Deep brown beer with a thin creamy brown head. Aroma shows a very soft peaty smoky aroma. Lightly spicy with a soft plumminess on the back. Dates/plums and a bit of red currant play backup for the soft smokiness. Hints of coriander, allspice, and some lightly herbal notes also make the aroma quite compelling. The flavour is somewhat of a letdown. A bit of soft smokiness, light fruit but there is much less body than a beer like this needs. Lightly tart character as well, that doesn’t really work with the other components. Further warming intensifies the fruits a bit which helps. A bit of pear/apple estery notes. It’s not bad, but it’s definitely a strange beast.

<i>courtesy of Laurent Mousson</i> - very slightly hazy dark reddish colour, little elusive foam; aroma of chewy malts with some notes of red fruits; slightly smokey, sweet with a low carbonation and a moderate malt body; no bitterness and a fruity finish with some residual sugars

Dark red colored with little yellow head. Very interesting aroma: smoke dominates with caramel, toffee and chocolate, very interesting brew with this dominating smoke. Medium bodied. Flavor is also nice with same smoke and caramelly sweetness, aftertaste dries nicely with bitter hops. Weird brew again from Lorraine, still excellent brew. Belgian brews should have more smoke in them like this.

Deep, mostly clear, amber hued body crowned by a light tan, frothy head. Immediately intense aroma of smoldering oak and sassafras. The latter conjures pleasing images of real root beer. Notes of caramel, toffee and molasses begin to emerge, followed by pipe tobacco, fresh mint and cardamom. A touch of Irish whiskey graces the aroma as well. Ah, but the flavour and mouthfeel are lacking real gusto, unfortunately. Damn. Lightly spicy, smoky and caramel sweet up front, midpalate betrays a hint of sherried oxidation, leading into a soft, earthy finish. A trace of campfire remains on a cool morning slowly fade out. The body is much lighter than expected, lighter than many pale lagers in fact. Carbonation faded quickly below what I though an acceptable level and the texture is quite watery. Damn, I really thought I found some sort of gem here because of the aroma and appearance, but it wasn’t meant to be! <br /><br />Bottle, Duvel tulip, bbe 08/08.