Alvinne Podge Belgian Imperial Stout

Brewed by Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Imperial Stout
Heule, Belgium

Bottle (330ml) shared with HogTownHarry, biegaman & Viggo -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a murky dark reddish-brown with a large diminishing light-brown head. Very nice aroma of burnt caramel, roasted malt, spices, dark fruit and chocolate. Flavour of roasted malt, Belgian yeast, spices and dark fruit with some hops and a hint of alcohol in the finish. For 10.5% the alcohol’s very well hidden. Medium bodied, oily-sticky mouthfeel. This beer really surprised me, I was not expecting such a wonderful beer. Great stuff!

Bottle (330ml). Shared with blankboy, biegaman and viggo - my bottle via trade with Ughsmash. Deep ruby-brown, clear, average creamy tan head. Initially I don’t get much alcohol in that aroma, but there’s lush floral/celery hops, very mild roast malt, green apple and appleseed - some booze in the finish. The taste ... really strange, minty, herbal hops, appleseed - and increasing dark deep roast malt, lush, hard to pinpoint yeast for days. Soft, soft body, nice subtle astringency, interesting aftertaste .... good stuff, I think I may have rated it too low.

20070902 11.2 oz bottle. This Alvinne stuff just showed up in the last couple months round here - I’d never heard of the brewery before but they seem to be enthusiastic about making craft brews that stray from the mold. Nice. This one pours near black with a tall brown head of large, loose bubbles. Right away I am smelling chocolate, dates, and rum. Alright! Sticking my nose down in the glass pounds my senses with heaps of rich aromas, dark dried fruits, licorice, toasty coconut, and more rum (dark, spiced). It’s a decent foreshadowing of the flavor, which is thick with fruitcake, date, prune, and general burnt malt flavors, plus background notes of fruity dark jams and mild yeasty esters. Finishes with mild cellar, tingly eff, drying hops, and traces of band-aid, plus big alcohol whack.

Date: 08/18/2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

dark brown, scant head, sweet estery fruity aroma with light chocolate, rich malty flavor, lots of roasted character, lots of musty character, light tartness, long bitter finish,
-------- /> Date: 11/24/2007
Mode: bottle
Source: tasting
Score: 2.9 to 3.1

sweet estery chocolate aroma with lots of fruity character, rich chocolate flavor, lots of dark caramel sweetness, light balancing bitterness, no tartness or musty character,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *4

pour is mahogany with a huge whip cream tan head. thick looking pour. lots of lacing. aroma has notes red grapes and light caramel. flavor is very boozy with some fruity wine character but also a lot of sugary caramel notes with dark chocolate and cherries. medium-full bodied.

Appearance: Pours a mighty thin-looking, dark brown body. No head to speak of. Smell: Candyish, sweet-smelling aroma of chocolate cake and sour fruits. Taste: There’s a rich, sweet chocolatey flavor upfront with a note of sour black cherries soaked in milk. From start to finish there’s this odd medicinal quality to it. Mouthfeel: Medium-thin body. Very low carbonation. Drinkability: Medicinal and an ultra thin body are two things I don’t care for at all in Imperial Stouts. Not recommended.

Dark brown, almost no head. Aroma: roasted malts and chocolate, alcohol noticable. Flavour: chocolate and roasted malts as well, coffee. Fruity, red wine, grapes. Moderately bitter.

Aroma is winey with a hint of vanilla. Brown-black coloured with no head. Taste is sweet, winey, very fruity, bit alcoholic. Nice, but completely different than an american imperial stout.