Bottle at Turisten, Ljungskile. Pours clear deep ruby red with a massive dirty white head, dissipating quite fast leaving massive lacings. Complex aroma, with roasted notes, caramell, coffee, also a slight fruitiness with hints of red berries, yeast and an earthiness. Taste is beautifully balanced with roasted notes, caramell, coffee, nuts, yeast, raspberries, bubble gum, finishes quite dry and bitter. Medium body, medium carbo, slight sticky texture. Very good, very nice balance.

0.33l bottle. Very dark amberish brown body, off-white head. Aroma of caramel, sour cherry, orange peel, earth and champagne yeast. Taste of caramel, sour cherry, cocoa and orange zest. Nice one.

Een oude fles Mc Chouffe uit de kelder gehaald (T.h.t. apr. 2012). Diep donkerbruin met ondanks de leeftijd een stevige schuimlaag. De caramel komt in de geur en smaak goed naar boven. De chocolade is in de verte ook te herkennen. De smaak blijft lang hangen. Heerlijk bier voor een rustige winteravond.

0,33L bottle, BB 10.2016. Pours very dark ruby with light brown head. The head stays. Aroma is malt, dark fruits, caramel. Flavor is sweet, malt, dark fruits, caramel, some spicy notes and yeast. Finish is fruits and caramel. It feels very light for 8% abv. Overall: great brew.

Bottle at home. Pours dark brown with tanned head. Aroma of grains, bread, honey, raisins, dried plums, and Belgian yeast. Sweet taste with some fruitiness; dried fruit, malt, Belgian yeast.

Dat ik deze nog niet gerate heb ?... schenkt helder rood/bruin met bruin/kaki kraag. aroma van caramel maar niet zo bijzonder, tevens lichte gusher, toch iets te lang bewaard onder niet al te gunstige condities. redelijke bruine suiker zoetigheid, licht bittertje, zwak fruitig van rozijn en ander donkere fruiten, caramel, maar een medium body, ietwat dun zelfs van textuur, en lage co2, mwaahh deze is nou niet één om weg te zetten ...

The dark counterpart of the famed La Chouffe, since 1987. Served from a 75 cl bottle with crown cap (no cork) in the iconic Chouffe tulip glass, this shows a pale beige, creamy head consisting of minute bubbles and leaving good lacing; the colour is a hazy dark burgundy with rusty hue. Aroma has a kind of ’purity’ combining maltiness with noble hoppiness, and after warming up the familiar Belgian estery fruitiness also comes along, but in an elegant and balanced way. I get impressions of indeed the subtle gale which is apparently effectively used, ripe pears and peaches, bitter chocolate, caramel, red apple, dried orange peel, walnuts, dried banana, brown sugar, grass, cake, cinnamon, red berries, earth, fresh sage, coffee with milk, nutmeg. Taste of dried fruits with some subtle citrussy freshness, strong and tingling carbonation, smooth, caramelly maltiness shows up first, nutty as well, turning a bit more chocolatey in the end and eventually moving into a subtle, gentle, elegant coffee-like roasted bitterishness, while retronasally all kinds of fruity esters and spicy phenols play along; a bit bready, coriander is there, but the ethereal sweetish gale dominates; not much more is added in the finish, which primarily consists of lingering bittersweet maltiness, the mild coffee grounds effect and a leafy, herbal hop bitterishness. The alcohol, though considerable, remains remarkably well hidden. This is a well crafted winter beer, perhaps not very outstanding or exceptional at first sight, but very well balanced, without noticeable flaws, and hiding its ABV remarkably well. I came to like it more after this objective and meticulous tasting session. In terms of style, I can accept ’Belgian strong ale’ (though I’d break up this meaningless category in different substyles), but have a look at the label: the familiar leprechaun is dressed here in tartan, clearly this ale was and is intended to be a Scotch, so why not classify it as such? In fact: this is one of the last remaining Belgian ales which - to a certain extent - explicitly advertizes its intentions of being a Scotch, whereas so many others, especially the dark winter and Christmas ales, are seemingly ashamed of admitting to belong to this particular style, which was so prominent in Belgium some fifty years ago. But that is another story.

Bottle at The Fiddler. Pours hazy brown with a bit tan head. Aroma of caramel, overripe dark fruits, raisins and leather. Flavour is moderate sweet and bitter. Medium bodied with soft carbonation. Not bad at all but why does it need to be as strong as 8%...

330ml bottle from Appellation Wines, cheers Ash! Pours clear dark brown, thin tan head. Aromas of brown sugar, yeast, light herbal notes. Taste is sweet and boozy, but avoids being cloying. Sweet finish. Nice.