Brouwerij Smisje Grande Reserva

Grande Reserva

 

Brouwerij Smisje in Mater, East Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪

  Belgian Style - Strong Ale Regular Out of Production
Score
7.32
ABV: 11.0% IBU: - Ticks: 23
Whiskey cask matured ’t Smisje Kerst ale brewed with spices (corriander and Grains of Paradise).
 

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5.2
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 1 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 4

Sampled from an 11.2 oz brown bottle this beer poured an orange-amber color with a huge foamy tan head that lingered and produced good lacing. The aroma was strongly musty and malty with notes of molasses and candied fruits. The flavor was tart and bitter with strong hickory and notes of orange and sugar. The finish was long, tart and bitter with woodiness overwhelming. Medium body. Very strange and just did not work for me.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Oct 2010 at 18:08


7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle. A very nice beer with varied layers. Pours dark, amber-gold with a strong head. Nose of dark fruits and oak, mostly. Plenty of sweetness in the flavor, with notes of raisins, pear, spices, caramel and toffee. Pretty thick in the body with a syrupy, sticky finish. Mild warming. Really quite good.

Tried from Bottle on 27 Apr 2010 at 12:35


8.3
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle at Max’s. Murky chestnut color, big tan head. Aroma of oak and bourbon, some dark fruit. Taste begins with caramel and progresses to raisins and an edge of citric acid. Interesting.

Tried from Bottle on 14 Feb 2010 at 11:54


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

11.2 ounce bottle from Grape & Gourmet in Virginia Beach, VA. Pours a dark hazy brown color with a medium offwhite head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of whisky, nougat, smoke, wood, toffee. Taste is caramel, toffee, nuts, smoke, cherries, berries, whisky in the finish as well as an herbal spiciness. Medium bodied.

Tried from Bottle on 24 Dec 2009 at 13:42


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

33cl bottle pours slightly hazy with an amber body and copper hues holding up a lasting off white to tan head. The aroma carries a nice wedge of oak followed by apples, pears and apricots. Additional pulls bring up brighter fresher oak notes and a background of booze heat and whiskey. The taste begins with pears and apricot followed closely by sweet ripe Granny Smith apples. As midway approaches I pick up the Belgian yeasty spice building to a level to be heard over the fruitiness and then modest oak. Toward the finish it dries out only a tad as the whiskey makes a meek appearance to help round out the fruitiness, spices and touch of oak. Very nice and full of yum!

Tried from Bottle on 11 Dec 2009 at 20:11


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

pours amber, thin beige head. Aroma of whiskey, ever so strong, it engulfs the nostrils with some wood, spices. Flavor, whiskey is very forward, with some wood/peat notes. Light spices and plenty of booze on this one. Malty with some yeast elements on the palate, dark fruits;raisins and possibly dark sugar.

Tried on 10 Oct 2009 at 16:31


7.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle from Monument in Concord, CA. Ruby amber color with a frothy beige head. Aromas of caramel and light stone fruits with citrus/coriander. Medium body with fizzy carbonation. The flavor moves quickly from caramel to whisky (not bourbon?) and oak. Spice is present. Also heat, but it’s rather soft. Turns a bit peppery. Finishes rather dry. So there’s quite a few changes as consumption progresses. Good thing this tasty stuff comes in small bottles!

Tried from Bottle on 18 May 2009 at 23:36


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours with a small, off-white head that fades over a copper body. Aroma is earthy and highly spiced with dark fruits tobacco, grains of paradise and mint. Taste is [cannot read first descriptor], dark fruits, spiced, currants, ash, wood and overall very sweet. Light bubbles. Unique.

Tried from Bottle on 22 Apr 2009 at 15:22


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pours a turbid amber, with a soapy lace - the aroma is earthy, musty and sour up front, but deeper whiffs reveal damp oak, spices, cherry, peat, smoke - wonderful earthy complexity in the nose - there is a lot of meaty, smoky, peaty character in the flavor due to the whiskey cask, as well an almost bitter oakiness - this is followed by strong tartness and moderate acidity - caramelized sugar sweetness comes up from under this, and stick around for a while, clinging to the lingering scotch-like smoke and peat - I would like it to be less sweet, but otherwise this is quite nice - not for those that don’t like scotch, though.

Tried from Cask on 11 Apr 2009 at 00:19


7.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Aged 2 years. Pours deep amber into a Tulip. Off-white head recedes leaving spot lacing. Dark pit fruit and booze soaked raisin aromas. Sweet dark caramel upfront turning oaky but maintaining sweet port and pit fruits. Losing a bit of it’s charm with the age, becoming a bit dusty.

Tried on 11 Mar 2009 at 20:26