Malheur 12

Brewed by De Landtsheer
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Buggenhout, Belgium

Small bottle. Pours turbid brown with 2-fingers of khaki head. Aroma is figgy fruit, brown sugar, malt, mild chocolate and vinous notes. Tastes malty, brown sugary, with a solid fig, red grape, raisins, and dark chocolate. Never really got hot in spite of the 12% ABV.

250 ml bottle. Dark mahogny color, slight unclear. Low tanned head leaving fine laces. Malty aroma; Sweet, with yeast, dark fruits, chocolate, earthy hops and alcohol. As full-flavored as it gets; sweet malts, candysugar, cherries, raisins, caramel, chocolate, yeast and some edgy bittering hops. Thick, syrupy texture. Fat body. Warming alcohol and malts in the finish. A nice, but rough one, missing some harmoniousness .

(Bottle, best before 24/07/06, thanks ekstedt!) Pours dark brown with some red mahogany hints. Small sand coloured head. The aroma is rather complex with tones of heavy malt and some nice yeasty undertones. Sweet notes of caramel, syrup, some chocolate and light vanilla is all present. Sour notes of cherries and maybe some grapes. Dark fruits with prunes up front but also some hints of raisins and figs. Also some spicy notes of anise, black pepper, ginger, mint and maybe a just a touch of coriander. The flavour is dark fruity, spicy, cookie-ish, light caramelly, light chocolaty and clean yeasty. A light cherry like tart and sourness is present in the flavour as well. The mouthfeel is a bit chewy and a bit syrupy, yet soft and light silky with a strong numbing alcohol sting in the finish. The aftertaste is ending on a sweet note with a subtle fruitiness lingering. Near full bodied. In my book this is a rather nice, well made and a bit underrated Belgian Strong.

Bottle 0,25ltr: Dark brown heavy alcohol ale with a great taste of fruits, spices and its an very dangerous brew to drink, easy to drink.

Pours a deep, cloudy, garnet color with a beige, average, fizzy head which lasts longer than expected, leaving a thick, frothy layer for a while an leaves minimal lace. Nose is lighter than expected with loads of sour apple, some bready yeast, ginger, cloves, and almonds; a little like gingerbread and fruit. Similar flavors with cloves, ginger bread notes from the yeast, light apple skin notes, almonds, and some candi sugar. Palate is medium, lively, watery, and a bit syrupy. Finishes with plenty of sour apple skins, mild warmth, and lots of sweet sugary notes. Lacks any malt depth as well as hop balance with a flabby palate as far as BSA’s go. Didn’t get any floral notes as the description suggests and didn’t really get much of any hops to speak of, which left it quite sweet. The one saving grace was the drinkability of this 12%er, really not noticing a big alcohol presence.

750ml bottle acquired in trade with jjpm74 (thanks!). Poured a deep brown color with a large sized off white head. Aromas of dark fruits (raisins and plums), spices, nutty, and chocolate. Tastes of dark fruits, chocolate, caramel, and spices. Light alcohol but overall well hidden.

Pours dark red/brown with a long lasting creamy looking beige head. Aroma of cloves, gingerbread, a bit of smoke, coffee, almonds, fairly spicy and dessert-like overall. Sweet taste of cocoa, hazelnut, brown sugar, cloves, gingerbread, slight vinous flavors. Seems like there’s peat too, or something like it. Finishes pretty warming with flavors of coffee, nuts, cloves and lingering earthy bitterness. Nutty aftertaste. Highly carbonated mouthfeel is a bit prickly, but the beer is full bodied enough and the strong flavors make it seem more full. Very drinkable. 12%? Doesn’t seem that high, though it is there. This is right up there with any of the classic dark Belgian Strong ales.

Bottle from Kris or Nelson Wines, can’t quite remember which, D’oh!
Reddish amber with a decent off white head and a lot of sediment. Nose of malt, yeast, nuts, caramel and some earthy cocoa notes. Sweet and malty with plenty of candi sugar. The alcohol is surprisingly well hidden, although it becomes more noticeable as it warms. I really thought this was gonna be one of those over the top, excessively alcoholic Belgians but I honestly enjoyed it. I’ve had it sitting here for a while and now I almost regret that it’s gone :(