 Grovlam (3201), Copenhagen, Denmark
Jul 1, 2007
Bottle vintage 2004. [ Huge thanks to thewolf for sharing this one, the bouquet are still to be felt in my nostrils….he he ] I wish that I could give more then ten points for aroma, because this was the epitome of what scent a fruit beer (or any beer for that matter) should appear as. The complexity of what hits you are indescribable, but I am going to try anyway. Small creamy and beige looking head that mostly diminished. Spar display of lacework. Muddy looking reddish brown color. Surprisingly one of the first aromas that I picked up was chocolate or sweet coco. Then came an assortment of notes: amazing raspberry, fruit gum like, bubblegum, raisin, pear, peach, apricot, spice, vanilla and light vinegar. The experience was borderline to a good red win or port win. Very vinous I must say. Full bodied with a light alcoholic and sticky texture, combined with a smooth mouth feel. Average carbonation could be detected. Moderated sweet flavor with light notes of acidic. Raspberry sweet and long lasting finish. We kept taking turns to sniff the bottle after it was finished, and the lingering bouquet never disappeared from the bottle. What a pity they don’t make this anymore.
DeweyDell (139), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Oct 11, 2008 I love this little bottle. =) I was surprised to see this pour a really murky brown color... I was expecting it to be a little more pink I think, but no sign of any raspberry-type colors. No head. Aroma is awesome, it reminds me of a chocolate danish with raspberry jam, very sweet and dessert-like, but still has all the underlying "bock" characteristics. Taste... Has some alcohol up front, then just a little raspberry and some caramel malts. Not so much chocolate in the flavor, but tasty anyway. This seems a little over-rated and over-priced, but it’s still very good.
DrHomolka (602), Columbus, Ohio, USA
Oct 11, 2008 6.3oz bottle, thanks to Sparky27. I’ve wanted to try this beer for a long time. 2007 vintage. The bottle is very cute...and very small. Pours a muddy, ugly brownish red. Looks like a flat Barley Wine with a shot of cherry juice. Basically no carbonation apparent, just a few tiny bubbles dispersed around the edges. As I swirl the liquid it leaves legs behind on the glass. First impression of aroma is a blast of fresh raspberries. Intense raspberry aroma with a noticeable sweet malt presence underneath, again Barley Wine like. The raspberry aroma takes on a slight medicinal/syrupy characteristic but it is subtle and overall not too distracting. Intense vanilla bean is also noted. Alcohol hidden well, though it is noticeable (bottle says 11.9% unlike the 10.6% listed on the site). The more I smell this the more pleasant it becomes. A very nice, sweet, fresh raspberry smell.
Taste is rich, very fruity, flat and silky in the mouth. Prickly raspberry and strawberry skins at first fade to a chocolatey lingering finish. Very long finish, I can still taste this thing minutes after I last sipped. Huge complexity in the flavor department. A touch of alcohol heat mixes in with the fruitiness to give it an almost spirit-like or liqueur-like flavor. A touch too hot. This is interesting and I think this will improve with age. I’d love to try the 2004 version. I think the alcohol heat and some of the medicinal notes will fade with time and this will turn into something lovely. It needs to round out a bit but this is still excellent.
Madsnp (144), Odense C, Denmark
Oct 8, 2008 Sampled from a small vintage ’07 bottle. Thanks Dolle! Brown coloured with almost no head. The aroma is candy sweet with notes of chocolate, caramel and cherries. This a sipper.. Flavour is sweet and smooth, with notes of berries, sugar, vanilla og chocolate. Thanks again Mads :)
darkguardian (194), Florida, USA
Oct 8, 2008 07 bottle gifted to me by Hopscotch. Big thanks! Pours a deep reddish brown with a super sticky foamy head. Nose is tons of chocolate caramel, raspberry, and vanilla. This is one of the best palate’s I’ve tasted. It rivals Darklord with its complexity. Chocolate, raspberry, caramel, vanilla, wood, smoke. One of the best beers around and I doubt if a better desert beer has ever been made. Mind Blowing.
BlackForestCO (549), Fort Collins and Black Forest, Colorado, USA
Oct 4, 2008 07 bottle from ryan (artusory), thanks man! Poured a deep brown color with beautiful ruby highlights and a thin beige head that faded to a ring and tried to leave some light spotty lacing. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, chocolate covered raspberries, some toffee, and a hint of lager yeast. Smooth, fruity (a hint of apple?) entry leads into a sweet caramel maltiness and a lightly chocolaty raspberry fruitiness that leads into a light yeasty bitterness. Low carbonation, smooth, slick, and full on the palate. Very good, thanks Ryan.
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