Bottle shared. Dark brown with a medium tan head. Aroma of caramel, light chocolate notes, overripe dark fruit and roasted malt. Flavour is above moderate sweet and moderate bitter. Medium bodied with above moderate carbonation.

Bottle at the Hoegaarden cafe, 23/07/2015. Dark mahogany brown coloured pour with a lasting loose cream coloured head. Aroma is roast black barley malts, burnt toffee, fruit esters apple. Flavour is composed of harsh roasted barley, burnt toast, burnt sugar, bitter roast, carbonic acid. Palate is harsh very high carbonation, dry finish, semi sweet. Bit of hard work this. Closer to a RIS.

Pours very dark, chocolate brown. Good and stable white head. Smell is chocolatty, mildly sweet, some earth, and some spice notes. Taste is bit sweet, some chocolate, some dark, roasty malts. easy drinkable MF and carbo. Well in balance. Mild bitter backbone, as well as grainyness. Spark of alcohol. Way to drinkable in general for the ABV. Lovely beer ! indeed way better than its blonde brother.

330ml bottle at home as part of European Local Swap 02/2015 from RW80, many thanks. dark brown color, big tan head. smells malty roasty, smoke notes, coffee, some spices, some sweetness. full body, slick carbonation, full mouthfeel. tastes malty roasty, spices, light smoke notes, some sweetness, liquerish, light alcoholic, some sweet coffee notes, light dried fruits. finishes alcoholic and with dried fruits. I rather like it, the creamy smoke notes work quite well the alcohol and other notes.

*Old rating from 2008, 33cl, 9%. Intensiv-dickflüssig. Röstmalz, Schokolade, schöne Bitternoten. Dabei leicht alkoholisch. Dickflüssig, leicht scharf, tief, dunkle Früchte.

Zoetig, zware alcoholsmaak

The first beer from Nieuwhuys and very different from the witbier style we all instantly associate with the name Hoegaarden. Pale beige, firm, sticky, mousse-like head, colour a very dark brown with wine-red glow, misty. Very fruity and malty nose of banana, cacao powder, coffee liqueur, cinnamon, sweet sherry, pears, mint, candi sugar; rounded mouthfeel, dark fruits and candi sweetness, mild carbonation, a hint of orange peel, all on a firm basis of chocolate-, caramel- and nut-like maltiness, also some yeasty spiciness and a leafy bitterish hoppiness in the tail, where the somewhat cloying sweetness of the candi sugar also lingers on and some warming, wodka-like alcohol emerges, very slightly burning and in that respect not that well hidden. A bit stronger now than it was in the beginning and I have the impression they also toned down the roasted malt accent, which is no longer noticeable.

Tasty Belgian dark beer. Yeasty and malty body, with some nice fruits and herbs. Good example of a Belgian microbrewer.

330 ml bottle. Pours black with medium foamy white head. Aromas of dark fruit and liquorice. Flavours of burnt malts, coffee grounds, and bitter dark chocolate. Very dry. Not a triple in the standard sense. More like a dry stout.