Bottle purchased at Bierkoning, Amsterdam. Nose is dusty bread crust yeast, caramel malt, minerally and toasty throughout with a light sweetness to the aroma. Flavor is much the same: peppery, coarse bread crust and caramel malt with a green hop note buried in there deep. Chewy maple malt in the finish along with some strange bakers cocoa(?). Semi-sweet. Nice.

33cL bottle, courtesy of acrdz. Thanks, Mike! Pours a slightly murky, cola-brown color; mixed-bubbled khaki head with patchy lacing. Solid amounts of cola, caramel, and dried fruits in the aroma; slightly warming alcohol note that’s more warming than abrasive; very pleasant, dense caramel note. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: chewy caramel, dried dark fruits and cola; some orange peel and nuttiness; tasty, dense, warming cola-driven feel; pretty tasty stuff. Lengthy finish: chewy cola, caramel, dried fruits; slightly dry at the far end.

Bottle into tulip, ’t Arendsnest, Amsterdam (3/2008). Best Dutch beer I had the pleasure of drinking while in Amsterdam. Dark cherrywood color with a fluffy, one-inch eggshell head that lasts. Very light bready fruit smells, like fruitcake mixed with angel food cake. Sweet at first like DFH Raison d’Etre or Midas Touch, syrupy figs and twigs. Thyme accents a spicy finish with ginger, rootsy licorice, and a bit of lactose. While I liked this quite a bit, I felt like the ancillaries of the beer were better than the core; i.e., it looks good, smells good, the finish is good, and certain flavors were wonderful, but they were always wonderful in isolation--the parts are better than the sum. Still, impressive.

Bottle. [thank you Skortila/Caesar]
Pours a most wonderful coppery golden with a fine, staying, creamy, yellowish head. Beautiful simply. Aroma is wonderfully sweet and extremely complex. Lots of raisins, plums, chocolate, figs, spices (notably cardemum and cinnamon), some doughy malts and caramel. Dark brown sugar as well. Low to medium carbonation. Flavour is truly magnificent. Very subdued viniousness hiding lots of fruity characters, some apples and raspberries appearing alongside the dried, dark fruits. In the aftertaste, a touch of flowery hops mix well with yeastiness and light chocolate. Why is this rated so low? Wonderful experience!

Orange, golden colored brew. Nice sweet, fruity aroma. Sweet, caramel malts, sugary. Nice.