t Smisje Speciaal

Formerly brewed at Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

33cl bottle. Pours an orange body with a medium off-white head. Little lasting foam. Aroma is great and complex: mostly malty with coockie, grain and something toasted, some yeasty sweetness too. Alcoholic warm. Flavor is mostly sweet, then a bit bitter, and finally sweet again in the finish. Full bodied beer, very cloudy in the appearance. Lively carbonation. 10.5° but still very well balanced and easy drinkable. A joyous experience!

Bottle. A - Very cloudy, hazy caramel orange color. Small, thin bubbly off-white head with very little retention and no real lacing left. S - A little faint, but a good amount of ripe pumpkin and sugar smell. Not a lot of pumpkin pie spice. Hints of fruit as well. T - Taste a lot like spiced pumpkin rather than pumpkin spice. A lot of the actual pumpkin flavor comes out along with a bit of pepper and coriander and maybe just the slightest pumpkin pie spices. Also in the background was a bit of sugar, malt, and a bit of fruitiness (apricot and some golden fruit). Alcohol has a slight presence at the finish. M - Medium to light body with slightly above average carbonation. Fairly smooth and a little watery. D - Decent drinkability, it really depends on how much you like pumpkin taste, not pumpkin pie but actual pumpkin. Pretty good drinkability if you like that. Notes: Not a bad beer that is an interesting take on a pumpkin ale in that it focuses on the pumpkin taste. I’m not sure which I prefer, Pumpkin Ales that focus on pumpkin or pumpkin pie spice. Nice beer and for how high the ABV is, the alcohol is pretty well hidden. Worth a try if you find it, but not really worth seeking out.

UPDATED: APR 21, 2010 head : big and foamy colour : blurry , deep orange smell : spices , vegetables/bit earthy but not pumpkin , bitter/hops taste : strong , very alcoholic runs thru the nose also , pumpkin , bitter , carrots ,spiced aftertaste i think its good not overwhelming but pretty nice , way better than the "catherine imperial stout " from ’t smisje

Pours a light golden amber color. Aromas of pumpkin, clove, ginger, nutmeg. Smelled pumpkinish. Tastes better than it smells, fruity and holiday spicey .

On Tap at Max’s Belgian Fest. Light spice aroma. Hazy golden body with little head. Sweet banana, light clove flavor... possibly a little pumpkin spice. Nice warming power... but not much pumpkin flavor. Overall pretty tasty

On tap Max’s in Smisje Special guise. Pours a glowing, cloudy light orange. Good lace. Huge booziness in the nose and body. Can sort of make out some florals, pumpkin puree, banana’s foster. Taste is rich, boozy, lots of gold raisins, sugar, spices. Slightly hilarious.

Tap at Max’s Belgian Fest 2010. Pours a hazy orange dull yellow with a fading head. Aroma is hoppy orange zest, a bit soapy, toasted malts, fruity- peach and orange. Flavor is more mineral, pitty, slate, slat, sticky syrup sweet bready light malts with candy sugar, earth, almost get a squash like vegetable - pumpkin fleshy with pepper in the end. Ok.

Draft. Pours a hazy golden body with a white head. Floral citrus, pumpkin sees a bit vegetable notes. Incenses some light floral notes and pine needles. I like.