Ciney Speciale

Brewed by Brasserie Union (Alken-Maes / Heineken)
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Jumet, Belgium

Pours a tall frothy off-white head on a ruby colored body. Full and nice aroma of sweet malt, berries, oranges and yoghurt. Weird flavor with lots of berries but also a harsh middle. Almost like a bad dessert wine (!) Tones of citrus and alcohol. Interesting....

Bottled. Purchased at Le Petit Vaudree. Dark ruby brown. Medium tan head. Nose is fruity and spicy with a dark fruit note. Rich aroma. Taste is fruity and flowery with cocoa and some sweetened malt notes. Body is abundant carbonation with a spicy feel to it. Finish is sweet and malty with a nice spicy note at the end.

Chocolate cherries and almond paste adrift on an alcohol pond...Yeasty harshness hides a few candies, plums and raisins under its aromatic branches...Between rough and rustic charm for a Christmas offering...

Enticing aroma of brown malts and sweet candi sugar with gentle spice and yeast notes... Almost like a mild Noel. Clear brown with fine tan head that recedes slowly to cover. Heavy malt flavours float on soft, small-bubbled carbonation. Full-flavoured with not even a trace of alcohol apparent. Long, sweet, fruity and spicy finish manages to never be cloying. Flavours remain distinct yet counterpoint each other very well. Soft palate and medium body with moderate carbonation. A very elegant treat and a wonderful surprise. Bottle enjoyed with MartinT and Rastacouere.

1cm beige head over a deep dark brown body. Aroma is quite inviting and compelx, almost unexpected. Aromas of yeast, anise, cocoa, powder sugar, spices.. lots of malt in there for a Belgian. Quite flavourful, coffee tones on the tongue. 9% is almost transparent. Spicy bitter finish (cloves, Christmas spice). Fitting medium body, moderately high carbonation. Great take on the style!

A red-brown beer with a huge beige lazing head. The aroma is sweet caramel with notes of coriander. The flavor is of alcohol, caramel, and prunes with lemon-soda in the background and a dry finish. The mouthfeel is very soft.

Dark yellow-brown head, creamy; dark brown, clear beer, with deep ruby shine. Vanilla, marzipan, glue, bit woody - general nasal impression of burnt, bitter-caramel malt with overlying sweetness. Taste fully confirms the nose: harsh bitter woody flavours with overlying sweetness. The sweetness masks that the roasted, bitter tastes even have a bilous character. Full-bodied, slick mouthfeel. Slight alcoholburn. Aftertaste again gives this marzipan aroma - this time obviously made from bitter almonds. Awful beer -I cannot understand people really like this. So harsh, unrefined, unbalanced...

The beer after its defection from the 330ml brown bottle sets up its temporary residence in my glass a luminous deep ruby red with a portly light tan frothy head, and after its erosion, the resultant lace forms a thin skirt to surround the glass. Nose is loaded with the aroma of over ripe fruit, plums comes to mind, sweet malt and a molasses like tone with some peat and smoke a complex nose to say the least, the start is sweet and thick with malt the top is middling in its feel. Finish is stinging in its acidity, the hops pertinent to the style and the 9 percent ABV, leaves a nice warming sensation in the tummy, quite dry aftertaste that sticks to the palate, a most enjoyable beer.