willblake (2160), Belcamp, Maryland, USA Dec 26, 2008 20081225 750ml bottle from JR in Brielle. Dark brown and muddy pour with lasting, tall head of loose tan foam. Aroma is dark fruits and roasty malts with earthy, wet forest notes. Medium-full body with even, fine eff. Flavor is roasty, dry, and earthy with cocoa notes up front, becoming more earthy towards the back. Sort of a dark, rustic, woodsy take on typical dark Belgian strong ale. Nice, but not remarkable or particularly Christmasy. Paired well with assorted dried fruits like dates, apples, figs. Hophead22 (1056), Redlands, by way of Wisconsin,, California, USA Dec 25, 2008 750ml bottle from Swolf3, again, many thanks Steven. Real dark pour, a little brown along the edges, a brown head as well. Swet candy aroma, some rosty malt as well. Slight coffee flavor, some mild sweetness and a little alcohol warmth in the end. Good stuff. raymondwave (867), Finland Dec 25, 2008 Bottle 0,75 l at Kaisla. Darkish brown and nice thickish head. Nose is hoppy, malty and a bit spicy, cant separate which spices. Flavor is malty and pretty intensely bitter. Somewhat spicy with lots of hops and some orange peel bitterness too. Some sweetness to cut back the intense bitterness. A bit too strong on alcohol for the flavor maybe. Slightly boring. Dedollewaitor (3625), Odense, Denmark Dec 24, 2008 75cl bottle from VinensVerden, Odense. Pours dark brown with a creamy head & lacings. Perfect combination of yeast, coffee, spices, cinnamon, clove, orange peel, chocolate and hops. Full bodied, oily and smooth. Very nice! cellar (484), Dublin, Ireland Dec 24, 2008 almost black with tiny cafe au lait head. Strong malty aroma of dark fruit, spices, oranges, cinnamon, caramel and coffee. Flavour is sweet. Warming alco in finish. Well balanced. KimJohansen (6676), Copenhagen V, Denmark Dec 24, 2008 Dark brown with medium off white head. Sweet roasted malt, spices and overripe fruits. Sweet flavour with plenty of roasted malt, christmas spices, overripe fruits and caramel notes. Warming alcohol towards the end. Geuzelambix (110), København, Denmark Dec 23, 2008 Dark, strong beer with a clear flowery aroma that mix with some more burned notes. The taste is not as rich as one would expect, but still you get a lot of taste. Try it out! Maria (6056), Thisted, Denmark Dec 21, 2008 It is a black beer with a red hue and the head is dense and creamy. The aroma has notes of chocolate, light dark fruit and light spice. The flavour has a light sweetness, notes of roasted malt, plum and other fruits, light alcohol, chocolate, licorice, spice and the finish is slightly dry. It is remarkably delicious. The previous years it has been wonderful, but this year I hear the angels sing. Damn, now I have to buy some more for Christmas eve...
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