Belzebuth

Brewed by Brasserie Grain d’Orge
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ronchin, France

poured with a very thick head. Appearnace is nice with a cloudy texture and some lingering yeast. Aroma is very sour. Mouthfeel is sour and tart. Flavor is disappointing and not very pleasant.

This ale pours a white, creamy head that is of average size. The head mostly diminishes. The body is clear, there are medium to large sized particles in the beer, however, the density of these particles is thin. The body has a reddish orange hue. The aroma was tricky for me to identify. There was a definite strong alcohol presence. I think I picked up on some cereal and grain malt aromas, as well as some yeasty and sweet aromas. The flavor of this ale has a long lasting and strong alcohol flavor, which was not unpleasant by any means. I also picked up sweet malt and/or fruit flavors as well. This is a tasty treat.

A strong malty nose with some alcohol punch to it. The flavor was very sweet with hints of carob.

Reminded me of urbock at first, but after a few sips the sweetness is cloying and the flavor unpleasant because it seems to be simple fermented sugar, like a cheap malt liquor. I could only drink a few sips. Dark brown with no head. No hop presence in this beer.

Very strong malt presence on the nose with more than a hint of alchohol. The flavor is much of the same. Are you sure they don;t add alchohol? Very sweet and has an amazing burn, but the balance seems a little off, and my bottle wasn;t young.

Bottle, best before January 2002, Old Stock Tasting III with Dum, Ian and Steve at Lubière’s, savoured on October 13th, 2006; eye: cognac, suspended matter, clear, no effervescence; mouth: unidimensional, alcohol, Madeira, oxidized, light caramel, finale in alcohol with pepper, relatively thin, medium body, alcoholic texture, light bitterness FRANÇAIS Bouteille, meilleure avant janvier 2002, dégustation de Vieux stock III avec Dum, Ian et Steve chez Lubière, savouré le 13 octobre 2006; oeil : cognac, matière en suspension, claire, pas d’effervescence; bouche : unidimensionnel, alcool, madère, oxydée, léger caramel, finale en alcool avec poivre, relativement mince, corps moyen, texture alcoolique, légèrement amère

8 oz bottle. LIght copper color heavy large sediment floating through-out. Strong alcohol aroma with notes of vanilla extract and malt. Pretty smooth going down with steady alcohol warmth building. Very malty, smooth with creamy feel and notes of sweet dark fruit.

I bought this beer (hesitatingly) from a store new to me that had a good selection of import singles, but a very bad selection of US craft singles. And I am fairly happy I did. It tastes like a Belgian Strong Ale, but is very Tripel-ish. It is pretty good, and hides its 13% ABV well, but I wouldn’t call it a bargain. Appearance is a hazy orange with a fairly minimal white head which stuck around well. This beer looked pretty handsome in my tulip glass (thanks Michelob Celebrate!). My boxer licked the glass clean when I was done, so the glass is ready to be re-filled with Celebrate (which, by the way, will never, ever happen). Aroma is a light alcohol aroma which I would describe as "Tripel-ish." There is some spice in this beer, but it is very dry smelling. The taste represents the yeastiness of a tripel, but a bit overdone. This beer is very dry, like a champaign. As it warmed, there is a bit of raisin-iness which doesn’t really fit. It does mask its 13% ABV quite well...much better than a Samichlaus (14%) I had earlier this week. The mouthfeel is a bit puckery, also like a champaign. Pretty solid. After I drank it, I noted I paid $3.89 for what was only an 8.4 oz bottle (and there was some sediment so I left a bit in the bottle). Seems a bit pricey in retrospect.