Deus Brut des Flandres

750 ml bottle from Bev4less. Pours a fizzy yellow-gold color with a small white head that immediately dissipates to nothing. The aroma is strong with peaches, pears, honey, apples and a bit of alcohol. And that makes the aroma the best aspect of this ale. The flavor is similar with lots of subtle fruits and some really good frangelico, but on the backend is that bit of hot alcohol, and its distracting. Also present in the taste is a cheap ginger ale quality, but since I like cheap ginger ale this is one of the more redeeming qualities of this brew. The palate is full and malty with annoying prickly carbonation. The finish is medium in duration with honey and booze. Overall: A very poor value, this was way too expensive for what I got.

750ml Bottle (2005): Aroma of yeast, and slight citrus. Poured pale yellow in color with a huge, white head that diminished but lasted throughout. Extremely sparkling. Clear. Flavor is lightly sweet. Tastes of yeast, spices, marzipan, slight alcohol, toasting, and grains. Medium body. Tingly, lightly dry texture. Lively carbonation. Yeast and spice finish is lightly dry. 11.5%ABV is very well hidden. A simple yet complex brew. Tons of carbonation leave the drinker a bit gassy and bloated.

Green bottle, 750 ml, 2008 vintage, best before 01/01/2010, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savoured on September 27 2009; eye: golden, clear, good effervescence, champagne-style white head that turns into a tiny sheet, minimal lacing; nose: yeast, bread, citrusy, light banana, light tropical fruits; mouth: yeast, bread, citrusy, light banana, light tropical fruits, dry finale in tropical fruits with an enjoyable acidity presence, medium-light body, rather carbonated, lightly sweet, slick texture; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Bouteille verte, 750 ml, millésime 2008, meilleure avant 01/01/2010, via Importations Privées Bièropholie (merci Hughes!), savourée le 27 septembre 2009; œil : dorée, claire, bonne effervescence, mousse blanche style champagne qui se transforme en une petite couverture de mousse, dentelle minime; nez : levure, pain, citrique, léger banane, léger fruits tropicaux; bouche : levure, pain, citrique, léger banane, léger fruits tropicaux, finale sèche en fruits tropicaux avec présence d’une acidité agréable, corps moyen-léger, plutôt carbonatée, légèrement sucrée, coulante; en résumé : bien aimé

Bottled sample. Pale orange in colour with strong carbonation. Herbal (minty) aromas dominate, along with some pale malts abd booze. Moderately sweet in the mouth with more mint, sugar cookies, black pepper, marshmallow, and a bit of citrus. Heavier in the mouth than expected, but I guess the high carbonation can only do so much for an 11.5% beer. Fairly average overall, I’m not really sure what all of the fuss is about?

Aroma of yeast and mint. Appearance is clear orange with a lot of sparkling bubbles and small head. Flavor is sweet, yeasty with hints of mint and licrish. The beer is dry and the sparkling bubbles makes this a very speciall beer. A nice but not priceworthy beer.

Aroma is of minty toothpaste and citrus. Taste is quite special;It is like a tripel or a pale belgian strong ale on steroids. Carbonation is high and sharp notes abound. Most present is the anis, mint and amaretto, which hides the alcohol quite well, so that the high alcohol content only gives a little bit of warmth to the beer. Maybe this beer will improve with age, but as someone wrote below, the tale of the emperors new clothes is a good metaphor for a brew this expensive and fancily packaged, as it does not deliver where it really counts - the taste! Thanks though, Gunnar, for the opportunity to test it without spending a ridiculous amount of money at the Systembolaget.

Cuvée Prestige 2005; bottle courtesy of theisti. It pours a clear gold with a huge fizzy (champagne-like) head that collapses fairly quickly. On the nose is mint, light coriander, and champagne yeast. It smells like a minty pinot gris (sans the grape character) fermented with a champagne yeast. Medium-bodied and effervescent, it concludes with a yeasty, Asti-like finish. The flavor is a nice, lightly minty champagne-like pale malt, and it’s almost a stretch to describe it as malt. While the bottle and the tiny collateral piece attached to the neck recommend drinking this cold, I found that it opened up and become more enjoyable as it warmed. If you’re looking for an interesting alternative to champagne to celebrate a special event, this could certainly fill the bill. Thank you for such a generous gift, Tim. I’m glad that you enjoyed it as well. :)

(Vintage 2001) Saved this for 8 years and was delighted to find it was worth it. Pours a light cloudy bronze with plenty of precipitate. An airy, sea-foam head settles on top. Aromatically, this boasts an explosive panoply of spices; cardamom, ginger, grains of paradise, hibiscus... Yeasty alcohol flavor with spices cling to the palate--mostly light phenols and white pepper. Bready, yeasty alcohol finish with a Belgian funk kick. Delightful.