Achel Extra Bruin (de 3 Wijzen)

Brewed by Brouwerij der Trappistenabdij De Achelse Kluis
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Hamont-Achel, Belgium

750ml bottle (Kaisla, Helsinki) - shared with mjs.
Deep brown, brief head. Dark bruney aroma - it’s got the roasted malts, some plums, a general sweetness, a touch of yeast, but also some gluey esters which spoilt the aroma for me. Fairly pleasant mouthfeel, but a little alcoholic. Again, the brune components are all there in the taste, but the alcohol sticks out just a little too much. The sweet plum in the aroma wasn’t reflected in the taste, which was a shame. Felt a little disappointed, but perhaps I had ’Belgian fatigue’ at the end of the evening.

(Re-rate, bottle, BBE 20-05-2006, at Pikkulintu, Helsinki) Dark brown. Cloudy. Lot of raisin and some malts in nose. Small white head. Full bodied and dry palate with little carbonation. Raisin, malts, syrup, light bitterness and dried plum in taste. Bitterness and raisin in aftertaste. The strong sweetness was really surprising. (Bottle, 0.75 l, at Kaisla on 2008-09-25. Shared with FatPhil and Anna. Thanks.) Brown, Hazy. Small white quickly disappearing head. Malts, yest and plum in nose. Full bodied palate with little carbonation. Malts, liquorice, dried plum, caramell and bitterness in taste. Good one, but I was expecting even more. Rating: 8-4-7-3-14=3.6

Best by 11/07 Particles really make this a smoother Abt. A nice dark brown ale with a ruby tinge in the light. Two fingers of very light tan head with nice retention and a nice film of lacing on the glass. Belgian clove and slight banana esters, dark fruits and plums. Strong malt body accented by tart fruits, dark pit fruits cherries and plums. Finish hints at hops and alcohol, I love this one more than Westy. The age on this one probably did some good.

It’s not often I’d call a beer in the 99th percentile "under-rated", but if any fit the bill it’s this spectacular Belgian quad. Every beer I’ve had from this brewery has been sensational and this is no exception. It’s a mystery to me why the brewer isn’t held in higher regard. Appearance: burnished copper with a shallow scattering of suds. It’s not the best-looking quad but age may have wearied this sample, which I’ve held for a few years now. Aroma: rich, sweet and vinous. American taffy, cough medicine, Parma Violets, grape bubblegum, crushed blackcurrants, sweet sherry - it’s one of those complex beasts that keeps throwing up new comparators. There are loads of residual sugars but no hint of the 9.5% abv. Palate: medium-bodied and creamy-smooth. Perfection. Flavour: grape juice, treacle, turpentine woody notes, port, cough syrup and lots of demorara sugar. It’s very briefly light and fruity at the front of the palate before a big spicy, warming finish. It’s "hot" but more restrained than that big abv might suggest. Overall: a complex, beautifully integrated quad. This is a little too sweet in large quantity but I really love the Achel house style. (75cl bottle courtesy of Papsoe. BB Dec 07. Sampled at room temperature.)

Poured from bomber, part of a Belgian-style beer tasting. Appearance is a murky light brown, sort of like hazelnut. Aroma is of milk chocolate and malt. The mouthfeel of this brew is amazingly thick and full bodied; good rich stuff. Flavor of Extra Bruin is simply remarkable: it starts out with intense milk chocolate, with some vanilla, caramel, and brown sugar. A veritable desert in a bottle! Mid-palate and finish feature a more prominent rich, woody flavor while remaining firm on the milk chocolate note. Finishes with a touch of alcohol, just to let you know this beer has over 9% ABV.

Dark brown colored with hazy appearance. Medium sized beige head. Aroma is strongly sweet and sugary with some spices and mild alcohol, surprisingly sweet one. Medium bodied. Flavor is richer with spices, chocolate, vinous note, yeast and mild alcohol. Aftertaste is sweet still with wine, some wooden note and mild alcohol. Excellent flavor, too sweet aroma.

Bottle. Pours a dark brown with lots of floating yeast particles and a small light tan head. Aroma of sweet fruit, sugar, and slcohol. Flavor is quite fruity (apple, pear, and lots of cherries!), with some Belgian yeast, and slight alcohol presence. Yum! The cherry presence gets a little medicinal by the end, but this is a tasty, quite fruity, sweet beer. An interesting quad.

Bottle. Aroma of earth, toffee, sweetness (somewhat alcoholic, somewhat medicinal), some prunes or maybe figs. Flavor similarly has it’s ups and downs. Some nice fruitiness, some odd medicinal sweetness, some nice earthiness, some sugar. A bit thin. Interesting, decent, but a little all over the place for great.