t Smisje Grande Reserva

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

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours a deep amber with off-white head. Aroma of some funk and citrus. Flavor of some funk, citrus, malt, has a faint tang. Mouth feel is medium-heavy body with fizzy carbonation. Overall, very nice!!!!!!!

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours with a small, off-white head that fades over a copper body. Aroma is earthy and highly spiced with dark fruits tobacco, grains of paradise and mint. Taste is [cannot read first descriptor], dark fruits, spiced, currants, ash, wood and overall very sweet. Light bubbles. Unique.

Bottle. Pours a murky brown amber with a tan head. Chewy and spicy, hint of mustard, sour whiskey notes, woody with apples, some light peat notes and some citrus. It comes together all sort of strange. This is such an eclectic brewing company.

Pours a turbid amber, with a soapy lace - the aroma is earthy, musty and sour up front, but deeper whiffs reveal damp oak, spices, cherry, peat, smoke - wonderful earthy complexity in the nose - there is a lot of meaty, smoky, peaty character in the flavor due to the whiskey cask, as well an almost bitter oakiness - this is followed by strong tartness and moderate acidity - caramelized sugar sweetness comes up from under this, and stick around for a while, clinging to the lingering scotch-like smoke and peat - I would like it to be less sweet, but otherwise this is quite nice - not for those that don’t like scotch, though.

11.2 oz. bottle, consumed on 3-31-09. Fruity, citrusy aroma features tangerine, orange, and lemon scents as well as a touch of plum and apple cider. Sweet, sour, tart, floral, earthy smell. Refreshing and appetizing aroma. A meaty smell that is reminiscent of bacon or honey-glazed ham, presumably deriving from the whiskey cask, eventually makes its presence known, setting the stage for the flavor. Pours a cloudy dark amber or ruby light to medium brown color. Moderate to large amount of tannish beige head. Produces sporadic lacing. Nothing spectacular in the appearance. Richly sweet and smoky taste. Complex, rewarding, meaty, umami flavor. Mushroom, pair, fig, and stroganoff tastes are present. There’s a sharp tartness in the finish. Dry aftertaste. Full body. Smooth in the palate. This beer is unique and tastes absolutely great, leading to a high flavor score (obviously) as well as a higher overall score than one might expect given the ordinary appearance and palate effects. I’m very impressed, and I definitely recommend this beer highly. Quite frankly, it’s even better than a 4.1 might indicate. Another gem from the underrated De Regenboog brewery.

Aged 2 years. Pours deep amber into a Tulip. Off-white head recedes leaving spot lacing. Dark pit fruit and booze soaked raisin aromas. Sweet dark caramel upfront turning oaky but maintaining sweet port and pit fruits. Losing a bit of it’s charm with the age, becoming a bit dusty.

"Bottle shared by someone (yobdoog?) at Spuyten Duyvil" from sketchy notes. Hazy amber with lasting head and lace. Caramel port and yeasty aroma. Toasted caramel licorice wood port with woodsy bitter finish.

Bottle shared by someone (yobdoog?) at Spuyten Duyvil. Deep hazy amber beer with a creamy tan head. Aroma is quite fruity and yeast. Soft chewy malts with loads of sweet sherry/brandy aroma. Quite vineous and fruity smelling. The flavour is light toasty with some smoky phenolics. A bit of bourbon with a lingering touch of floral and honey aromatics. Lingering zesty/phenolic richness. This is a world apart from the original brew, but it’s quite delicious.