Urthel Samaranth

Brouwerij De Leyerth
Brewed at De Koningshoeven (Bavaria - Netherlands)
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Ruiselede, Belgium

(Bottle) Pours reddish golden with stable white head. Sweet delicious beer, with dominant fruity notes (tropical fruits/apples/citrus), alcohol, sweet malts & some spices. Well balanced, and very very nice overall. A real winter warmer!!

Bottled [in either Belgium or the Netherlands -ed.]. Thick, frothy eggshell head on a cupreous pour. Delicious, almost overpowering grape and mango (and other sweet fruit) aroma. Sweet, syrupy, alcoholic taste. Very sweet, way too much. Warms. None of that desired complexity.

Re-rate, 18 Feb 08, stateside. Huge fruit and caramel nose, quady with plum, raisin, cherry, loads of malt and alcohol . Ruddy pour with a big, creamy, frothy beige head. Taste is overly sweet, nearly cloying, but fat and super, super malty. Sugar and a touch of egg white. Unbalanced with a very gentle touch of industry (metallic grain) and a boring mouthfeel. Probably one of the few 11%+’ers I’d consider chugging - it’s good enough to enjoy (as opposed to, say, a fresh 120 IPA), not super harsh, but too simplistic to take slowly. I think, ratings inflation considered, I’d probably score this higher today [owing maybe to the brewery changeover?], if just for the sheer drinkability/buzz combo [maybe a 3.5?], but the old score just ,feels better. :p

750 ml bottle. Pours golden orange, white head with lots of little bubbles in the head and floating to the top. Fruity aroma, reminds me of cinnamon apples, applesauce and some kind of citrus fruit. More apples when I take my first sip, but reminds me more of red delicious apple skin. There is a slight hint of caramel and spice as well. Initially I really don’t notice the 11.5%. I feel this is really drinkable, a little too heavy on the carbonation. This is good.

Habersham Beverage Warehouse, Savannah, Ga. - 750 ml corked bottle. Attractive, bright orange pour, bright white wispy head. Aroma of fresh oranges, fruit salad, and faint alcohol greets the nose upon opening. Flavor has elements nectarines, maple syrup, brown sugar and tangerines - delicious. Thick, creamy mouthfeel. Overall, excellent - best I have had in a while.

Bottle. Amber/orange in color. Decent head. Sweet and a bit of spice. the alcohol is definitely present, but obtrusive. This is a strong one, but rather drinkable.

750 ML bottle: Slightly clove and pepper spicy yeast nose at first becomes lightly cigarette butt smoke like mid sniff...strange! Light apricot fruitiness as it warms slightly. Hints of alcohol in the nose as well. Lightly grainy malt and floral hop as well. Well balanced, a slight bit to sweet at first, but finishes a bit semi dry. Crisp finish. Slightly peppery yeast and a bit bready malty flavored throughougt. A bit of herbal hop thrown in for good measure. Lighter body but not watery from higher level of carbonation. However, the mouthfeel is very warming, almost hot, and stings the mouth just a bit on it’s way down. Lightly dry in the mouth as well. Above average beer, but a below average Belg. strong for MY palate. Complexities are very subtle and a well made beer, but seems a bit too dry for me as I prefer more malty sweet strongs.

Bottled. Served by the brewer at the beer-fair at the Belgium Embassy in Oslo. Orange beer with a large off-white head. The aroma has alcohol, hops and candi-sugar. Lovely flavor of dried fruits, malt, alcohol and hops. Sweet on the palate. Full body. A real winter ale. Rating: 8-4-8-4-17-4.1. 060328

Bottle, 33cl. It’s a clear, copper-colored beer topped by an off-white head of moderate size. Lacings. Quite lovely aroma, dried fruits, a pleasant alcohol sting, tropical fruits in syrup, semi-dark sugars, hop notes, medium dark steeped malts and some fresh fruits tickle the nose. It’s quite intensely warming in the mouth, but in a lovely vinouse way. Sugars, fruits in both dried, fresh and canned versions, bittering hops, some spicy touch and a hint of fruit caramel too. As the aroma, it’s vinous tending towards port. Some peppery notes as well, especially towards the finish. Smooth and silky on the palate, with a good warmth staying there and following the swallow down the throat. Full-bodied, not sticky, even though it’s a sweet one. Actually, in the end it feels dry. Lots of alcohol steeped raisins and alcohol in the finish, and a good bitterness trying to combat the malty flavors. The first two sips of it made me think I had rated it way too high last time, but as the glass emptied, I found out I hadn’t. This is a beer I would like to have crates of in my cellar, to enjoy through the dark, cold months. 091020

Another HUGE beer. Apperance is of a cloudy light golden color that looks very inviting, however the beer that lies within is not for the weak. Aroma and flavore are dominated by sweet malt tones with a slightly spicy peach flavor, something I have not yet experienced in a beer. Finish went on forever and a day. Very pleasing experience.