t Smisje Speciaal

Brewed by Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Assebroek-Brugge, Belgium

Bottle: Orange hazy amber in apperiance with off white head. Roasted malt aroma was prelevant. Nice fruit, nut and malt flavor that finished dry and sweet.

Robe blonde légèrement voilée surmontée d’une mousse blanche fugace. Arômes d’alcool et de levures. Saveurs de levures, de malt caramélisé, de courge et de phénols.

Bouteille de 330 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur d’épices et de légume (?). Apparence: La couleur est orangée voilée avec une faible densité de bulle. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de courge "butternut" et de coriandre. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement crémeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence d’épices en arrière goût. (Rating #885)

(draft) Hazy golden body with white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, some alcohol, pumpkin spices. Taste is moderately sweet, caramel, some candi sugar, ginger, pumpkin spices. Sticky full body.

Best before 2011 bottle shared by Olivier on 1/27/07
Dense, sticky, white head is medium-sized and fades slowly to cover/partial cover. Moderate lacing, but I would expect better retention and lacing from a bottle conditioned Belgian ale of this strength. Soft bronze-straw colored body shows light carbonation and fairly high clarity.
Very reserved/soft for its strength, the pumpkin is definitely not overdone. What is overdone, however, is the yeastiness. Very strong, doughy, almost vegetal and somewhat similar to the Panil Ambre we just had, actually. Though there’s no apparent infection and much less DMS, it just dosent seem to have much to it. Light vanilla and cream puffs, a bit of honey sweetness and more easygoing pumpkin that all come and go rather quietly. A bit of acidity and light esters are perceptible and with the musty yeast, it’s distinctly Belgian. No alcohol noted, only a light warming/spiciness on the end, so in that regard, it’s quite impressive. But wow, talk about a pretty bland, overly yeasty aroma.
Lemon sugar cookies and light acidity showcase the malt and yeast, while soft pumpkin flavors are almost not even noticeable. Lots of dough, nuttiness and almost an oiliness from the yeast seem to, again, be too prominent. Kind of a flabby mouthfeel and even at this strength, the beer manages to be watery. Very light carbonation, some lightly spicy esters and alcohol on the finish. Light vegetables persist, some adjunct-like sweetness builds up to some degree. Amazingly vapid stuff!

Bottled at Brugs Beertje. Hazy orange brown coloured. Spices and pleasant vegetables in the aroma. Sweet and complex flavour with loads of funny notes. Different, but quite good.

Aroma:citrus,light spicy,light cooked vegetable... Appearance:light hazy gold,huge white head.... Flavor:alcohol,light spicy,light citrus,light sour bitterness...

Very cloudy golden blonde body with a generous head. Very very yeasty beer that still manages to keep a silky body. Well malted with a fortune cookie taste. Expectedly sweet given its abv although the alcohol remains well hidden. Sweetness and silky body join forces to create a cotton candy taste/mouthfeel. Some orange peels and some of the advertised pumpkins make a quick appearance although a lot less than the label sales-pitch leads you to believe. Good Halloween beer. I would have never guessed… a Smisje disguised into a good beer, it fooled me.