Pours a frothy tan head which diminishes but has good lacing. The reddish brown body held tiny particles which swirled and begged me to drink them. This beer just looks great! The smell was a tantalizing array of fruits, but the burnt caramel and toffee were the leading scents. Burnt toffee was again apparent in the taste, as well as roasted malt and fermenting fruit on the sides of the tounge. It doesn’t mask the alcohol well, its true, but still a delicious creation! Light and oily on the palate, soft carbonation, slight alcoholic aftertaste. This is a fine beer! Some may be truned off by its inability to fully mask the alcohol, but I dont mind tasting the percentage so to speak.

Fantastic beer! Aroma is full of yeast and flowers, slight cigar in the background. Pours an almost perfect deep brown, with amber hues. Flavor is smooth and balanced, lots of yeast and some malt. Goes down great. This one is a great, great beer.

Pours a cloudy deep, dark reddish-brown color with a thick, frothy off-white head. Had the aroma of walking through a vineyard taking in the sweetness of the grapes and the earthiness of the soil. The flavor is a wonderful balance of roasted malt, wine, prunes, apple, bread, and a nice touch of light bitterness. There is some underlying alcohol but it fits in perfectly with the array of flavors and generous carbonation. This is a very nice beverage.

Thanks to Pollo. A Complex Classic. "This aromatic lively rich ale has a medium sweet middle, with gently drier suggestions of thyme, pepper, sandalwood, and nutmeg in the finish." MJ

Finally rated from a sample at WBF in Durham, though I expect to have this again. I love all Chimay beers. This one is vinous, with a deep copper pour and foamy, generous off-white head. Stewed fruits such as raisins and prunes. Some peat flavor and herbs, earthiness. Very good.