Belzebuth

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Banana/alcohol nose, sweet taste with an alcohol bite (not half as bad as I was prepared for). Many other fruit/woody flavors are buried in this one.

Bottle at home. Golden / yellow colored beer with a small off-white head. Smell malts and a little alcohol. Taste not as alcoholic as you might expect. Decent.

Poured a light brown to amber color with soft thin white head. Sweet malt and spicy alcohol aroma. Sour metal like malt flavor with an alcohol burning finish.

Sort of an off orange color, a bit hazy, head didn't last but a minute or so, completely faded away. Aroma was a blast of alcohol, a bit of sweetness, and nothing else. The flavor was again alcohol based, and although it was full bodied and sweet, it simultaneously struck me as being a bit thin. A bite on the palate. A one dimensional beer.

I got one of the 15% bottles, marked APril 2001. Medium brownish orange. Very little head despite being a slow foamer when opened. Jellyfish sediment floats inside. Apricots and tangerines spiced with pepper and cinnamon. A little sweet and a little unbalanced. It's cloying without overwhelming sweetness. The alcohol gives a slight burn in the gut.

bottle from 2006 I Believe . Clear dark amber pour. Sweet malts on the nose, however the flavor is dominated by the strong alcohol presence

Bottle shared with blankboy, HogTownHarry & tupalev - courtesy of blankboy. Pale golden colour with no head. Aroma is sweet and fruity, with strong alcohol notes. Flavour is sweet as well, with a sticky body and notes of hard lemon candy and harsh whiskey. Not very pleasant...

25 cl bottle. Pours an ugly orange/amber with a very small bubbly white head. Aroma is neither pleasant nor offensive but just plain. Smells of a very basic sweet malt, slight hints of honey and raisin, and slight alcohol perhaps a touch of wood. Medium bodied with noticable carbonation and a smooth finish especailly considering the 13% alcohol. Flavor of alcohol slightly yeaty and some fruit. Not soemthing that you need to spend a lot of time on since it isn’t that complex or interesting. If your looking to get drunk though I must say it goes down fairly smoothly and although the alcohol is detectable in the aroma and the flavor it is a far cry from the 13% punch this beer is packing.

UPDATED: JAN 3, 2004 Belzebuth “13% Version”: This version was produced when the French raised the taxes on any beer as I understand it that was in excess of “13%”.

The color on the pour a translucent deep gold with a personable head that is semi-creamy in texture and a bright white color, the lace form's a decent sheet to cover the glass. Nose that of a typical lager, crisp and clean, somewhat sweet, with a hint of fusel alcohol and the start cloyingly sweet, nicely malted with the top light to medium in feel. Finish is fairish in its acidity; the hops are subdued but seem to perk up a bit as the beer warms to the glass and the room. Aftertaste is quite dry and it lingers for quite sometime, a definite “Warming Sensation” in the “Tummy, I must say I don’t dislike this beer, of all the “European Strong Lagers” I’ve sampled, I find this one along with the 15% version to at least have a body and a nice malt profile.

“15% Version”: Well, I’ve heard and read a lot about this beer, mostly negative, but I always like to judge or review for myself. Color on the pour is translucent golden amber, the head modest in size, creamy in its texture and the remaining lace a nice coating sheet. Dominated by the malt, alcohol quite pronounced also, crisp and clean and not all that unpleasant. Front is sweet, the top skeletal and the finish “ZAP, ZING, POOF, ZOWIE” all alcohol Baaaabbbby! Whew, moderate carbonation and sparsely hopped and the aftertaste alcohol bitter and dry. More like "Jim Beam" Bourbon than a beer. "Bad", I’d say “No”, different, Oh yes, not a beer meant for the weak of palate, heart, stomach, or those that have any palate at all. Not something I would want to drink on a regular basis, but "Hey I like it”, but then I'm a bit weird. Oh I almost forgot, I've got a six pack aging away, wonder what it will be like in a couple of years?

250 ml bottle with 13% on the label, 28 07 08 date stamp. Slightly hazy, orange-gold beer with a small but persistent head. Pleasant estery bubblegum, honey, and grain aroma. Flavor is sweet apples, grape, and dry grain with a slight alcohol finish that gets stronger as you go. Juicy Fruit chewing gum aftertaste. Chest-warming alcohol is fairly well-masked for 13%. Mostly smooth, medium body has a little tingle and finishes dry. Average-tasting Belgian, but a nice winter warmer that shouldn’t be given in more than 250 cc doses.