Sterkens Smokkelaar

Brewed by Du Bocq
Style: Belgian Ale
Purnode-Yvoir, Belgium

Color golden. Intense aroma of flowers. Body middle and soft in mouth with discreet ending.

50cl bottle (as "St Denise Gran Cru"), clear golden color, medium off white head, malt aroma with spices and fruity (plum) notes, light sweet flavor with metallic notes, medium body, spiced finish, peach and yeast aftertaste Ah...this new ratebeer layout sucks

Bottled as "Sterkens St. Denise Reserve De L’Abbesse". A deep golden and hazy beer with a medium sized and diminishing white head. Many sediments. The aroma is malty and fruity with notes of plums, orange peel and alcohol. The flavour is malty and fruity too, with elevated sweetness and a bit of sourness. Again some orangey and spicy notes. Medium body, average carbonation, sweet lonng finish with light to medium bitterness. Respectable beer, I recognize that is respectable, but not much for my liking.

50 cl. stone bottle "St.-Denise Grand cru".Pale golden with a dense disappearing foam. Malty nose with hints of bakery and pears. Quite simple flavour. Bit ethylic. Nice but rather simple.

Bottiglia da 50cl ("St. Denise Grand Cru"), bevuta a pasto abbinata a Cima Genovese, patate e carote lesse; aroma fortemente maltato con una punta d’alcool, che però nel sapore è già meno evidente. Meriterebbe più corpo, ma il risultato non sarebbe molto diverso: buona birra, ma piuttosto noiosa.

[Tasted under the name of Basiliek van Scherpenheuvel] Dirty-hazy amber, small white ring. Very oxydized nose, plums, portwine or Madeira, higher alcohols. Expiration date is in ’07, but it is long gone for fresh beer lovers. Sweet, with a very vinous, portwine-like sourish flavouring. Actually it presents itself like a real portwine, made from other fruit than grapes, say plums and fresh dates, if you can imagine that. I like this very much, but I could imagine it’s not to everybody’s liking. Thinned body, but quite slick, even oily MF. For the lovers of old beer - you couldn’t have placed it better, Bart - thanks, buddy!

Bottled in 2004, expiration date is 2007. Dark muddy ugly amber colour, no head at all. Old aroma of plums, apples, flowers, light alcohol, dust. Medium bodied flavour, light sweet orange and light spicy finish. Clearly not preserved under optimal conditions.

Bottled 0,33L [St. Denise Grand Crue].
Creamy and adherent head, medium persistence. Orange clearly color, a lot veiled, hazy and decidedly load. Medium fizz. Fresh and alcoholic scent with pleasant notes of cellar, leaven and must. Determined and round taste, balanced and alcoholic with flowery and malty notes. Sweetish and rather sugar on final. Medium/along end with light bitter train.