Black Lotus The Gift

Brewed by Black Lotus Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Clawson, Michigan USA

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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5th Annual MBG Winter Beer Festival, Grand Rapids. Hazy orange-brown body, thin buff head. Caramely nose with brown sugar, toast, and hints of clove and banana. Light, tangy body, toasty, with brown sugar and clove, bitter finish. Thin and insubstantial. I was disappointed with both Black Lotus beers I sampled.

From notes. First reviewed 1/12/2011. Served on tap at Black Lotus in a tulip. Ruby red in appearance, with a small white head. The head fades quickly, leaving nothing behind. Bananas, currant, raisin, plum, dark malts provide a strange combination in the nose. Meh. To me, this tastes like it is composed of 1/3 Belgian Dark Ale and 2/3 of a huge Hefe, meaning it is somewhat of a mess. Quite sweet throughout. It starts out with bananas and clove, then dark malts. A spicy Belgian yeast is obviously noticeable. Raisins and plums come in with some fusel alcohol. Too much banana, no hops, and the sweetness bothers me more each sip I take. Cloying to say the least. Fuller than medium bodied, with light carbonation. Sticky sweet and lightly dry at the end. I would not order this again. It sounds like the last batch in 2008 was better, but this was not good.

On tap at the Brewpub...the menu board claims this is now 12.5% ABV, however that doesn’t come thru the malty sweetness. Compared to other brews I’ve had at the Black Lotus this was pretty good, but that’s not much of a compliment. However, this beer was Belgian enough that I liked it.

i’m not a big fan of belgians. that said, i’d rather drink a dragonmead final absolution than this.

On tap at brew pub. I’m not a big fan of Belgians. Small white head with amber orange body hue and slightly hazy. Aroma of light grain and moderate Belgian yeast with hints of banana. Over powering aroma of clove spice. Flavor is sweet with pleasant banana finish and Belgian yeast as well. It seemed to get unpleasant over time.

In short: An herbal yeasty Strong Belgian Ale. Basic stuff.
How: Tap at brewpub
The look: Clear copper body with a very small white had.
In long: Spicy nose with coriander and friends. Yeasty notes of bananas and pears along with caramelized malts, green tea, coriander and some herbs. Don’t know if it’s the noble hops, yeast by-products or added herbs but the beer has an overall herbal feeling. Alcohol is nowhere to be found. Decent beer but nothing special really. I wasn’t too crazy about The Gift but after 15 minutes I was done with it and it wasn’t impolite to put it aside to enjoy something more interesting. If only I could do the same with my girlfriend’s presents.

Hazy, ruby pour with a big classic belgian head that fades with a nice lacing to a thin layer. Dominant banana and bubblegum aroma wit notes of spice and candi sugar. Flavor profile is exactly what the aroma suggests. Oily, medium full body with gentle carbonation.