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 Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and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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Lagunitasfan (433), San Diego, California, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	5/10	3/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Sep 7, 2008

22 oz Bottle. Deep dark color with malty coffee and chocolate scents. Crystal clear-no haze at all. Not much in the nose. Latte colored head leaves a blanket as it dissipates. Interesting flavor. The coffee malty chocolate flavors are there but not immediately. The first flavors are round and sweet like a brown ale. That aspect fades quickly and is replaced by the complex bitterness. The side of the glass is filthy with lace cling-ons. I like this one a lot.

swillguzzler99 (19), Glendale, Arizona, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	7/10	4/5	8/10	3/5	14/20

Sep 4, 2008

Pours a deep brown with a beige head that persists. Nose is of dark chocolate with a possible coffee hint. Taste is more of the same. It’s bitter in a baking chocolate way. Aftertaste sticks around a bit too long. Not bad, but not the best either.

k9coug (40), USA

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	9/10	4/5	8/10	3/5	16/20

Sep 2, 2008

On tap, New York, New York Casino in Las Vegas. Very warming, deep malt flavor. The finish ended rather quickly, rather surprising for such a heavy hitting brew, but not at all dissapointing. Wouldn’t drink two back to back.

bluemooner (230), Blaine, Minnesota, USA

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Sep 2, 2008

Pours a very dark brown with foamy tan head. Very pleasant aroma of roasted malts. Flavor is a bit bitter with hints of chocolate, caramel, coffee, and roasted malts, with a nice caramel finish. A very good beer.

mcbackus (738), Merritt Island, Florida, USA

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	16/20

Aug 29, 2008

bottle from cbkschubert: pours a dark cola soda brown witha large webby tan head that falls quickly. good aroma of roast and semi sweet chocolate, toffee malts. flavour is lighter than i expected but very refreshing with a weak coffee flavour and soem bittering chocolate some almost spiced malts good finish. nice beer.

Lubiere (4480), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

3.2	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.2	6/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	13/20

Aug 25, 2008

A dark clear brown ale with a thick moka head. Aroma of peated malt and coffee moka. In mouth, a chocolate bitterness with smokey notes and prunes. A medium bodied beer. August 2007.

BeerHawk (1175), Huntsville, Alabama, USA

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	7/10	4/5	6/10	3/5	14/20

Aug 25, 2008

Bottle best by 5Dec08. Poured black with a thin tan head that leaves some lacing. The aroma has coffee, milk chocolate and some roast with a slight grass hop background. Lighter coffee in the flavor with some chocolate and roast. Light body and sweet. Slight roast aftertaste. Very decent.

superdude1979 (60), Phoenix, Arizona, USA

4.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4.4	8/10	5/5	8/10	4/5	19/20

Aug 24, 2008

Nice chocolate tase with a smooth caramel finish. A full bodided beer. Well crafted beer.

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