Maredsous 8

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

Serving date: 2009-03-24. Served in tasting glass. Review from notes. Brown color with reddish hues. Small, ivory-colored and thick head. Some lacings. The smell is quite nice. Fruits of the forest. Chocolate covered soft banana-flavored candy. Plenty of yeast. Caramel malts. A rather big, powerful and interesting smell. The taste is not nearly as interesting as the smell, nor is it as powerful and dense. Plenty of bread-like malts. Some caramel and chocolate covered soft banana-flavored candy. Butterscotch. The finish is actually quite dull and short - it’s minimally bitter and has some faint candy-like flavors and spicy alcohol. Lighter body and more carbonation than expected. It almost feels somewhat bland. It drinks quite easily, but it wasn’t that great. The taste was somewhat of a letdown considering the smell. I’ve had this one served in bottle as well and the bottled version is far better than this one. Serving type: on-tap (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)

Yvig smak, frodande. Grönskar i munnen. Tydliga inslag av exotiska frukter, fina accenter av sötma. Och en beska som slår in allt i ett stiligt paket.

After the beer was served in the glass there was found a lasting quantity not wall adhesive light brown foam collar which was fine and evenly of structure. The beer also contained no carbonic acid in the glass. The beer has a thick dark brown color and a sweet taste. The after tast of the beer is hoppy bitter with a banned malty touch. This beer smells caramelly.

Bottle pours a deep brown with a light-medium brown head. Strong aromas of dates, figs, and spice present. Tastes sweet with caramel malts, dates, and cherry flavors present. Medium bodied with a hint of sour, bitterness, and alcohol finish. Smell and taste are complex and enjoyable.

Pours a mahogany brown with thick frothy house that dissolves down to a thin off white film. The aroma pretty straight forward, burnt sugar, and dark fruits. The flavour is surprisingly decent, starts of with a note peppermint, sour cherry, burnt sugar, some roastiness, ends on a note of licorice. Pretty decent beer, a nice surprise.

Pours out a dark red-ish brown color, with a small light colored caramel head that sticks to the sides of the glass like cream. The aroma is very rich with strong notes of dark fruit, particularly dates and prunes. Flavor is earthy with a slightly bread-like aftertaste complementing the malty body. A light fruit sweetness pervades the taste with a subtle bitter finish.

Pure garnet pour with tons of carbonation and a nice tight beige one finger head. Aroma is candi sugar, date, raisin, plum, caramel, apple jam, port wine, and some bready yeast notes. Flavor is not nearly as sweet as the aroma might suggest- though dark fruit is still prevalent, a bitter dry quality sneaks through leaving bread and dough in its wake. Alcohol is quite noticeable and lingers in the finish. Palate is thin for the style, though fully pillowy and effervescent. Decent, though not outstanding.