4 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Bottle from mix pack from LCBO, shared with toffsbury. Pours deep clear brown with no head. Smells of caramel and brandy and grapes; definitely high alcohol content in this one. Taste is surprisingly un-Belgian, but it is good! Maybe more of a barley wine. Sweet caramel, raisins, other dark fruit, alcohol; none of the usual Belgian spiciness. Not at all what I was expecting, but I like it.
3.3 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
Bottle shared by kevinsenn. No head to speak of. Attractive dark brown colour - much darker than expected. Aroma is sugary sweet, with the almost inperceptible hint of red wine, along with caramel and grape. Actually, the more you smell it, the more fermenting grape you get. taste is surprisingly sweet - just about no bitterness. Pleasant palate. Almost like an unfermented wort, really. I cannot believe that it’s 10.5%. An unusual beer, but rather nice.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: JAN 21, 2012 Bottle at North Bar, Leeds. Pours a ruby copper, with a ridiculous, Duvel-spec gushing head. Aroma us malt, malt and more raisiny malt, with dark fruits and caramel all present. Taste is rich, with dark fruit, and a bit of apricot mixing with the plum and thick malt. A bit too fizzy for me on the way in, its relatively full bodied with a nice alcohol lift. Improves once the bubbles settle down. Nice, but I was expecting more.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 18/20
Bottle. Dark brown colour with a small beige head. Aroma and flavour of spice, malt, alcohol, fruit and caramel.
3.6 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 13/20
UPDATED: FEB 8, 2012 reddish amber appearance. Simple candy aroma with similar taste but taste is refined. very smooth albeit a tiny bit thin.
4.2 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 5/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 18/20
Bottle. Pours dark ruby; lots of visible carbonation creates huge lasting head. Aroma is immediately quite sweet: berries, vanilla. Also bready, banana; alcohol if you look for it. Very sweet on the tongue as well, with dark fruits, candied sugar, a bit spicy. Alcohol is very well hidden. Creamy textured. Slightly sour finish. Highly carbonated. This is an amazingly good Belgian; I wish I had more than the 11 ounces.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
750ml. Says best buy 2013. Pours a murky reddish-brown color with a good tan fluffy head on top. The aroma shows caramel, dough, yeast, sugary candy, with a touch of plum and licorice. The flavors are sweet and slightly spicy; sour apple, tart red plum, sweet black plum, candi sugar, Belgian yeast, and some caramel all stick out. At fist I thought the body was a tad too heavy but now I’m not sure that it is. The alcohol does show a bit but it’s still pretty smooth going down. Nice beer. Maybe a little less alcohol and fruity sweetness and this would be really great.
4.1 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 17/20
330 mL bottle from SoHo Organic Market in Elizabeth City, NC. Murky brown pour with a foamy off-white head. Aroma of caramel malts, light candi sugar, and some dark fruit in the distance. Dark fruit becomes more prominent as this settles. The flavor is a complex offering that with its sweetness resembles a Belgian dubbel. But the dark fruit and hints of chocolate resemble something else, possibly a quad. There are some red wine characteristics as well which I suppose makes sense given the use of wine yeast during the secondary fermentation. The end result is unlike any beer I have tried yet it seems very familiar at the same time if that makes any sense at all. Really, really good.
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