Malheur 12

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

250 ml bottle, bought in Frederikshavn, Denmark. Hazy dark brown colour, large tan head. Pleasant aroma of dark malts, hops, chocolate, oak and bakery. Flavour is heavy dark malts, sweet, oaky and spicy, hoppy finish. Warming mouthfeel as expected from a 12% ABV beer, there’s a certain "raw" and alcoholic edge (not entirely pleasant) that probably would benefit from a few years in a cellar. Powerful stuff, with a potential for improvement!

Bottled. Dark brown colour, small off-white head. Aroma of yeast, sour fruits and orange marmelade. Marmelade, yeast and sweet malts in flavour. Positively sweet, but still very wellbalanced, and best of all, it hides the 12% ABV very well. Complex, and I bet this would age very well.

Cloudy medium brown pour shows a gentle off-white cover. Rather aromatic dark malts comprise the aroma scope. Embracing dates, anise and peardrops appear concentrated in a basket of alcohol. Constrained yeastiness does not seem completely at ease among those vapors, but it is nevertheless complex, just in a really sweet way. Strong alcohol also dominaes in mouth where liquorous pear, myrtle and anise flavours also make successive appearances. At the same time, the palate feels a bit mineral and quite phenolic. Herbal minty finish constrasts with the initial candi sugar attack. Medium bodied, average carbonation, strongly alcoholic.

The use of grim and demonic names in Belgian beers seems to be a custom I have not fully untangled. Assuredly malheur or misfortune are not words I would associate with such delicious offerings, but as I come to think of it, religious connotations of gluttony may be the origins of the tradition. One certainty is that this brew is a true bonheur to drink, starting with its beautiful lurid brown silhouette that shines of regal purple hues in the curve of my goblet. A small beige foam sits atop and releases a fragrant blend of somber sugars. The caramel aroma particularly reminds of a childhood candy in France called Carambar and merges with the sweetness of dark chocolate, Maraschino cherries, teriyaki and cookie dough. Some alcohol and grapes are present in the nose, not unlike a light red wine perhaps Beaujolais or even a rosé. Flavors of roasted coffee beans, anise and marzipan adhere to the sweet, sticky, alcoholic, almost cloying palate that seems so appropriate for the style but is almost overdone in this case, to the point of losing the complex tonalities. The pâte d’amande flavor lingers on the tongue long after the swallow, concluding a great beer but one that could easily improve with age.

Dates, figs, grapes and pastry dough in the aroma as well as a note of iron/blood that is less welcome. Clear amber brown coloured body with plenty of yeast in suspension is topped by a low, off white head that recedes rapidly to ring. Some alchol is apparent along with a sweet, nutty flavour and some dark fruit. Somewhat watery in texture, the medium body is bothered by hard, pointy carbonation. Bottle (Ølbutikken, Aug-05) sampled with MartinT, muzzlehatch and Rastacouere.

Bottled [BB 03/2009]. Very dark brown color, not much head. Apples, prunes and cardboard in the nose. Similar to some strong lagers! Fruity, sugary, burning alcohol in the flavor - lots of apples, prunes mixed with high ABV. Very alcoholic but same time wild and interesting.

Dark amber coloured with an average off-white head. rather sweet malty and yeasty aroma with a clear alcohol nose. Full creamy body. Finish is rather bitter again the clear alcoholic touch ending a little dry. Maybe a little over the top, but not bad.

Bottle (From Bitter Virtue, BBE Oct 08). Deep mahogany colour. Rich chocolate, fruity malt and spice aroma. Body sweet but not too heavy with a bit too much alcohol. Starts well but downhill from there.