La Caracole Cuvée

Formerly brewed at La Caracole
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Falmignoul, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle 75cl. [ Vintage BBF 04.01 ].
Clear dark amber color with a small, fizzy, fair lacing, fully diminishing, off-white to white head. Aroma is heavy malty, bread, roasted, caramel, oxidide, vintage malt. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and moderate bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20090226]

Bottled. Red-brown. Sweet, but well balanced. Mildly syrupy mouthfeel. Some bitterness.

Cuvée de l’An Neuf, bottled 05-2001, 3 years old
Dark amber color; creamy head. Very strong aroma, sweet, malty, spicy; caramel; mature. Good malty body, strong caramel, sweet. Long final, well bitter and with a good caramel touch and roasted nuts.

Bottle @ Kulminator, Antwerp.
[vintage 1998]
Pours entirely clear and deep red with almost no head. Aroma has toffee, strawberries, caramel and just a hint of oxidation. Soft carbonation, fat mouthfeel, extremely velvety. Flavour is pure, fat caramel and toffee, light yeast, some alcohol. Very sweet, but balanced with some tart notes. Very nice.

Aged bottle, 1999 vintage Small, disappearing cream-coloured head over ruby-mahogany beer. Rich portwine, madeira, cigar leaf & wine-soaked dried nuts, perfect plum-cake in a glass. Sweet, very sweet even, but with added complexity, flavours as from (milk) chocolate, red portwine, dried figs & plums; rum flavouring retronasal. Oily, very viscous, alcoholburn and -warming; rich & luxurious. Just a tad too sweet, otherwise age has made this beer a topper.

Sweet and spicey.

(Bottled, 0.75l, 1999 vintage@Kulminator) Opaque dark brown color with a small head. Very grainy-malty, perfumy, barley-wineous, sweet-toffeeish aroma. Sweetish-syrupy, grainy-malty, slightly alcoholic but nice flavor. Slightly alcoholic and rough-feeling palate with low carbonation. A excellent strong ale - although the alcohol and maltiness are slightly rough. Both the aroma and flavor get more earthy and smooth with yeast.

Bottle @ Kulminator. Beautiful rich ruby, thin head disappears quickly. Nose is that of a well-aged barleywine - brown sugar, port, honey, slight sherry, dark fruits. Flavor is caramel first & foremost then hints of sherry & brown sugar. Plenty of plum and other dark fruits, cocoa, rich toffee. Avoids being too sweet. Wonderful.

UPDATED: AUG 8, 2008 33cl capped bottle from Holemans Drankenhandel in Aarschot. Beautiful amber beer with lively carbonation. Sweet complex flavor that is not overpowering. Just a tremendous beer and a great BSA.