Vicaris Winter
(has 5 batches)

Clear dark brown colour, beige head. Sweet malty aroma, caramel, brown sugar, spicy. Sweet malty flavour, caramel, light metallic. Finish roasted malts, burnt caramel, light winter spices. Lingering sweet. Rather nice winter beer.
(from draught @ Café De Beyerd, Breda)

Draft at In De Wildeman. Pours dark brown with a tan head. Aroma of licorice, overripe dark fruit, rubber, caramel. Flavour is over moderate sweet and moderate bitter. Over medium bodied with light carbonation.

Bottle from trade with ElManana, many thanks Bjorn. Colour: Hazy dark redbrown, nice light brown head. Aroma: light roasted malt, riped fruits, toast, herbs, earthy, licorice. Taste: light sweetness, medium bitterness, full body, oily feel, average carbonation, long finish.

Bottle. As Winter 2013. A dense, finger-thick beige head sits on top of an almost clear, dark amber to brown body. The aroma has a little touch of yeast and dough in the back, with dried fruits, brown sugar, caramel and some alcohol. It’s full-bodied and smooth on the palate, with flavors of dried fruits, brown sugar and some caramel. Quite pleasant this one, except some yeasty, bready notes in the aroma. 141108

Bottle 330ml @ Geokkjer
Pours dark reddish brown with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, caramel, yeast, dried fruits, alcohol, brown sugar and hint of spices. Taste is medium to heavy sweet and light bitter with a long warm, brown sugar and caramel finish. Body is full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.

Dilewyns’ fourth beer, tasted as Vicaris Kerst in the autumn of 2009, served by the brewer’s daughter at the Horeca Expo of Ghent; later as Vicaris Winter 2011, and now as Vicaris Winter 2015, but it’s still the same beer. Yellowish white, moussy, lacing head, deep mahogany bronze colour, very dark but still translucent, initially clear but cloudy with deposit. Powerful and very perfumey aroma densely packed with suggestions of candied cherry, marmelade, toffee / caramel, chocolate bars, liquorice candy, bayleaf, grass, Liège pear syrup, amaretto, thyme, fresh peppermint leaves, cloves, strong coriander and even aniseed, candied dates. Sweet fruity but notably canded onset, raisins, dates and baked banana, soft carbo, full caramelly, lightly chocolatey and somewhat nutty maltiness, deep and mellow, spicy notes overseeing the whole; mild roasted bitterness appears in the end, along with herbal hops and a glow of warming, rum-like alcohol in the finish. I regret not having followed the versions of 2012-2014 but seemingly, the recipe has not changed all that much; in this latest edition, this is liquid Belgian chocolates, a bit less resinous than e.g. Gouden Carolus Christmas or similar offerings, but equally rich and perfumey, with quite a demanding flavour navigating cleverly between the dominating sweet on the one hand and bitter as well as a certain amount of umami on the other hand. Spiciness proverbially has no limit in this, and still it manages to keep pace with the malts. Fascinating and surprisingly rich - this deserves a high score as its many flavours are quite well balanced against each other. Over the top in terms of spiciness and candied sweetness, but nevertheless exemplary for a Scotch-inspired Belgian Christmas ale.

Bottle labeled as "Winter 2013"from trade with Douberd, many thanks Christos. Hazy brown color with huge persistent beige head towering over my glass. Dark malt, dark fruits, caramel in aroma. Sweet dark malty taste with caramel, coffee notes, dark berries, raisins, vanilla alcohol. Good.

Bottle @ Cafe Meijers, as Vicaris Winter 2011. Brown, ruby-red coloured, with an off-white head. Nose is toasted malts, caramel, dark and dried fruits, molasses, candied sugar. Flavour is caramel malts, dried fruits, molasses, some spices. Finish is slightly bitter.

Bottle, labeled "Winter 2013". Murky brown, small beige head. Aroma has brown sugar, dried fruit, raisins, yeast and alcohol. Flavour is similar - well rounded, well balanced. Quite smooth despite (?) the ABV.