Baladin Noel du Baladin

Brewed by Le Baladin
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Piozzo, Italy

Bottle. Dark brown body with ruby highlights. Short, frothy head, mostly diminishing. Aroma of overripe fruit, brown bananas, mustiness, floral hops. Hint of toasted grain, prune and plum. The flavor is moderately to heavily sweet, lightly bitter and moderately acidic. It finishes lightly to moderately sweet, lightly bitter and moderately acidic. Tart, bordering on sour finish with slight taste of fruits. Thin body, watery texture and moderate carbonation. The beer starts sweet and fruity and promising, but that is overwhelmed by too much tartness.

Aroma is sharp fruits (apricots) with spicy cinnamon and all-spice. Decent two finger off-white head with a dark amber color. Medium bodied mouth feel. Not very carbonated. Alcohol present in the flavor. OK but I’ve had better.

(Bottle) Dark ruby colour with frothy, beige head leaving traces of lacing. Malty, fruity nose with red fruit, raspberries, cherries and spicy hops. Malty, fruity taste with dark fruit, red berries, caramel, spices and a slightly bittersweet finish with a touch of port wine. Slightly more than medium body with smooth rounded mouthfeel. Fairly sweet with some warming, vinous notes of alcohol in the finish. Nice and well balanced.

Gravity cask at The White Horse, Parsons Green. Black with ruby hue, no head. Rich and fruity beer, somewhat challenging for my taste, heavy plum, raisins and a sharpish tomato note, never found that before! Still pretty decent, finishes heavy with alcohol, a fire breather.

A Mes rate. Cask at the White Horse.
Dark mahogany with no head. Pretty spectacular nose. Thick and creamy alcohol. Full of luscious fruit. Very fleshy indeed. Good hazelnut and slight leather too. The taste is even better. Rich Christmas cake and liquorice. I’ll agree with Mario and go with the proper hazelnut Italian ice cream. Licourice and hints of spice but not at at all overpowering. Excellent yeasty notes and the whole experience is akin to a blend of Pannepot and Gouden Carolus Noel. Something smoky and roasty in the finish that rounds the whole thing off beautifully. The balance is through the roof. Just bloody superb all round.

Bottle. Pours a brown beer with chunks and an offwhite head. The aroma is sweet and fruit with notes of alcohol. The flavor is caramel and fruit and sweetness. The palate is sweet. Overall a good beer.

29th July 2008. Dark ale. Sourish with a just a hint of chocolate in the finish. Not bad effort at a Belgian brew. Hides the alcohol well.

Dark brown with a pale beige head. Some lacings. The smell is of dark malts, ripe fruits, powdered cocoa, mild spices, caramel and hints of plastic phenols. The taste is sweet with notes of caramel malts, ripe fruits, spices and sweet alcohol. The finish is mildly bitter with notes of spicy alcohol and herbal hops. The taste is not as big as the smell had me to believe. Slightly unbalanced due to too the alcohol being too powerful. Medium body, smooth mouthfeel. A good beer, but it lacks a little complexity and the alcohol is too prominent. Also, it felt like it developed poorly in the glass. Serving type: bottle (Copy of old Beer Advocate review)