Sweet, alcohol, hoppy, bready, malty, sugary

Servida en tulipa, color marrón cobrizo, espuma beige de buena retención. Muy dulzona al olfato, revela notas de malta tostada, caramelo, levadura, dátiles, pasas, moca, masa de bollería... En boca siguen las sensaciones dulces, de cuerpo medio, fácil de corroborar los matices percibidos por el olfato, el amargor es muy contenido, buena profundidad. Una cerveza que desde el punto de vista del arte cervecero belga está en la media, un trago agradable no obstante. Bien

Bottle from Delhaize. Hazy dark amber, small, foamy, tan head. Aroma of caramel, red apple, pear, wet nutmeg, iron, fig, weird spoiled milk note. Taste has sweet fig, prune & red apple in a caramel-malty body, some soapy coriander & spicy clove. Herbal hoppy finish, lingering dried fruit, spices, touch iron & caramel, hint of warming brandy-like alcohol. Medium body, slick texture, average carbonation. Not too shabby.

33 cl. Bark bronze color, yellowish foam. Aroma: spicy, halva, a little cardamom or nutmeg, higher alcohols, a little phenols, sweetness, caramel. Sweetish taste and also spicy, caramel, dried fruits, sparkling, wine, warms, a little alcoholic.

Bière 33 cl achetée en Belgique. Robe ambrée. Nez agréable. Bouche sur le malt, le caramel. Sympa mais peut être un peu trop sucrée à la longue. Ça reste bien bon. (M)

Rödbrun vätska med off white skum. Brödiga aromer med litet inslag av karamell. Lätt karamellig och lite fruktig smak som matchas av en neutral beska. Eldig munkänsla och medelfyllig eftersmak.

The dark and stronger version of Huyghe's original Artevelde beer, referring to the city of Ghent, in existence since 1987 (two years less than the original blonde version) - I was therefore astonished that apparently I never rated this one, it is probably the only beer left from that generation that I did not took tasting notes of (at least I did not find anything even after searching through twenty year old notes). Maybe I never noticed that it was different from the regular Artevelde, but even then, shame on me, especially since I have a close connection with Ghent... Anyway, here is my chance then, I suppose. Medium thick, pale greyish beige, opening head leaving behind a steady ring and some flat 'islands' in the middle; misty coppery red-glowing bronze robe with ochre-ish edges. Aroma of caramel, toffee, dried figs, old raisins, bubblegum, honey-glazed pear, Ersatz chocolate ('koetjesreep'), brown sugar, cooked apples, cloves, wet brown bread crust, plaster, touch iron faraway in the background but so faint that it is hardly disturbing. Sweet onset, banana ester mixed with dried fig and plum as well as - more than anything - sweet red apple; medium carb, brown sugary sweetness thinly spreading over a slick, doughy, thoroughly caramelly middle (more added caramel than actual caramelized malts, I have the impression), with a light soapiness to it and a faint but unmistakable metallic 'zing' in the background. Clove-like phenols, light sourishness, soft floral hop bitterishness and some warming port-like alcohol grace the finish, but the caramel effect lingers beyond all that. I never liked Huyghe's output one bit and I still don't, but I must admit that for their standards, this is above average, even if it becomes a tad boring in the end; feels a bit 'fake', though, as if the ordinary Artevelde (of which I had many a glass in years long past) was coloured and flavoured with caramel, though I do have the impression that a slight amount of dark malts was added too - just not as much as it ought to be, by far even, so I'm assuming the most part is indeed caramel. In short: one of the better Huyghe beers around for me, but then the competition is not really stiff, is it... And that said: in reading the older reviews of this beer here, I have the impression that the quality has improved after the brewery expanded and installed a new brewing room in 2012 - so there's that.

Bottle. Dark brown color. Malt, biscuit, flowers and a hint iof citrus in the aroma. Malty sweet, slightly alcoholic biscuity flavor with some distant flowery hops. Not too bad.