Achel 8 Bruin

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappistenabdij De Achelse Kluis
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Hamont-Achel, Belgium

Thanks to Phil l and Beer Merchants for this one--cheers mate! (This is a very belated add of this rating. Some got lost in the move and just finding and adding them now, months later.) Shiny brown, lots of old fashioned shaving-foam light tan head. Woody cinnamon aroma surrounded with a nice creamy quality. Bright mouth-filling carbonation, resiny caramel sweetness with an interesting mineral edge. This is an interesting one: it doesn’t inspire an avalanche of adjectives. And yet, it is disappearing from my glass in an alarmingly fast way. Solid as can be.

This fresh and fruity beer is really fantastic. It really stimulates my tong and gives me a lovely feeling in my tummy. The best beer I ever drunk!

Colore ambrato scuro,schiuma bianca spessa e spumosa.Aroma di malto,caramello,mela.Il sapore è un pò acido,zuccherino e caramellato con note di lievito,malto.Finale non lungo.Ottima.

Bottle. Dark brown orange with a thick foamy off-white head. Great retention and good lacing. Aroma is aple, candi malt, spices, honey and yeast. Flavor is more sour than expected, with sugar, raisins, apple, candi, spices, yeast and malt. Medium body.

Poured dark hazy amber, yeasty, malty, spice, caramel, little dark fruits, little citrus.

Very deep red in colour with an absolutely Everest sized light tan head that I carefully hand-crafted till it was just over and inch above the rim of my glass. There was also a pretty good ammount of sediment that got dumped into the glass with some of it getting trapped inside the cap itself. Smells of celery salt (odd), lots of stiff yeast (not overpowering), cherries, soft warm spice and maybe a hint of orange. Very fresh, soft and crisp. There’s lots of aroma but it’s not overpowering. Every sip brought out the full force of the aroma. The smell of the spicy hops and alcohol come out after it’s warmer. Sweet and bitter taste with sour cherry notes, plum, flavourless yeast and seems to come out on the watered down side (dissapointing). Smooth mouthfeel albeit slighty watery. Early on the alcohol has a really great and enjoyable burn when colder, when warmer, it just appears smooth. Starts off great but dwindles in enjoyment. Still totally drinkable and I’ll drink more cause it’s readily available.

Massive tan head on the beer, my glass is half head and half beer, and giant craters are left in it when some of the bigger bubbles pop. The body is a very deep dark ruby red with a slight brown hue; very sticky lacing coats the glass after every swirl and sip. Sour banana, cherries, yeast, and a touch of alcohol make up a very delicious aroma, and I swear I can smell celery salt?!?!?!?!?!? The aroma is at a perfect strength not over powering and you don’t struggle to detect it. Taste is a bit of a let down, first thing I noticed was alcohol not a sharp tasting flavor but enough so it warmed the stomach, under that was your typical Belgian yeast that has that banana like flavor, and something that reminds me of cherry liquor that is served at my parents around Christmas. This wasn’t a bad tasting brew highly enjoyable but I was expecting more from the Trappist monks, oh well on to the Westvleteren Extra 8 for tonight’s Belgian strong ale-a-thon

Bottle... Poured a deep burgundy color with a thick, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of dark fruits and strong yeasty characters. Mild carbonation and a little bit of a chewy palate which balanced the sweeter, brown sugar, caramel and dark fruit flavors. A little metallic profile to it but not bad as the raison-like, acidic finish came in to balance it.