3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20$5.99 sale bomber from Sam’s Quik Shop. Pours dark ruby-brown with a generous beige head. Nose of lovely Belgian yeast and some stony fruits--plum, fig, overripe peach. Some dark grainy malts and relatively low-key allspice and perhaps cinnamon. Also hints at a strange acidity and tartness. Taste is not quite as good as the smell, though a nice lingering aftertaste.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
750 mL bottle - pours dark opaque crimson, nice big, fluffy, white head. Great lacing and retention. Aromas of candied fruit, plums and vanilla malt. Nice and yeasty, touch of spice. Medium bodied, lively with carbonation. Cola and maple flavors dominate. Little nut and plum. Drier finish. Pretty good, though the initial promise doesn’t come through.
3.9 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
It pours a dark brown with a highly carbonated head. Very sweet hints of brown sugar and cinnamon.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
Draft. Poured a light ruby color with a small off-white head. Aroma was some spice, with notes of yeast, light sweet malts. Flavor was sweet malts, with some notes of yeast and some dark, dried fruits. Relatively light, at least more light than I expected.
3.4 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle. Pours a very dark brown color with a thick frothy off-white head. Nose has a hint of sweetness with some malty and spicy notes to it. Taste has the same, with the addition of some sour dark fruit notes to it.
3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20
750ml from Sam’s, Durham. Thought I’d try this one, given the deep discount. Darkish copper/brown pour, well carbonated but not too distinctive or impressive an appearance. Nose of slightly ripe yeast, prominent malts, and a bit of allspice. Taste was heavy on the sweets n beets for sure, with modest spice and hops in there too, particularly on the finish. Something about it seemed just a bit off to me, perhaps because of that weird vegetal tartness as with their other beers I’ve tried so far.
3 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 15/20
Pours a soft ruby copper with one finger of tight tan head. Nose is interesting, lots of dark fruit (fig/raisin/prune) and a touch of spice. Gets to be kind of weird, that Belgian yeast + dark grain fiasco comes out. Grainy burnt popcorn. Touch of acidity in the nose, lots more in the flavor. Where did that acidity come from? Dark fruit shows too and all that other jazz. Weird finish, almost sour.
2.9 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 13/20
Definitely gets a little more entertaining as it warms. Dark fruits and spice on the back of the palate make this much more reminiscient of the belgian christmas beers I am used to. Pours dark brown with a tan head and some light lacing. Plum and toasty grain aromas. Flavor has some chocolate and bread in there. A relatively complex beer but some of the flavors are clashing a little bit in a slightly bitter aspect mid palate.
3.3 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 2/5 OVERALL 14/20
Bottle thanks to Andy! Pours a near clear deep amber with a grayish brown head that dissipates to the edges slowly. Aroma has a a combination of sweet dark bread and spice with a bit of underlying dark fruits. Flavor is much more dark fruit forward with spice coming out in the finish and underlying dark grain and bread notes.
4.5 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 10/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Bottle, caged and corked. About as dark a shade of red as a beer can get before you’d call it black. Beautiful pillowy head. The aroma is rich and super sweet, bordering on chocolate. This drinks like a holiday dessert ... Rich and as sweet as a syrupy cherry pie. Delicious. (#4880, 12/30/2012)
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