La Bière du Boucanier Dark Ale

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ertvelde, Belgium

12oz bottle, date 04/04/09. Pours a muddy brown cola flavor with a huge rocky beige head. Some dark amber highlights are noticeable when held up to the light. Aroma is fruity but subdued with traces of belgian yeast. Pleasant but mild aroma. Taste is about the same. No offensive or off flavors but nothing really good or spectacular. An average Belgian ale.

This dark brown ale poured with a miniscule beige head, eliciting a chocolate and alcohol aroma. The flavor is very malty with notes of chocolate and a carbonated mouthfeel.

Picked up a bottle from Kris Wines upon Mes’ recommendation, so it better be good, lol...
Deep reddish amber with a huge, lasting, pillowy beige head that coats the glass. My second pour was way too aggressive and I had to wait ages to give it another go. Sweet roasty malt, yeast, orangey hops, caramel, cocoa and alcohol. Taste is much along the same lines, pedominantly malt and yeast with a nice warmth in the swallow. It’s much better than the cheesy pirate on the label would lead you to believe, c’mon he doesn’t even have a puffy shirt.
It’s no maggot cider but I think Jeff would approve...Ok m8, you’re off the hook.

11.2 oz bottle from Holiday Wine Cellar. Viewed in my trappist glass as a medium brown with a war of carbonation bubbles rising to the top. The top of the ale is a large white cloud of foam that takes several minutes in order for it to simmer down. In the nose, I find an moderate presence of spicy yeast and sweetening malt aroma but I had expected more. The flavor at first gave me a quick taste shock and took me a few sips to warm up to its personality. There is a light spiced flavor because of a genuine Belgian strain of yeast paired with a minor background of sweet malt.

A Mes rate: 33cl bottle from Kris Wines.
I am actually pleasantly surprised by this one. I was expecting a slightly below par Belgian brune but it is certainly more enjoyable than that. Rich, almost opaque dark brown coloured with an impressive beige head and some reasonable legs from the booze. Roasted malt aroma with caramel and dark fruit and maybe just a twinge of alcohol. Sweet and yeasty flavour that is typically Belgian but the triple malting really does its job giving it a good base to carry what would otherwise be some far to apparent alcohol. Obvious grain and some raisin in the background. Plenty of warmth on the way down makes it clear it means business but far from being offensive, it’s actually rather endearing. You know, in an it’s tasty and it could get me drunk kind of way. Enough going on to keep me reasonably entertained all the way down. Caramel and yet more malt in the finish. It’s strange stuff. You would think from reading this that its a real malt fest but it isn’t. It actually balances out pretty well. My only beer of the evening and its given me a little buzz and a glow and for that it must be good for a 3.7
I should coco!

330 ml white bottle with a Pirate on the label. Aromas of some dark fruit like prunes. Tastes of roasted malt and dark fuit. Pretty nice balance. Nice warming finish.

White bottle with a pirate on the label. Pours a nice little head that dissolves into almost nothing with barely any lacing whatsoever. Smell has a lot of grape flavor with some pepper and malty grain flavor hidden behind the grape. This is the first beer in a while that has left my chest burning like this. This is a great flavor, starts out sweet, then fruity, and ends malty. Has a nice hoppy aftertaste to finish it off. The mouthfeel was watery , but still very nice. I love the flavor and would adore another one of these.

Bottle from Jungle Jim’s. Poured clear copper color with a large frothy white head that was mostly lasting with good lacing. Heavy yeasty and malty aroma. Medium body with soft carbonation. Medium sweet flavor with a medium sweet finish of moderate duration. This is a good drinkable beer.