t Smisje Guido

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

dark brown colour, fine creamy head, nice lace, very deep and complex aroma of mango, spices (ginger?, coriander?) and malt, smooth and sweet with a touch of acidity, warming, alcohol, very long malty, caramel and fruity finish - yeahhhh !!

Delirium Cafe, Brussels, Dec 2004: Poured a ruby red with a splash of brown. Large beige head. Served at room temperature. Sweet, somewhat malty fruity aroma. Mild black cherry taste with a touch of cognac. Very nice.

Apparently this has candy sugar, raisins, and honey as additions. The aroma was rustic and incredibly yeasty, sour, like rotting apples or soaked, acidic raisins. I loved it! The flavor was bursts of bitter, aged fruitiness, smoky, sour. An interesting kind of fermenting nut meat or fruitcake taste, too. Lovely, lovely stuff. Regenboog strikes a chord in me.

Pours a fully fogged in reddish brown. No head less than a minute after the pour, which I found odd and a let down. As I poured I could hear vibrant carbonation sizzling as it rushed up to form a head. If only there were some head, I’d give it a 4.5. Nose is a great woody tone with what seems like a touch of cherries. Deep, mature, robust, and worth a worth taking some time to dive into. Flavor is extremely good. Vibrant cherries that stay constant and distinct while delivering a firm and steady flavor profile. Feel is smooth on the liquid. The carbonation here is massive and just assaults the senses. Try not to burp after going on this one. Bottom line is this is an extremely good brew. Combine it’s rarity with it’s flavor and this is a must try. If you see it, just grab it and don’t think about it (who cares how much it costs)...for your own good. Beautiful. The only downfall is the odd lack of head (which is clearly visible in the picture above). But hey...it tastes good, so who cares.

Pours a cloudy medium brown with a big, light head. Aroma is really funky, with lots of grass, yeast and some other fruity flavors I can’t identify... honey, I guess. The flavor is more of the same, with the flowery fruits coming out a lot more. It’s pretty creamy and sweet compared to what the aroma and head would indicate. Pretty nice beer, I’d drink this one again.

(Bottle 33 cl) First sampled on a hot summer’s day at the brewery museum "De Snoek" in Alveringem, West-Flanders. A place that makes a virtue of having all the province’s breweries represented on the beer-menu. Excellent idea. Orangey brown, almost clear with a light brown head. Extremely complex in both aroma and flavour with notes of dried fruits (has raisins added), malty, sweet (has honey added) and very full-bodied. Easily equals some of the better trappists. 040904

Rusty red beer with a small foamy white head. Striking tangy fruit aroma. Brown sugar and plum stand out. The flavor hints at being sour but honey sweetness wins in the end. From sip to sip I get hints of tangy orange, bitter lemon peel, and fruit cocktail in light syrup. Amazing.

Bottle at Cambrinus, Bruges, Belgium
Hazy, amber to brown body. Off-white rocky orval-like head. The aroma reminds me of a factory making animal fodder, which has a very cloyingly sweet aroma. Just like breathing glucose. There are hops and flowers too in the aroma. Lightly sweet, moderately bitter flavour. Has some funkiness of a flemish sour ale. Very well balanced and extra ordinary flavour. Well done. I need to get my hands on more of this.