La Binchoise Brune Tradition / Cistercienne Bruna

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

Pours dark brown w/ a full spritzy froth. Aroma is fresh w/ spice and dusty granite. Medium to full nectar w/ ample residul effers. Creamy on the mouth feel. Flavors are strong w/ coffee, molasses, oak, brownies, tobacco. sligtly fruity w/ dried stone fruit. Finish is long and has a nice bittering. Well balanced. Alcohol is well hidden. Overall: This brew rocks. Very complex. This one gets my Connoisseurs Choice rating. Highly recommended. If you like the flavor profile of brown ales, you’ll love this brew.

This is close to perfect! The cork pops with a bold ferocity and from there it’s only a positive experience. A very basic brown color is evident, with a tall, thick tan head that lasts to the end of the glass. The aroma from the bottle is highly farmhouse-musty, and from the glass it is extremely mellow, with a rich chocolate mocha malt at the base and a porter-like peatiness in the background. The sip begins with earthy straw tones that meld back into a licorice tinted old-fashioned dark malt extract with some mild citrus-lime notes. At the same time a strong, honest hop bitterness is felt -- not just an undertone on the maltiness but a solid presence in its own right. Alcohol is almost totally hidden but makes a mild, pleasant presence on the finish that is something like a spiked cherry cola. The body of this beer is luxurious and lively like a mint truffle, and the natural carbonation is superb. Take it from someone who’s drunk antique beer from the 1800’s -- this is a very historically accurate, raw brew.

Sometimes a beer just appeals to your senses perfectly. I loved this baby. Pillowy tan head and a brownish red body. Malt nose was quite sweet with plenty of spices as well. Taste began with hoppy flowers, but soon had prunes, plums, and apricot with a bitter coffee presence at the end. Behind it all though, I detected a goregous raspberry that reminded me of a lambic. This pushed me over th edge, I am in love with this beer. Soft and fizzy palate was superb as well.

Well-aged, 5-10 years?

I found a treasure in the back of the cellar tonight. This bottle was old when I found it crammed into a storage fridge at Big Star Liquors in 2006, and I’ve cellared it lovingly since. Cork reads "lot #021016". The age has done beautiful things to it. Drinking at cellar temperature, the bottle opens with a puff but no gush, and the beer pours beautifullly, lovely cola color with a nice sized head that recedes as I enjoy the first glass. I’ve rarely if ever smelled such a big beautiful sweet prune/plum aroma. Rich and darky and fruity, apricot nectar, just amazing. Flavor of raisins and plums, gently sweet, crisp finish. Caramel, a whisper of licorice, and hint of milk chocolate. Perfect mouthfeel, not overly carbonated as I find so many dubbels to be. Zero sign of the alcohol and if it weren’t for the super-rich flavors you’d never know it was above 6%.

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

Dark, purplish brown, large white head. Aroma of plum, grape, raisin, and sweet candy. Flavors much the same initially minus the candy. Slight chocolate in the finish, slightly unpleasant aftertaste after two-thirds of the bottle, almost like a little soapiness. Overall , quite good.

just like the description reads one of the favorites of the group i was with in binche

I had this beer at the Taverne Binchoise in Binche. It was nice and fresh. the aroma was moderately hoppy with hints of chocolate and floral aromas. The color was mohagany with a moderate amount of carbonation and an off white head. The flavor was rounded with chocolate, plum, hazlenut and almonds. It finished a little yeasty/bready. overall a good refreshing beer. Much lighter bodied than what most americans consider a dark beer.