Malheur 12

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

Bottle - 330ml. Pours a dark brown body with ruby glints and a thin beige foamy/creamy head. Well balanced malty/hoppy aroma with vineous hints. Alcohol is well hidden. Its complex taste carries sweet, plummy, and roasty notes. Ends with a decent, warming, bittersweet finish. Good winter warmer.

If only they knew how fitting the beer’s name is. Malheur, indeed! It begins with an insanely big, uncontrollable head that overflows the glass immediately (1/2 of the 33cl bottle poured into a pint glass!!!). Yecccchhh! Pours a cloudy dark mahogany with the abovementioned insane, offwhite head. Aggressive carbonation, another minus! Aroma of prunes, yeast and lemon. Taste is like something from the medicine cabinet - certainly not like beer! Malty, oppressive lickerish-caramel flavour with prunes the dominant fruit - but all very artificial and alcoholic. Bitter finish and alcoholic, lingering after taste. Belgian beer at its worst - obtrusive, artificial, oppressively alcoholic. Avoid!

Light sediment, light coffee colour, minimal bubbles. Smells like a Quad; musty dark fruit and alcohol. Intoxicating alcohol and rich grain flavour. Sweet dark fruit and alcohol reminds me of a rich alcohol based sauce for a winter pudding.

From bottle at ’t Brugs Beertje. Light malt aroma with a bit of prune and caramel. Very little hops in there. Whiff of alcohol but not strong. Neutral fruit. Dark brown amber clear with creamy light tan head. Great lacing. Medium watery body with high effervescent carbonation. Starts nutty and dry and fairly malty. Sweet with nutty after. Light medium alcohol and some warming. Farily rich. Nice dark Belgian, a bit rough but nice. Spicy notes in the aftertaste.

Bottle conditioned, very dark with a good head, sweet malt aroma, very sweet malt, fruit and toffee taste, the high alcohol is not apparent at first but lingers after you swallow.

Aroma is very sweet and dark. Appearance is also extremely dark brown, the head disappears rather quickly, which is a turnoff. Both the aroma and appearance (except for the head) remind me very much of Struise Pannepot, which put up high expectations for the beer itself. Flavorwise it’s also comparable to the great Pannepot, it only has a more alcoholic taste to it, which turns it down a little. It still is a pretty damn fine beer, it’s just not a Pannepot (yet).

Bottle from Bierkoning. Dark brown body with healthy head. Nose of malts but also floral and fruity. Nice taste of caramel with some spicy bite to it. Hops in the finish. Nice one.

Caged and corked bottle. Medium sized very fizzy tan head that mostly diminished, cloudy brown body, one ring of lacing and carbonation observed. The aroma is hoppy, floral, malty, spicy, dark fruits, and hints of caramel and chocolate. The flavor is malty, caramel, chocolate, dark fruits, nutty, spicy, and the ABV is noticeable. The mouthfeel is smooth and this is a medium bodied beer. A warming sensation kicks which would make this a good beer to drink during the winter, worthy of a try, and definitely a beer I would drink again.