Tap at Lemmy's, Leiden: Dark brown colored brew with an sweet bitter taste, hints of chocolate, cinnamon and some banana.

Better aged for 3 years+
Dark brown body.
Overly carbonated as young
Great beer

330mL bottle with 05-2028 code, drunk 12/11/24. Clear dark auburn. Large, beige head, good retention. Strong phenolic spice in the nose mixed with a touch of alcohol warmth. Brown bread, raisin, plum, cinnamon...fairly balanced, fairly mellow/lagered, I guess. Lighter-bodied on account of the adjunct sugar, no doubt. Spicy, slightly sharp at points, phenols, with strong carbonation and some chewiness to the body despite this. Plum, raisin, light chocolate and more. Pretty good complexity all told with only a touch of alcohol warming. If this is only 1.5 years old, it's quite nicely mellowed for its age.

Barwa brunatna, niemal klarowne, piana beżowa, średnio obfita, średnio trwała. W aromacie karmel, pomarańcz, estry. W smaku półsłodkie, karmel, ciemne słody, nuty skórki pomarańczowej, rodzynki, cukier trzcinowy, goździk. Goryczka niska, wysycenie średniowysokie, ciało umiarkowane, lekki alkohol. Brakuje konkretu, wszelkie akcenty w tym piwie są lekko na pół gwizdka.

This review was imported from my RateBeer ratings.

11.2 oz. can
9.8% ABV
Best by: There's absolutely no date, of any kind, to be found on the can or packaging.
Serve between 36 - 42 degrees F
$16.79 4-pk @ Publix

AROMA: Moderately sweet with moderate scents of banana, malt, and bubblegum. Which is followed by hints of licorice and cola. At the very end, I also get a whisper of something metallic that reminds me of a rusted tin can. I'm hoping this is just an issue with this particular can of beer, and that the other 3 don't exhibit the same quality.

APPEARANCE: Pours an opaque dark-brown with a coarsely frothy, 3-finger, dark-tan head that dissipates very slowly with excellent lacing.

TASTE: Moderately sweet with mild flavors of dark fruit, chocolate, clove, and something sweet and acidic (maybe apple cider?). There is also a fair amount of alcohol flavor. Which I find a bit offputting. I know it's a high ABV beer, but I've had plenty of other beers, with even higher ABV, that somehow manage to eliminate the strong alcohol flavor.

MOUTHFEEL: Full-bodied with a slightly rough texture. The finish is moderately dry and the carbonation is fairly lively (i.e. above average).

OVERALL: I see that several other reviewers find this beer and the St. Bernardus Abt 12 to be fairly comparable to each other. However, I do not. I find the Abt 12 to be vastly superior to this beer, in almost every aspect. Do I dislike this beer? No. But if given the option of drinking an Abt 12 or this beer, I'm choosing Abt 12 every, single, time.

I think the biggest "problems" I have with this beer are the weird, metallic, scent and the moderately-high alcohol flavor. I also, slightly, prefer the mouthfeel of the Abt 12. I guess the big question is, would I buy it again? And the answer would be, "maybe". Actually, it would most likely be, "probably". However, if I had never had the Abt 12, then the answer would be, "definitely". I bought a 4-pack, so there are 3 more chances for this beer to enhance my impression of it.

BTW, this site shows the ABV as being 10%, but the can I bought says 9.8%.

Malty, a little yeasty, heavily spiced. Warming finish but not necessarily boozy.