Maredsous 8

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

Pours a fizzy, yet sudsy tan head with great retention and 3-dimentional lacing that sits atop a clear effervescent burgundy body. Sweet raisin and yeasty aroma with a bit of coffee malt poking through. The nose is a bit vinous. Rich woody malts and candied pitted-fruit sweetness balanced with bitter/sour hops and an alcoholic bite. Yeasty esters and mild spice are dominant in the overall flavour, reminding me of raisins, figs and cherry. The finish is distictly different from the intitial taste, as it is more bitter and almost peppery, possibly from corriander, if it’s there. Unfortunately, the flavours are disrupted by a baking-soda like bitterness that mutes flavours on the sides of the palate, almost like an over-charred meat. The mouthfeel in tingly and thin. Complex and well-balanced, but just not that tasty. Decent.

0.33 l pear like bottle. Dark brown body, quite clear as I could have seen it, with big ocher head. Coffee malt aroma. Similar flavor, but sweetish and a bit sourish at moments. Just a little bit alcoholic. Oily texture with laced glass after drinking, leaving nice finish with coffee again. Nice beer, at moments similar to his brother 6° but generally not. And very good one also.

8/17/2007: Maredsous 8 is a transparent, deep ruby-mahogany color with a lasting, foamy, dark beige head. Malt with a hints of sour cherry, smooth woodiness, and alcohol can be found in the appealing aroma. The flavor is smooth overall with a very slight sourness to it. There is also some caramelized malt, dry woodiness, berry/cherry, and a hint of char in the flavor. This beer has a medium-full body and is smooth and mild on the palate with a creamy and mellow texture. Overall it is quite complex and very tasty!

Draught (10 oz glass) at the Dilly Deli. Rating #596 for this beer...

Pours an extremely dark amber with a huge head. Smell is sweet in the typical fashion. Flavor is good with an even flow rolling over your tongue. I got a quick hit of alcohol on the start which faded when the flavor body hit me, and then the alcohol came back at the end. Overall very easily drinkable.

Pours deep brown with a moderate, fine head. Aroma is sweet with some caramel qualities. Mouthfeel is moderate. Rather malty with some qualities of caramel, chocolate, and dark fruit. A warm alcohol warmth appears afterward.

THOUGHTS: The cork just about jumped off of this bottle. I spent more time waiting for the head to go down than I did drinking it. Goes down easy. Flavor and aroma got way better as it warmed. Nice, but both the aroma and flavor seemed a little muted. Good, but could be incredible it it didn’t seem muted, but I would have this again. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a dark redish brown with a huge, foamy, off-white head that just about fully lasted and left excellent lacing. You could see the head building from the bottom as it shrank from the top. The aroma, which was nice, but weak, was moderate carmel malt, light yeast, brown sugar, a little alcohol, some bourbon and almost a liqour smell. The initial vlavor was moderately sweet, while the finish was heavily sweet and a little sour with a short duration. The dominant flavor was caramel and a slight bit of bourbon. It was also a little metallic. It was kind of like watery beer poured into whiskey. The mdium body was a little dry, but somewhat watery with extremely fizzy carbonation.

Belgisk rødbrun klar ale, som har en god balance med den belgiske gær. Duften er dog som en classic med noter af karamel. Alcohollen er dog (for) meget tydelig. Og øllen virker meget tung af en "Brune" Ellers kan jeg ikke huske meget af den..

Date: January 26, 2005
Mode: Bottle Conditioned
Source: Tasting
Appearance: dark brown amber, nice tan head
Aroma: spicy dark malt aroma
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of good sweet dark fruity esters, fig, plum, date, light bitterness in the finish that detracts from the overall character, touch of peppary spices

Date: March 28, 2005
Mode: tap
Source: summits ss
Score: iii to iiii
Appearance: clear dark amber, nice tan head, solid lace
Aroma: sweet fruity raison aroma with a hint of alcohol
Flavor: big rich flavor with lots of ripe fruit, clean finish, amazing rich flavor, draft is the answer and I didn’t know there was a question

Date: February 11, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Appearance: clear dark red, solid lace
Aroma: sweet fruity aroma
Body: creamy body with a slight carbonation bite
Flavor: wonderful rich ripe fruit flavor, raisons, dates, figs, all the good stuff, no alcohol, a light hint of bitterness

Date: October 31, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
picking up a hint of alcohol, otherwise the big bodied rich fruit I love

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 10/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***4