Baladin Noel Chocolat

Brewed by Le Baladin
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Piozzo, Italy

2008 vintage. Hazy dark brown with reddish hues and an off-white head that leaves some lacings. The smell is of caramel, rich fruity notes and some notes of chocolate and toffee. Hints of plastic phenols and alcohol. The taste is quite balanced. Sweet flavors of malts and dark almost vinous fruits. Muted chocolate notes mixes nicely with the fruits. Hints of toffee. The is mildly bitter and decently big with notes of malts and fruits. The alcohol is noticeable. Full-bodied with soft carbonation. Somewhat dry. A decent beer, better than the regular version. But the chocolate is quite muted throughout the experience. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

(Magnum 2005) Beige weak head. Dark brown colour. Aroma is malty, fruity (banana) with chocolate and earthy nots. Flavor is malty too with candy and dark fruity tones, ending in a moderately sweet finish. Full bodied.

Small yellow head over dark brown beer with red highlights. Nose with wood, liquorice, and more outspoken toffee aroma. Sweet taste, with liquorice flavours and easy malts, a bit winey. Burning MF, but well-bodied. Misses totally hops, for more equilibrium and balance. The cacao simply doesn’t do it. Rare beer, thanks Lorenzo!

Magnum bottle at Enosteria (Brescia). Compact and enough creamy foam, good persistence. Elegant dark brown color and much impenetrable. Powerful and winy aroma. Decided alcoholic impact with aromas of bitter cacao, candy and coffee. Medium prickly taste, much alcoholic with a much bitter beginning and a sweet and treacly end. Notes of scorched caramel and sweet malty. Unusual and too much unbalanced. Chocolate?

A hazy dark red beer with an off-white head. The aroma is sweet with light fruity notes, while the flavor is sweet with chocolate being most dominant, leading to a dry end.

The taste of chocolate is artificial. No alcohol is noticable in this beer. The beer looks better than it is. Not good enough.

Bottled: Dark amber coloured. Quite clear. Brownish small head. Grassy, sweet alcoholdense aroma. Flavour is fruity, light spiced and citric. Some vague cocoa notes. Is very light bodied. Ends on a rather dry and citric note. Alcohol is well hidden. Well, this sure wasn’t worth the 30 Euros I paid for the bottle, but what the heck. Had to try it.