Belzebuth

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

Finally Bellingham is host to a bottle shop, and this is the first thing I’ve had from this wonderful new establishment. Very very interesting. Complete malt profile here: thick honey, dried fruit, tobacco-like mouthfeel, and a finish that never goes away. The alchohol, although high, is almost imperceptable beneath all the malt. This is specificaly for malt lovers, as there is very little else happening here, but for those of you out there this is worth having.

Sent as a part of BIF 13 (from hell) by BeerAdvocate drewbage, the labeling certainly fit the theme perfectly. The orange yellow body looked very nice in the Pilsner glass with a two inch creamy head sitting atop it, and leaving decent lace considering the strength of the liquid. The aroma was very sweet, with bananas and orange peel hiding the high ABV very nicely. The taste was warm and soft, with soothing liquor like quality to it. It was not inherently complex, but instead let the alcohol make things interesting with some spicy and sweet notes carried through. A little thin on the palette, and malt liquor like in the sugar derived alcohol strength. Although one dimensional, this is not a bad beer to try once in a while.

bottle said best by oct.02 and 15% abv. poured in my snifter a golden amber with off white head with lots of floaties. aroma alcohol,malts,a nice sweetness like honey, some citrus, orange , lemon, licorice. flavor surprisingly the alcohol was not the 1st thing that comes out, syrupy fruity honey mixtureand as it lingers in your mouth the alcohol comes out. this is a beer you could drink instead of cognac for a after dinner drink I didn’t think the french had it in them to make such a beer that would stand up and fight for you attention

Sampled at Hall’s Beer Tavern in Paris, France. Golden. Pleasantly aromatic with notes of sea plants, herbs and lemon. It’s a big one, that’s for sure. Notes of melon, pear, lemon, pineapple and cooked corn. Not offensive in any way. It may have been a mistake to sample this beer after a Thomas Hardy’s 1999. I wouldn’t have this again. There are just so many better French beers.

Nice amber color, little carbonation, and the thin head collapsed almost immediatedly. The aroma and taste are both sweet and malty, but not offensively so. It’s a thick, syrupy drink that ends on a sour note. But that’s not so bad. And at 13% abv, the alcohol presence was minimal. Tasty drink.

Poured a bit lighter than I anticipated. The head lingered for only a moment before leaving a fine white lace. Sweet, and slightly oily in the mouth with a slight alcohol and pepper burn. I tasted a little fruit, bananas maybe.....or plums. A little more burn on the end, but VERY tasty. Two was enough for me at one sitting.

13% version. 250ml bottle. Freshness date: 28.3.05 Amber/orange with red highlights and lightly effervescent. The head is white, diminished almost immediately and left a light sticky lace. Aroma is malty with fruity esters. Taste is sweet and fruity with a slight peppery finish (some hops). Lingering peppery aftertaste. Mouthfeel is full bodied, creamy, lively and effervescent. An experience, and an unusual style. Easy to drink, but one was enough... for a while.

A frightening ale, this, that used to be available briefly, in MN, and which I tried in the days before I sat down to write about every beer. My strongest, most succint impression then was "it tastes like drugs" and, though this bottle says 13% and my previous samplings were 15%, those are still the best 4 words to use. This review comes from a freshly delivered bottle: Appearance: a clear pale reddish hue, with a small, swiftly settling white head. Aroma: booming fruit, huge, even suffocating alcohol. Wickedly sweet, damned powerful. Just drinking it in the nose could put you into drunkenness! Fierce on the palate, BOOM!BOOM!BOOM!---unrelen hot and potentially damaging! I feel as if malt is providing too little flavor, hops are not helping either, and no parts of this beer are resisting the dominance of the occupying alcoholic forces. Gets to work in the brain quickly, like a French malt likka. Intensely burning and buzzing, incredibly alcoholic and flavorful, but--OW!OW!OW!!! much so. Too, too much so. Good for a novelty perhaps, but nothing you’d reach for to quench your thirst or get you relaxing.