t Smisje BBBourgondier

Brewed by Brouwerij Smisje
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Mater, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Cloudy amber color. Strong malt aroma, Barley Wine style. Strong mouthfeel, sweet in the front, strong character: a lot of malt, caramel, light liquorice, hop, some spices. Ends very bitter and quite long. Very well brewed, quite hiding the alcohol, incredible strong flavor.

Murky red brown color. Nice subdued fruity raisin nose. Big fruity wine like flavor. This one would do well in aging. A nice and interesting brew.

Ruddy orange with dry yeasties. Dense light caramel foam. Delicate aroma of cocoa, broth, noble hops, earth, crystallized sugar, and caramel. Hints of chalky yeast, chamomile, must, woody malts, dried apricot, and rubbery alcohol. Fluffy, spongy carbonation. First sip yields some acidity, but it’s somewhat curtailed by the earthy hops and caramel. Slightly zingy and earthy throughout, with a dab of apple stem and coarse alcohol. Very sweet and grainy. Surfacing notes of plum and rubber topped off by a briskly alcoholic, musty malt conclusion. Phenolic, apple-ish belches. The lemon balm and valerian are hardly noticeable. Overall, the alcohol, sweetness, and acidity are overbearing at times, but the woody, earthy malts and luscious.

The nose is quite good: apple rum with some light bubblegum. Really dark yeast flavors bounding across the high alcohol. Sweet and full mouthfeel with a good cloying sweet finish.

Nose of musty yeast, strange exotic dark fruits, orange liquor, and caramel. Big, thick mouthfeel, lively carbonation is still present, superior smoothness (lemon balm?) that is very enjoyable. Malts a bit roasty and sweet. Orange liquor taste in there as well , Alcohol is firey at the finish. Very different, indeed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a Babbler influenced Lambic!!!

Dark orange color. Similar to what I would expect concentrated juice of blood oranges to look like. The thin ring around the glass had to suffice for a head. The aroma really took a while to come out. Mostly alcoholic, with some sweet fruit becoming apparent. Apple, pear, cherry, raisin and plum all soaked in grain alcohol. Starts fruity sweet, strong alcohol is present throughout, and finished with a decent hop kick. A decent beer, but not something I could drink very often.

Smacks of alcohol, as it should at 12%, but there's other things going on here, like some sweet malt flavors. Murky like a New York sewer with bits of gray floaties on the bottom of my Victory Witbier stein. Not as alcoholic-tasting as you might think. Worth a try (good luck finding it).

Strong alcoholic nose, bit of dark fruit. Thick, rich mouthfeel. Sweetish, but not particularly alcoholic finish. Nice, but straightforward.

Vibrant but hazy brick colour. Good head retention for such strength. Aroma of plum, tomato. It has a warm that is almost physical, like a wood oven. Alcohol, yeast notes come on strong on the palate. Warm malts - bread crust, date - fit into the mix. Light for its size.

UPDATED: OCT 13, 2003 (bottle 10/13/03) Cloudy amber with creamy beige head. Big hunk of sediment comes out at the end. Aroma is sweet, alcohol, raisin/plum, orange, caramel, cookie dough, anise. Taste is alcohol, medium sweet, burnt caramel, raisin. Very full bodied. Rating remains the same. (bottle @RBSG2003 (6/28/03)): Cloudy copper with small tan head, floaties. Aroma is sweet, malty, fruity (orange), rich and sticky. Taste is sweet, caramel, dark fruity, finishes with alcohol warmth/burn. Body is FULL and sticky (8/4/7/4/15).