 Ernest (4495), Boulder, Colorado, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Oct 15, 2006 Bottle.
Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, off-white, mostly diminishing.
Body is hazy dark amber, bottle conditioned.
Aroma is moderately malty (toasted grain, cookie, caramel), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of raisin, brown sugar, alcohol, toffee, candied fruits, brandy.
Flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter.
Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter.
Medium body, velvety/watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic.
Liked this more than expected based on a friend’s comments. Smooth, enticing, malty/fruity, understated and very elegant. Quite nice.
luckygirl (1221), Boulder, Colorado, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Oct 15, 2006 750. Beer is cloudy, medium-to-dark crimson red with an average-sized, white, frothy, mostly diminishing head.<P>The aroma’s first impression is very fruity grapey. It’s malty with light notes of toasted nuts, grain, brown-sugary carame, cookiel; Hoppy with light herbal (rosemary/lavender) notes; Yeasty with a light note sweet dough; Miscellaneous notes of moderate-to-heavy fresh grape, moderate fruity vinosity, trace of brandy, spicy apple.<P>
The flavor is moderately sweet, lightly-to-moderately bitter with a heavily alcoholic, moderately bitter, lightly sweet finish. Kind of hot.<P>
The body is medium, the texture is velvety and the carbonation is average.<P>All in all, subtle, but I get what’s going on and dig it.
Tmoney99 (4764), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Oct 13, 2006 Bottle. Poured hazy dark brown with an average frothy off-white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Moderate complex malty fruit aroma. Medium body with a smooth texture. Medium bittersweet flavor with a medium balanced finish of long duration. This is a smooth complex standout beer.
Jokes (1453), Chicago, Illinois, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 |
Oct 11, 2006 Dark, ruby red with a moderate, tan head. The aroma is a wondeful amalgamation of sweet fruit, bright, estery yeast and pungent, earthy hops. The cherries, sweet apples, raisins and caramel mesh well with light spices, pine, grapefruit and a fairly strong floral element. It’s interesting to see the obvious dark Belgian malts combined with such a strong American hop combination, unlike the pale malts of the Urthel or Chouffe examples. The spice (either added or from the yeast) are a nice blend in this as well. The body is smooth and creamy with loads of tiny bubbles on the tongue. The aggressive hops add loads of bitterness on the tongue that the sweet malt is only able to cut from time to time. Warming alcohol contributes to the experience and adds a calming sensation. Not as balanced as I might like, but with time I can see the hops mellowing out ever so slightly and turning this into a smooth, balanced beauty. Good as it is, but with the potential for even more.
jimmack (1221), Nutley, New Jersey, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Oct 10, 2006 750ml. bottle. Hazy copper color with a small off white head. Aroma of coriander, candi sugar, dark bread and grape bubble gum. Flavor was sweet malts, coriander, yeast and melon. Dried somewhat on the finish.
thornecb (1792), Marblehead, Massachusetts, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Oct 8, 2006 Pours cloudy ruby/amber into a tulip. Fluffy off-white micro head leaves receding sheet lacing. Apple and apricot aromas. Full and sweet with upfront caramel apple and a lasting slightly bitter alcohol finish. Just read the excellent commercial description -- it is spot-on.
WISEGUY572 (1246), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 6/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 |
Oct 7, 2006 Reminds me of a rasion d’tre more than anything else. A little hotter with more alcohol, perhaps, a little less clear where the sweet fruitiness comes from, but the same combination of alcohol, candy, sweet fruit, dreid fruit, and syruppy mouthfeel. Defintely nice, almost certainly over-priced, and interesting and enjoyable. After another glass ... too much candy and too sweet, too much alcohol and too hot. Surprising presence of PNW hops in a Belgian strong, which adds interest. Nice, not great.
Kinz (2207), Glen Allen, Virginia, USA
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 |
Oct 6, 2006 #1400, on a somewhat melancholy note. This one is for you, Willow. Dark amber, slight, compact head fades slowly. Aroma is of pine hops, a tough of grapefruit, and Belgian yeast character. Quite odd, but inviting nonetheless. I was relieved when I saw Cascades had been used in this, showed I hadn’t gone completely round the bend. Apricot and caramel malts, more Belgian accents, blend into a pine bitter finish. A fusion of a Belgian strong and an American IPA. Tasty, reminiscent of the De Ranke experiment on these lines, but more balanced. A bit of a medicinal note as well. Would be interesting to age. Worthy of a landmark beer on a dreary, rainy, sad kind of night.
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