t Smisje Calva Reserva

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Draft at Gravity Head - Regenboog ’t Smisje Harvest Ale - this beer was aged in a JW Lees Calvados wooden pin: Pours like scotch, dull copper and lifeless. No head and no carbonation throughout. The nose is subtle, with some mild fungus and peach esther notes. The spices in this beer are no where to be found. The body offers a wall of alcohol up front, with some cherry and peach notes in the background. Watery, thin texture. Some caramel in the finish, but overall this was watery, dull and tasted like a thinned out spirit. Not very complex.

Pour is murky reddish brown with a thin tight bubbled skin of an off white head...smell is lightly sweet with caramel and burnt sugar...some apples...some faint notes of alcohol...taste is sticky and sweet with apples, caramel candy, and alcohol...very one sided and unimpressive...slightly spicy with some coriander, but relatively gross...none the less...

Uh oh. Pours a deep red color. Almost zero sign of carbonation. A small patch of white film forms as an afterthought. Noticeable alcohol in the nose with a hint of spiced apple. Sweet and boozy ale with a background of spicy apple. The carbonation is seriously lacking and could mean that I got a bad bottle....

Bottle. Pours a dark amber with a nice, creamy off-white head. The lace was also noticeable and wonderful for the appearance of the beer. Aroma is candy sugar, with apple, dark fruit, and caramel notes as well. Taste is very fruity with candy sugar noticeable toward the end. The alcohol is barely noticeable....solid offering.

330 (the new bottles, new label) at Uber. Murky crystal dark amber. Insanely dense and creamy tan head that you could float a quarter on, if not a good-sized bass boat. Absolutely uninterrupted sheets of lace cascading down the sides of the glass. Big red apple skin nose, along with some caramel and candy sugar. Medium soft and velvety body. Lots of apples, and not much else, on the mid-palate. Mild sweet finish. Insane amount of trub.

Bottle shared by mmtmatrix. Poured a clear copper-amber color with no head. Slight alcohol aroma with hints of fruits (apricot, plum) peak through. Flavor consists of wood, alcohol, fig and otther dark fruits, along with some caramel to round out the flavor. Smooth, though a bit hot, and nice dry character from the barrel. Pretty nice, I will have to try another at some point.

11.2 oz bottle from wheninhell, who happens to be one cool mo fo - thanks Andy! Poured a clear dark copper, at least until the shmutz from the bottom hit, turning it to a muddy brown. No head - this baby is still. Very sweet malt and caramel nose, toffeelike. Sweet caramel and toffee flavors, molasses and some spiciness, lots of fig. Alcohol shows near the end. Slightly oily texture, smooth and slick. Boozy fig finish. Odd beer - past it’s prime, perhaps?

Beautiful hazy orange brown body, big bubbled head; Beautiful mature dried fruity full soft slightly bitting complex very interesting nose; super soft almost flat body with alcohol present lots of complexity but quite well hidden, not very inviting, actually a bit closed but in a very compelling way; Long warm finish with the same compelling complexity as both the nose and the body, lots of balanced but again well hidden aromas. Super beer, with all the characteristics that makes a tempting beer!