RateBeer
   Home Sign Up or Login Advanced Search
   People Ratings Events Places Forums Shop Magazine
      Top By Category  RateBeer Best  Latest Ratings  Top 50    

New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale - Traditional Ale

* picture credits
copyright may apply

 Percentile 
88
overall
Brewed by New Belgium Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale

Fort Collins, Colorado USA

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
Find this beer

Add Distribution Data
send corrections | shelftag |

 Ratings  Average  Score  ABV  Style Pctl  Serve in 
10903.51/5.03.51/5.05.6%91.1Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard
View Statistics  P 

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 Their first challenge was deciphering antiquated script and outdated units of measurement, but trial and error (and many months of in-house sampling) culminated in 1554, a highly quaffable dark beer with a moderate body and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?  
 gwpom (246), Akron, New York, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/104/513/20
Mar 17, 2008  
12 oz six pack. Another brew picked up on my midwest road trip, this black ale wasn’t as black as the Summit porter I also picked up. Hard to get a good whiff out of a plastic hotel cup. The head was full and off-white, and the flavor was full and of a nut brown kinda taste. Nice lightly roasted taste, easy to drink. Very nice.


 topherh (892), Kearney, Missouri, USA
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/104/514/20
Mar 17, 2008  
12 oz bottle pours a dark brown with a thin beige head. Aroma of sweet and roasted malt. Flavor is roasted coffee, chocolate, and a little hop bitterness.


 dpjuart (670), Indiana, Pennsylvania, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/515/20
Mar 17, 2008  
3/8/08 - On draft at Ginger Man in Dallas. Pours brown with amber hues. Nose is not discernible. Taste of chocolate and caramel, dry7 and a touch of hops. Good and very drinkable. Very double-esque.


 couchand (182), Iowa City, Iowa, USA
2.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
3/103/57/104/512/20
Mar 17, 2008  
Dark, almost black ruby, clear, spongy white head, quickly falling. Dry, somewhat papery aroma. Sweet roasty flavor. Thick creamy palate.


 TheEpeeist (1430), Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/515/20
Mar 13, 2008  
12 oz bottle. Clear burgundy brown with a fluffy beige head. Nose is light coffee, smoke and green grass. Medium body with a carb tingle. Starts watery but gets richer; finish a bit chalky. Taste is an odd mix of bittersweet chocolate, raisin, flat cola and plum peel.


 kidmartinek (972), austin, Texas, USA
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/57/103/517/20
Mar 13, 2008  
Pours dark brown/black, average head. Smells like chocolate. Taste like chocolate, fortunately with no over-roasting like most others do. Good lacing. Good carbonation and bite’ A little coffee and hickory on the finish. Mostly good to drink.


 GJF (480), Cedar Rapids, Iowa, USA
3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/103/512/20
Mar 12, 2008  
A very dark brew. Thin tan head. A slight licorice, coffee aroma. The flavor is on the sweet side with just a bit of bitter/coffee in the finish, a slight metallic taste as well. Body is a bit on the syrupy side to me. This is an OK beer, but I wouldn’t hunt it down.


 DJC (238), USA
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/104/515/20
Mar 9, 2008  
Dark, rich, brown body and a tannish head. Pretty good lacing. The aroma reminds me of black licorice and dark chocolate. The flavor is of roasted malt, caramel, and coffee. Nice aftertaste, if you like that which you sometimes get from instant coffee, that is. Also, there are some roasted vegetable notes, and those appear after all the slight bitterness is gone. Good carbonation, and the finish is dry. Frankly, I didn’t have high hopes for this before opening the bottle, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised. I hope you will be, too.



CONSIDER FREE RATEBEER MEMBERSHIP



Join us! RateBeer is made by beer enthusiasts for the craft beer community. Your basic membership is free and allows you to read all beer ratings. Click here to create your account... and give your opinion!

SIGN UP NOW »

View Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109

What's Your Opinion?
Tell us what you think of this beer. Start your free RateBeer account now.
» Click here.

More Traditional Ales

Hair of the Dog Matt (4.17)

Hair of the Dog Adam (4.12)

Hair of the Dog Cherry Adam from the Wood (3.97)

Traquair Jacobite Ale (3.91)

Hair of the Dog Adam from the Wood (3.88)

Thornbridge Bracia (3.8)

Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood (3.65)

Beer Here Påske (3.64)

Triumph Gose (3.63)

Bøgedal Nr. 0043 fad (3.63)

Hollolan Hirvi Kivisahti (3.59)

Cambridge LAmour du Jour (2007 - ) (3.57)

Bøgedal Nr. 0100 (3.57)

Bøgedal Nr. 0110 (3.56)

Bøgedal Nr. 0073 (3.56)


About RateBeer | Add A Beer | Add A Brewer | Edit Personal Info | 100 Beer Club | FAQ | Log out | Feedback? | Copyright 2000-2009, RateBeer LLC