De Graal Speciale

Bottle with a best before end date of 6/2009 and the label says 8.5ABV. Tan fizzy small head that mostly expired, virtually no lacing, hazy, no visible carbonation, and a reddish brown hue on the first pour and a brown hue on the second pour. The aroma was malty, caramel, brown sugar, sweet, dark and dried fruits, and spicy. Ditto for the flavor with some light chocolate and finished semi-dry. Sprite, bubbly mouthfeel and medium bodied. Quaffable for the style, easy to drink, not one of the better beers of this style but worthy of a try nonetheless.

Brown with slight ruby tint...small swirling bubbles. Aroma of plum juice, ginger, tobacco, roasted malts. Rich malt taste with slight bitter chocolate, cocoa milk, carob, cherries, phenols, white pepper, liquorice. I like the De Graal and drank it many times in Belgium before it was imported. They’re unique and a tad strange, but enjoyable also.

Dark amber colour. Pale brown head. A quite mild taste. Not too much sweetness. Not very special beer.

Thanks Weep for the bottle. It just falls short, very thin in the middle and missing a lot of the caramel sweetness that should be there to round out the beer. Not bad but falls short of what it could be, nothing worth searching for.

A hazy dark brown colored beer, with a nice beige foamy head. An aroma of roasted malts. There are also some notes of coffee and sweets. The taste is fruity and malty, with some spicey accents. A good beer. It’s sadly the last brew, I have from decembre 2007.