Alvinne Balthazar

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Heule, Belgium

Found at Dickie’s in Bruges, March 2007. One of the most interesting beers I found in Belgium. This is comparable to Pannepot, though not quite that good. A huge spray of beer and foam that required two glasses for serving. The foam fades slowly. Black licorice and malt aroma. A thick, heavy, and sweet beer. Spices are evident, including cardamom. Sweet malt throughout, and a surprising dry finish.

Bottle at the Battersea Beer Festival, 6th Feb 2008. Pours a very dark brown with a small head. Great spicy aroma with woody notes, dark fruit and a ginger bite. Tastes superb with spices duelling with rich, vinuous fruits. There are herbal and sour notes too. Not too carbonated and with a strong warming finish. Great stuff.

Rerate (points for the rerate)
Bottle at Dickies, Bruges, Belgium
Deep brown, muddy body. Aroma of liquor and malts. This is a flavour bomb, it attacks your taste buds enormously. Very spciy. Very complex and a perfect balance. Keep on the good work Alvinne boys!

Previous rating: 8/4/7/3/12 = 3.4 Bottle at Kerstbierfestival 2005, Essen, Belgium
Creamy, light brown head. Good lace. Murky brown body. Very intense aroma of coffee, liquorice, alcohol, cask wood. Very enjoyable aroma. Lightly sweet, lightly bitter initial flavour. Moderately sweet, lightly bitter finish. it’s not a bad beer. Certainly good craftmanship with nice innovation. But this is not my type of beer.

Bottle. The best of the wise men offerings. Pours a brown body with ruby hues and a creamy tan head. Sweet spicy fruity nose of honey, ginger, citrus, and marmalade. The ginger and citrus come together to create a menthol cooling sensation. This is truly unique and i must give credit where its deserved. Very drinkable at 9% with lots of minerals in the finish. Im very satisfied to taste something so bizarre.

Bottle in the Bierkamer. Red-brown colour. Sweet aroma. Taste: dominant presence of raisins. Sweet in the beginning, slightly bitter aftertaste. Nice!

Dark brown color; thick creamy head. Aroma of malt, caramel, spices (light cinnamon, nutmeg), delicate. Average structure, quite malty flavor, a lot of sweet caramel, a touch of sweet liquorice, light spices (coriander and nutmeg); nice mix, complex enough. The final is warming and with a respectable bitterness for a Belgian Ale, with good caramel and liquorice touch, but shows a light astringency, sign that maybe the beer is still young.

from belgianshop.com - cloudy dark brown colour with a solid creamy beige head; nice lace; anise and pepper aroma; notes of banana; very creamy in the mouth, full-bodied, tart and fair bitterness; the finish is long with a chocolatey maltiness and more spicy notes - robust and with lot of character

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a huge tan head. Complex spicy aroma with coriander and cardamom most evident. Yeasty. Spicy caramel and yeasty bread flavours, ending dry. Warming alcohol. Medium carbonation. Full-bodied. A rich and complex Christmas beer.