De la Senne Equinox Winter Beer

Brewed by Brasserie de la Senne / de Zenne Brouwerij
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Sint-Pieters-Leeuw, Belgium

Zinnebir X-mas 2006. Dark brown color with a thin head. Malty aroma with a bit of cinnamon. They malt dries out a lot in the taste. A hop presence that seems to be kind of like aged floral-like hops. Fairly yeasty.

750mL bottle, no date. My label claims 8% ABV. Clear deep ruby brown with a two finger beige head, good retention. Roasted malts and Belgian yeast are the first things I pick upon. There is also some pear, molasses, and light raisin notes. Flavor is much the same--roast and belgian yeast, some pear and stronger raisin notes Not as much sweetness as I’d have expected from a BelgianSemi-dry finish with an earthy bitterness around a 3. Light to medium body with moderate carbonation. Seems more like a stout than a Belgian Strong (and I know it’s a catch-all category).

750 ml bottle from Bevmo. Hazy brown with a fluffy tan head. Decent fruit and Belgian yeast aroma. Tastes of chocolate, fruit, and spice. Quite nice.

750ml bottle. Pours a deep brown with an off white creamy head with nice lacing. The beer was a bit bland right off the bat but, as it warmed, many new flavours arose. Coacoa, molasses, earth, light spice, light hop flavour as well.

750mL, 2007 bottling: Dark brown in color. Fluffy grayish-white foam slowly settles and displays nice retention. Airy phenols and burnt malt hulls dominate the aroma. Hints of dusty cocoa, aniseed, molasses, flowery hops and bittersweet chocolate. Mildly tinny. Explosive carbonation expands the cheeks as it hits the palate. Rather graceless from the get-go, as palate-scrubbing phenols bludgeon the palate and clash with the harsh roast and burnt malt hulls. Quite sweet despite the high levels of phenols and acidity. Assertive cola-like sweetness mixes with the chewy residuals to further compound the sweetness. Malts develop some much-needed softness as the beer reaches 60F, but the emergence of metallic acidity and stale chocolate, coupled with an out-of-place chalky bitterness, tarnish a large portion of it. Rather flat in terms of structure (no fruity esters or bouncy malts to offset the overt and redundant roastiness). Alcohol is never a factor. Anticlimactic finish reveals an earthy potting-soil bitterness, stale black coffee and a muted plummy fruitiness. All in all, the phenols - which I suspect are an early sign of bottle infection - are overpowering. This also relies too heavily on the roast (which, to begin with, is flawed) and not nearly enough on their classy yeast character. Too bad because both their Zinnebir and Taras Boulba are among my favorite beers in the world.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 4   Light Brown(1)->Dark(5) : 3   Ruby : XX   Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 4   White(1)->Tan(5) : 2   Lasting: 4   Lacing : 3
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 3   Bread : 3   Apple : XX   Esters : 2   Banana : 2   Phenols : 1   Leather : XX   Perfume : 3   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : XX
Malt : 3   Biscuity : XX   Toast : XX   Caramel : XX   Toffee : 2   Maple : XX   Molasses : XX   Nuts : 3   Candy : XX   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : 2   Fruits : XX   Chocolate : 2   Coffee : XX   Vanilla : 1   Grapes : XX   Blackberries : 2   Dates : XX   Cherries : XX   Plums : XX   Figs : XX
Hops : 3   Noble(1)->American(5) : 1   Leafy : 3   Floral : 3   Orange : XX   Herbal : XX   Spicy : 4   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX
Notes :   Earth : 3   Wood : XX   Cloves : 2   Smoke : XX   Pepper : 3   Ginger : XX   Peach/Pear/Apricot : 2   Candi Sugar : 2   Anise : XX   Vinous : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 2   Sourness : 3   Bitterness : 2   Complex : 3   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 4   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : XX   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : 2   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : 2

Comments: Yeasty and tart example with a competent spicy flavour profile, a developing, complex hoppiness and a dry, refreshing palate despite the high octane.

Rich, dark malty aroma with some earth, coffee, and dark fruit. Near opaque brown color with a substantial tan head. Full bodied with fizzy/creamy carbonation. Not as expected from the aroma. Toasted malt, dark chocolate, dark fruit, but it’s really dry. A little sweetness slips through from time to time, but it is really tending toward a stout, if the malt is as toasted as it seems. Or maybe towards a porter. Or a bitter shwarzbier. The finish is dry, lightly toasted, decently bittered, and a bit spiced. Really good drink.

Very quirky beer, especially for a winter seasonal. Extremely lively beer, not just in the pour but throughout. Deep dark brown with a lasting head, it’s got the palate of a fizzy blonde. The aroma is very understated, with mild funk. While one expects a very rich dark fruit and spice profile from a Belgian winter, this one strikes me as almost a cross between Dupont’s Avec des Bon Voeux and a slightly tart Belgian black. Some bitter fruits, dark chocolate, and dry saison-like finish, even as hints of coriander and cassis come through. Enjoyable and unpredictable.