New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

	Percentile
	88
	overall

Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
1098	3.51/5.0	3.51/5.0	5.6%	91.6	Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

Commercial Description:
Born of a flood and centuries-old Belgian text, 1554 Enlightened Black Ale uses a light lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be. In 1997, a Fort Collins flood destroyed the original recipe our researcher, Phil Benstein, found in the library. So Phil and brewmaster, Peter Bouckaert, traveled to Belgium to retrieve this unique style lost to the ages. Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and mouthfeel.

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risingsunzpr (14), Oregon, USA

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	5/10	5/5	9/10	5/5	16/20

Apr 24, 2009

Among other brews in the fine new belgium lineup, this one has found the top of my short list. A very fine beer indeed.

machfive55 (227), Columbia, Pennsylvania, USA

2.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.7	6/10	5/5	4/10	3/5	9/20

Apr 24, 2009

The beer poured dark brown with a 3-fingered tan head. The aroma was spicey and malty with some booziness. The flavor was smokey, chocolatey with some ashtray qualities, nothing impressive. The palate was fairly thin. Overall, I can’t get past the burnt ashtray flavor, there is something off about it. I was fairly unimpressed by this beer.

glennmastrange (836), hobe sound, Florida, USA

3.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.1	6/10	3/5	6/10	3/5	13/20

Apr 20, 2009

Bottle. Aroma had moderate toasted, coffee and molasses for the malts, light herbs and earth for the hops and yeast, with a hint of rootbeer. Head is frothy, off-white, with no lacing and is mostly diminishing. Color is dark red/brown. Flavor is moderately sweet and acidic, and sour to start, and finishes lightly sweet and acidic. Palate is light to medium, watery yet a touch creamy, has a lively carbonation and finishes a little alcoholic. A pretty good Traditional Ale with some deep flavors.

bubbleflubber (890), Collinsville, Virginia, USA

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	7/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	14/20

Apr 19, 2009

Clear chestnut pour, wih a creamy 3-finger head that retains well and leaves nice lace down the glass. Yeast and earthen grains to the nose. The flavors, with hints of chocolate, coffee, grains, vegetal skins and roasts, all interplay well around a solid malt backbone. The finish is soft, as the mouthfeel and carbo levels. Nice offering here... well-integrated, decently complex, with a round embodiment and easy quaff.

sjolles85 (80), Tampa, Florida, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	7/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	16/20

Apr 19, 2009

Dark and delicious. Medium head.. Coffee and Chocolate Taste. Very Drinkable. Can wait til I can get this is Florida.

TKA300 (100), Carbondale, Illinois, USA

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	5/10	5/5	8/10	3/5	16/20

Apr 16, 2009

Really dark pour, but light can still pass through. Has a medium sized, creamy, light-brown head. Smelled a lot like coffee and a little sweet caramel. Tastes very full and is somewhat similar to coffee. Pretty good.

chandler0201 (341), Durham, North Carolina, USA

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	7/10	3/5	8/10	3/5	13/20

Apr 13, 2009

Dark pour with white head. Aroma of coffee and some bitter spice. Tastes bitter of some caramel, not bad.

biznizness (934), Mooresville, North Carolina, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	6/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	13/20

Apr 12, 2009

RATING 800. This bottle courtesy of Sneezer, without whom none of my ratings accomplishments would be possible. Tasty dark ale here. 800 baby... it feels so good...

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