t Smisje Calva Reserva

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Muddy dull brown - looks dreadful in the glass. No hiss upon opening and no carbo visible. Aroma has apple, alcohol and rich malts - caramel and concentrated amounts of pale malt. Flat body, but alcohol arrives quickly and forcefully to minimize oiliness. Of course, this is merely replaced by heat. It carries alongside it an apple accent as well as slightly caramelized pears and peaches. Strongly alcoholic finish. I find the overall product too hot and the beer component too one-dimensional (read: dominated by the calvados). Decent at best.

UPDATED: MAY 11, 2008 Date: 06/17/2006
Mode: Bottle
Source: Green’s, Atlanta

Appearance: muddy rusty brown, thin beige head,
Aroma: sweet sugary brown sugar aroma with ripe fig and raison,
Body: big creamy body,
Flavor: very rich ripe fruit flavor, lots of fig, nice brown sugar sweetness, just a hint of the 12% alcohol,
-------- /> Date: 05/07/2008
Mode: bottle
Score: 3.7
Words: brusisin ales

picking up some additional bitterness to balance out the sweetness and tone down the brown sugar character,

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

With yeast poured in, a particle-filled, murky red-brown body with no head. Aroma is sweet, Granny Smith apple, some vinous. Taste is sweet, molasses, vinous, apple, coriander, finishing with a solid barleywinish kick. Medium body, a bit light for all that the beer contains.

Muddy with tiny off white head. Sweet vinious aroma with caramel, calvados, plums and wood. Sweet and somewhat boozy flavor with overripe fruits, caramel and roasted malt. Ends with warming alcohol.

Bottle. [thanks, after4ever]
Pours deep redish brown with tiny floaties. Small creamy, beige head that soone becomes a thin film. Aroma is lightly sweet, fruity, yeast, plums, oak, light vinious, some maple syrup, grapes. Low, but prickly carbonation, oily but also rather dry palate. Lovely vinous flavour, plums, oaky, rather sweet, red apples, light raisins. Low, elegant tartness. Rather dry apple-wood finish. Nice.

19th October 2008. Cloudy amber brown beer. Sherryish toffee nose. A fruity sherryish start, a little aniseed and licorice. Some red fruit before a brandy/porty robust semi dry fand warming finish. Plummy aftertaste. Complex. Delicious!

Ulfborg Scooper Smagning 2012. Golden with a disappearing, bubbly white head. Aroma of caramel, apple and laquer/calvados. Sweet caramel and dark sugar flavour with apple and calva and notable alcohol.

Thanks to Lars Adalberth Petersen, Belgisk Ølimport, for this one. It’s a dark brown beer with a nice head. The aroma has notes of candy sugar and coriander. The flavour is sweet with a lot of candy sugar notes, dark fruit, nuts and coriander. There is a very nice balance between the sweetness and the lightly sour finish. In spite of the 12%, I do not feel the alcohol in an unpleasant way, more like in a Calvados.

Bottle. A vigorous escape upon opening. Aroma of yeast and fruity esters. Color is ripe apricot and the head is full and slightly rocky off-white. Near full bodied with creamy carbonation. The flavor is quite complex. Fruity, yeasty, malty, vinous. A touch of wood, and some bitter hop. A hint of citrus, could be coriander. Overall it’s really impressive. And not a hint of heat - pretty good for 12%. This may be the beer.

UPDATED: MAR 8, 2009 A deark reddish brown ale with a thin moka head. A pleasant aroma of sweet figs, licorice with musky notes. In mouth, a sweet licorice malt with molasses, raisins, and warming alcohol. Rich and smooth. Nice orange peels also notes. A classy BW from Belgium! Tasted with Probstk, July 16 2007.