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New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

Percentile
88
overall

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
10983.51/5.03.51/5.05.6%91.6Dimpled 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 Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and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.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 RedSox2004 (354), Pacific Palisades, California, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/56/103/514/20
Nov 21, 2008  
12 oz. bottle pours deep blood red/dark brown with a one-finger head that dissipates quickly to a thin ring. Minimal lacing. Strong roasted, almost burnt, coffee aromas dominate, supported by bicuity malts and toffee. Taste is similar: complex smoky, sweet malts with coffee, toffee and little in terms of offsetting hops bitterness. Smooth, slightly thin mouthfeel, with a clean, dry aftertaste.


philbertk (31), Seattle, Washington, USA
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/103/511/20
Nov 2, 2008  
A touch bland. Sampled in First Sighted @ Seattle Greenwood Market but seems old. Toasted Belgian Flavor.Dull compared to what I remember.


 llcooldave (319), San Antonio, Texas, USA
4.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/518/20
Oct 31, 2008  
Looks very black with a tinge of red. The great part is that it smells like creamy hot mexican chocolate with a touch of cinnamon. Great aroma like I said. Clean roasted malt flavor with a hint of coffee and cream Nice, really nice. I am hooked... this is a great brew.


 jah noth (1015), Rochester, New York, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/516/20
Oct 31, 2008  
Fruity, nutty and slight caramel nose. Mild chocolate flavor with some burnt toffee and caramel apple. Big herbaceous quality and a noble hop zing. Rich and creamy for thinnish beer. Very nice, indeed.


 Glouglouburp (2810), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/515/20
Oct 31, 2008  
In short: An smooth easy drinking fruity and herbal dark ale of some kind. Good stuff.
How: Bottle 12oz, age unknown but drank before best-before date. Graciously sent to me by Hellbilly, thanks a lot Joshua
The look: Very dark ruby body topped by a small long-lasting beige head
In long: Nose of molasses, toffee and herbs. Taste is soft molasses, soft toffee along, juicy dark fruits and herbal flavours of “green stuff” family (green tea, laurels, thyme, fine herbs, that type of stuff..). No bitterness to speak of but the herbal flavours provide some kind of offset (that I wouldn’t call balance) to the soft sweetness flavours. Body is light and soft, carbonation is very smooth. Not a very tasty beer but every flavour finds its little spot and the end-result is a highly drinkable beer, and I wanted more after my bottle. Blind test I would have called Dunkel Bock or something like that. Inspired by a Belgian beer drank some 500 years ago, back when each beer you drank made women look 5 pounds heavier, the exact opposite of today.


 MrEcted1 (144), Wheat Ridge, Colorado, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/104/514/20
Oct 28, 2008  
Not bad at all. Pours a nice dark brown color with little head. Little specks of lacing cling on the glass. Nice smokey flavor with some chocolate and espresso mixed in. A great fallback if you’re in CO, easily found at most liquor stores.


 yespr (11906), Copenhagen O, Denmark
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/514/20
Oct 27, 2008  
12 fl oz bottle. Dark brown with a small off white head. Chocolate and roasted malty aroma. Smooth chocolate flavoured light sweetend. Light acidic yet also smooth and chocolate flavoured into the finish. Very smooth malty finish.


 gator2683 (136), Anchorage, Alaska, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/104/57/103/515/20
Oct 27, 2008  
dark hazy brown with creamy white head, nice contrast. aroma of smoke and malt. medium-thin body with a little coffee and hops



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