La Rulles Cuvée Meilleurs Voeux

Brewed by Brasserie Artisanale de Rulles
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Rulles, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Aroma:Nutty with ligh cooked vegetable aroma... Appearance:Hazy Dark amber,good beige head... Flavor:Nothing special,apples ,light bitterness,watery....

Dark ruby mahogany color, with a frothy tan-colored head, with a spicy nose of nutmeg, cinnamon, with a roasted, caramelized malts, dried apples fruitiness, hint of dark coffee in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a yeasty, spicy character of nutmeg, cinnamon, anise, roasted malt, dark chocolate note, hint of fruitiness, leading towards an alcoholic warmth and a malt roastiness bitter finish.

Everlasting lacing, gorgeous and compact tiny bubbled beige head. Underneath liquid looks tern in comparison, a well carbonated profound garnet, considerably sedimented. Soft, slightly bubbly nose lets perfumey malts and gentle spicings (nutmeg being dominant, but likely also cloves and cinnamon) create a limited field covering nose, that doesn’t expand much with temperature change and breathing. Reasonably dry on the tongue, active carbonation manages to avoid any bothering. Silky and light on the palate, yet impressively well textured and obviously natural (unfiltered, unpasteurised). A mellow roastiness brings grainy coffee notes that were more than friendly with my BBQ’d beef. Little to no acidity, yet obvious fruitiness is traduced in the shape (though hard to identify to me) of dried raisins, red apples, honeymelon. Am I not rating this a bit too high because I have a biased positive opinion toward Rulles? Yes, but what are you gonna do, it’s not like I’m not growing less and less objective everyday and I just love their appearances and mouthfeels, so they can’t fare too bad.

UPDATED: OCT 31, 2006 Any first impressions?
-A sumptuous, rich, and creamy head, looking nearly-nitrogenated, covers the deep brown-mahogany gown, but doesn’t lace much.
-Cocoa shavings, nutmeg, cinnamon, and roastiness calmly lead this powdery, sweet aroma.
-Dried cranberries and blueberries, wet earth, cocoa and roasted maltiness fail to arouse any passions, but remain flavorful.
-An uber-creamy mouthfeel hints at an unmalted wheat caress, and artificial gasses, very strange for a bottle.

What if you dig deeper?
-Herbal and earthy hops tickle the back side of the palate and perfume.
-The powdery cocoa builds on the tongue after a while, helped by the bready yeast.
-That same yeast evolves into a soft, fruity finish.
-Sweetness and spices aren’t overdone at all for a Christmas beer, and alcohol’s a no-show.
-Another Rulles brew which looks and feels superb, but which in the end doesn’t excite as much as it could. That being said, this remains a very drinkable and tasty Belgian Ale.

Bottles; best before October ’08.

Hoppy, rather herbal aroma with iron. Sweetish, spicy flavor, hard to describe which spices. Rather thin and lacking in malt character. A bit disappointing compared to other Rulles beers.

Bottle. DArk amber colour with an off-white head. Sweet spicy aroma. Smooth malty and fruity aroma with some roasty hints. Roasty aftertaste.

Bottle (Cuvee Meilleurs Voeux, 7.3%): Deep ruby dark amber with a medium long lasting beige head. Aroma slightly subdued, nice caramalt notes, a little biscuity too. Flavour starts sweet and toffee like, with a yeasty, dry almost citric bitter finish. Quite drinkable.

"Poured a dark copper color with average size head. Solid lacing that lasted till after the beer was gone. Aroma was of carmel malts and yeast. Flavor was carmel malts little bitter to it and mabye some citrus. Nice christmas beer."

On draught at Monk’s in Philly 2/3/2006: Listed on the Monk’s menu as "Christmas ale made w/Orval yeast, candi sugar, and American hops (cascade). Medium body. Malty middle & very dry finish. 7.3%abv." Deep copper/amber colored body, mostly hazy, with a small beige head. The aroma is sweet malt, candi sugar, sweet caramel, light orange/grapefruit citrus, and a hint of crazy yeast. The taste is medium sweet, with some herbs, orange, light grapefruit, caramel, and a bit of funky yeast. Medium bodied, smooth, watery at times.

Cuvée Meilleurs Voeux" 7.3 ABV, en fût.

Couleur auburn aux reflets rougeâtres, mousse beige pale adhère bien sur la paroi du verre. Arômes de café, de noix, de malt torréfié et de fruits rouge. Saveurs de caramel, de noisette, d’anis et de diacetyl se faisant trop présent. Douce texture en bouche, fine carbonatation. En fût, Délirium Café, Décembre 2005