La Binchoise Brune Tradition / Cistercienne Bruna

Brewed by Brasserie La Binchoise
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Binche, Belgium

What kind of nightmare landscape have I entered, with these Salvador Dali moustachioed zombies in their bells and green swimming goggles, listlessly flogging about their compact bundles of sticks?...

Pours incredibly dense (seemingly black in low light) with a flocculated body blocking out visibility through its deep mahogany redness. A foofy tan head fizzles away to a thin creamy layer. A floral and citrus sweetness dominates the aroma with a touch of mint and spices which cannot be named. A sip fills the mouth with a fluffed up explosion of soft malts... a gulp would have gagged me with its bloat. Further small sips find Eupropean chocolates and anise, mellow tart orange and dark fruits. Quite a diverse beer, but sadly lacking in the acidity and sourness I’ve come to expect when I see the word "Brune". Good nonetheless, and this is a bottle best shared with friends due to its ability to fill one up quickly.

<font size=-4>750ml from <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/illinois/elmhur Beverage World, Elmhurst, IL 60126</font>

Pours out a dark ruby, with some haziness. Clumpts came out of the bottle towards the end of pour. Formed so-so beige head of foamy goodness. Aroma is of prunes, cherries covered in rich chocolates with malted toffee’s. Flavor was of hops, malts, prunes and fresh cherries. Reminds me of a liquid fruitcake flavored beer. Not bad, I guess. Alcohol was well hidden for the most part.

Bottle from Party Source, KY. Poured hazy reddish brown with a moderate creamy off-white head that lasted with good lacing. Moderate sweet fruity aroma. Medium body with a sticky texture. Medium complex sweet citrus flavor with a medium bittersweet finish of moderate duration. Good sweet spicy brew.

In short: A sweet, fruity and floral Belgian amber ale. Nothing special here.
How: Bottle 330ml, consumed when 6 to 12 months of age
The look: Cloudy red-brown body topped by a beige ring of foam
In long: Nose is floral (roses!) and candied fruits. The beer is rather sweet, residual candy sugar apparent. Floral flavours of rose petals and other cute flowers. A Christmas Beer edge (spicy candies, candy liquorice). Well malted body but with an unfortunate ferrous/copper flavour. Even with the mix-bag of mismatched ingredients the beer felt a bit simple. Being the macho that I am I fell uncomfortable with a beer that tastes like roses.

Pours a deep mahogany with a large beige headthat demonstrates good persistance and lace. Aromas of yeast, brown sugar, dark fruit, and a hint of spice. Medium body and carbonation, and a soft yet rich mouthfeel. Dark caramel sweetness dominates, and coninues into the finish, although a spicy bitterness comes on late.

very thin, if any, head atop a caramel brown flavor is well balanced but very little complexities. overall very bland for a belgian

Pours a hazy brown, with some deep orange highlights. About two inches of tan head and pretty good lacing throughout the bottle (yes, I drained the whole thing). Deep sweet carmelly malt in the aroma, very nice. A hint of sweet orange in the aroma too. Lightly roasted and nicely spiced sweet taste up front. Prominent caramel malt and a bit grainy. Yeast flavors in the background. Some vanilla. Some raisin and nutmeg. A bit of a hop tang right at the very end. Very smooth drinking, medium bodied and softly carbonated. Quite smooth, magnificently delicious

Aroma is great candy sugar, fruity malts with some citrus coming through, yeast is always there. Taste is similar balanced though leaning to the sweet as you can imagine some wood character, which may be because this is a few years old. An intresting little brune.