t Smisje Grande Reserva

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

11.2 oz bottle. Muddy brown with a slim beige coating. Nose is grilled peaches, toffee and brown bread. Syrupy mouthfeel with a fermented fruit tang. Taste is cantaloupe, caramel and coriander. Warming whiskey finsh. Interesting but odd.

Bottle with green label instead of blue. This was a pretty crazy beer. Dark, dark muddy brown pour with a huge, craggy off-white head that reduced down to a little glacier. Dusty, earthy nose, with strong notes of molasses, burnt wood, bacon, burnt sugar, raisins, and port. Felt almost like beer concentrate it was so thick and chewy... almost mealy. Think beer reduction. Surprisingly not boozy, though the thickness of it did make it a slight challenge to drink at first. Would drink again, for sure.

From bottle. Sweet, sweet nose. Candi sugar, burnt caramel, raisins, oak chips and light bourbon. Yeasty dusty notes with very light hop character, grassy. Mainly just sweet and boozy with subtle oak and vanilla undertones. Murky dark brown with thin off-white lacing head on top. Medium heavy watery body, almost chewy, with medium carbonationn and alcoholic warming. Active head coming out of the bottle - a slow gusher. Starts sweet and boozy, with raisins, vanilla, mild oak, and some raw sugar tang. Mild bittering in the finish, with yeasty and earthy tones. Still a bit hot, though it’s not overbearing. Has a nice sweetness throughout that, while it stays on the tongue, isn’t exactly what I’d call cloying. The after is a bit chalky with some dirty nutty bitterness. A bit of unfermented wort tang to it, too. Overall, a nice little BSA.

Pours a cloudy dark brown with a small, off-white head. ’’Warm’’, sweet aroma, laced with cherries; yes, there’s alcohol here. Wood is definitely noticable here, it’s a major player in this sweet beer. Finishes like a good scotch, wood and smoked peat battle it out. Definitely a great beer, but its lack of complexity beyond the barrel aging keeps it from rating higher.

11.2 oz bottle, shared by acrdz. Pours a slightly hazy amber with a small wispy head. The nose is fruity with a good bit of whisky and coriander, very odd. I’m also getting a good bit of band-aids as well. Wierd mix of liquid band-aids with caramel malt, dark fruits, wood, and almost an Islay single malt like medicinal finish. Kinda boozy. Mouthfeel is fairly thick with moderate soft carbonation, lingering clingy finish. Very unusual, can’t say that this was goodm but it was different.

33cl, exclusive brew, from the brewery, complex brew, balanced, yet heavy, cloudy, good head, very good brew, but too expensive

Dark amber orange body with a light khaki head. The aroma is sweet with some pears and cinnamon. There is also some more interesting earthy tropical fruit, like mango. The taste has some rich caramel and mango. There is also a nice herbal and medicinal finish. It hints at Band Aids, but not quite. Good, but obviously boozy and just a little off.

Bottle. Pours a dark caramel orange with a modest head. Heavy flavor, sweet with lots of smoky, peaty whisky. Very enjoyable. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Curious stuff, but definitely good.