hint of licorice. Sugary flavor with coffee and chocolate. Some notes of raisins and a little bitterness too. Full-bodied and a bit too carbonated, sticky and warming. Lasting finish with roasted malts and a coffee-like bitterness. A nice beer indeed, but after an initial joy, there’s a feeling of nothing more than interesting and one in the crowd. 090822

Very dark brown with a small pale brown head. Some lacings. The smell is of roasted malts, notes of chocolate and dark fruits. The taste is better than the smell. It’s fairly sweet and dominated by roasted malts. Notes of dark fruits and coffee. A hint of chocolate and a very mild spicy note. Medium body, slightly sticky texture despite the very bubbly carbonation. A decent beer, but I was actually somewhat disappointed in this considering the reputation behind this brewery and the fact that I usually like Belgian imperial stouts very much. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Bottle at BBF. Black with slight tan head. Another nice stout with a malty and fruity nose. Sweet, fruit flavoured with some smoke too. Some chocolate notes. Bitter finish. Enjoyable.