HomeBrewHawk (263), De Soto, Kansas, USA Jul 26, 2009 2007 vintage. 11.2oz brown bottle served in a Chimay chalice. Bottle conditioned. Opened with a big pop. Tons of carbonation, I could only pour half into the glass. Poured a deep copper/mahogany with a lot of big bubbled tan head. Big aroma with lots of dark fruit, spice and some sugar. Very spritzy mouthfeel with all the carbonation. Medium bodied. More spice in the flavor, both the typical yeasty spice and added spice. Seems like there is a fair amount of hops, but that could be the spicieness. There is some dark sugar sweetness in the middle. Long dry finish. This is a nice beer. Very complex. petematte46 (213), Dallas, Texas, USA Jul 26, 2009 Bottle share with Jarspag. Thanks again. This was a great beer. Nice spice flavor, with a dark pour and nice head. Plums, raisins, figs, heavy carbonation. Very complex and enjoyable. bblack99 (196), Kansas City, Missouri, USA Jul 25, 2009 11.2oz bottle from 2007 stock. Pours a deep brown with reddish tint when held up to light. Capped off by a light tan head with bubbles of varying sizes that clings fairly well despite its short life.
Nose is figs, grapes, and booze, tipped off with a Christmas-y spice like nutmeg. Flavor is also very sweet, with lots of figs and black cherries, thick caramel sweetness layered under sharp raw sugar sweetness. The nutmeg-like spice is accompanied by others than I can’t place, but they help balance the sweetness.
The alcohol hides fairly well, but comes through in the finish as the beer warms. A bit of a lingering aftertaste, but still pleasant. ruggedman (613), Portland, Maine, USA Jul 25, 2009 On tap at Lion’s Pride in Brunswick.
I knew this beer was popular, but wow, look at these ratings!!! The pour is a nice dark brown with a good light tan maybe white head. Aroma is figs and dates with sweet spices. Flavor is nice, raisins, figs, slightly sweet brown sugar. I got no boozey hints on this one, although it does pack a good punch. This is a really nice beer, is it the best? I’d say some of the ratings have been a little generous, but it is still exceptional. Hudspart (371), Hudsonville, Michigan, USA Jul 22, 2009 It has been a couple of weeks since I drank this beer, but it is great. Sorry I can’t really relay more information. satan165 (541), River Grove, Illinois, USA Jul 17, 2009 aroma is strong of licorice and also sweet and well developed roasted malt. appearance is black as night with filthy head. flavor is of more licorice, also sweet spices such as clove, cinnamon and also stone fruits. its quickly easy to see why this is so renowned. no booze in sight, if anything its a bit to sweet. i dont say that as a criticism, only relevant because i detect that might be the body the alcohol has taken. world class beer no question. Vertical Bacon Strips (874), Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Jul 15, 2009 Well.... if this isn’t overpriced, what is? Poured out a quick death bubbly head and a solid dark brown brew. The aroma is eluding me as this lacks strength. Quite sweet, spicy with something that bites my nose like a cleaning product would - now I’m not saying this smells like cleaning products so take it easy. Faint cinnamon, cherries, the dullest hint of smoke I think, molasses.... not too much else that I can notice and I’ll admit that I’m not in the mood to search and search for it tonight. The taste is thick, a mouth full of malts that remind me of bogs (no relation to taste), lots of spice, I just got a mouth full of yum yeasty sludge, sweet caramel, more cinnamon, figs or something, man, I’m quite trashed, ginger? nutmeg. The mouth feel is thick and bordering on oily. The aftertaste is short lived but spicy with some alcohol and malts. I’ll be forgoing spending money on this again. Maybe I’m crapping on it because of the price but I don’t think so. Good drink though, very easy to put back - just boring and quite honestly very forgettable. teorn88 (60), , Italy Jul 10, 2009 33cl bottle. Pours a opaque deep brown body with thin creamy tan head. Some sediments too. Aroma is coffee, roasted malt, chocolate, caramel and a hint of alcohol. Very rich and complex flavor of spices, yeast, dried fruits, licorice and rum. Finishes with a little bitterness and roasted malt. The alcohol is well hidden. Palate is full with medium carbonation. Very well balanced, a pleasure to drink.
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