Maredsous 8

Brewed by Brouwerij Moortgat
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Breendonk-Puurs, Belgium

33cl in namesake goblet: Clear brown ale with medium rocky head which leaves a nice lacing. Nose puts forth dried fruits, alcohol and some nut. Taste is same with a bit of malt and toffee. Vinous character. Clean but a little unbalanced for my taste.

Bottle, sampled at Christmas during family beer tasting. Color was a brownish one with red hints. Aroma of dark fruit, brown sugar, yeast, and light cocoa hints. Flavor was basically the same with a pretty solid balance of flavors. Overall, it was just an ok tasting beer, but nothing to make it stand out.

Bottle. Heavy malt aromas of dark bread, toasted, nutty, caramel and milk chocolate, light hops and yeast notes of herbs, dough and earth, with brown sugar in the background. Head is average size, fizzy, off-white, with fair lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is hazy brown. Flavor is moderately sweet and lightly acidic to start, then finishes moderately bitter. Palate is medium, oily and has a fizzy carbonation. Rich in malt and smooth all around. A nice beer.

On tap, Bar Music Hall, Shoreditch London. Dark nut brown, dirty cream head, strong lacing. Flavours of dried fruits and sweet spices working closely with the alcohol. Not over sweet though; enough hops to pull it back. Suprisingly for a dark beer, its light in the mouth and one could probably drink a few of these in a sitting. Looks great, tastes great - good beer.

bottle. Pours velvet-brown with a large cream-colored head and heavy lacing. Aroma of dried fruit, yeast, and some creamy chocolate. Flavor is smooth, toasted chocolate with soft raisin, plum and yeast. Nice smooth and dry chocolate - candy finish. Never gets overly sweet, which I appreciated. Could have used more complexity, though. update 6/24/09: on tap, Wurstkuche. Brown with a medium-sized creamy head. Aroma has wood, malt and spices to it. Primary flavors are of nutty, malty sweetness. A hint of dried fruit in there as well, possibly figs. The mid-palate to finish of this beer shows more alcohol than I would like, contributing a perception of thinness and lack of finesse. Overall, still a decent Belgian, but it doesn’t stand up to other more venerable Dubbels I’ve tried (Chimay, Westmalle, even Ommegang come to mind 3.4.

750 ml bottle. Ruby-brown colour, huge off-white head. Dark fruits and spices in the aroma. Roasted, rather dry aroma of coffee, nuts, dark fruits and yeast. Warm and slightly sour finish. Full-bodied and richly but smoothly carbonated. Very enjoyable.

33cl bottle. Aromas of chocolate, roasted coffee beans, roasted malt and dark fruits. A beautiful cloudy dark brown with a big, off-white fluffy head. Rich flavours of roasted coffee, chocolate, plums, raisins, black cherries and malt balanced with mild hoppiness and alcohol. A soft and creamy mouthfeel with an amazing chocolate finish. Very nice beer.

Dark brown color with a huge carbonated off-white head. Aroma of malr, fruit, and some hops. Malts, dark fruit dominate the flavor. Well-balance mouth feel. Enjoyable.