Fles 47235 van 71920, gedeelt door Roelzie1986. Het is een koper kleurig bier met een volle witte schuimkraag welke snel weg ebt. Het heeft een rum achtige geur. De smaak is kruidig en rum achtig.

75cl bottle from Cora in Brussels. F: big, white, long lasting. C: deep gold, clear. A: sweet mellow fruity, rum, bit caramel, vanilla, woody, pear, bit dried fruity, banana touch. T: full malty base, nice yet not very offensive rum, vanilla, bit woody, pear, dried figs, warming alcohol, caramel, medium carbonation, quite nice balanced and better than I expected for sure, 245 barrels = 71 820 bottles.

Totally clear metallic copper beer, with a short-lived white head, almost no visible carbonation. Rum, vanilla, bit dusty and very sweet-smelling. Overripe banana. Sweet, rum², sugar. Sweet, but very acceptable, as in fine confectionery way. Pretty boozy, all the same; toasted notes, caramel. Fiery alcoholburn, sharp, alcoholthinning. Not very carbonated. Better than expected, as I don't particularily favour rum. Here, it works. Txs to Stef!

The fifth batch of barrel aged Duvel has become an altogether different beer from the four previous editions, because this time the iconic Belgian strong blonde has not spent time in bourbon barrels, but in rum barrels, obtained from a rum distillery in Barbados. Comes from a 75 cl bottle with cork and muselet, packed in a luxury box with special glass included – a glass that bears the familiar “D” and that will no doubt become a collector’s item. Off-white, mousy head, medium thick at first but gradually thinning and opening under influence of the alcohol – a very different kind of head than we are used to from Duvel; clear, warm glowing ‘old gold’ robe with peachy to ‘cognac’-coloured hue and some tiny strings of fizz here and there but fairly hard to see, so in this respect too, looking nothing like the famed Duvel in its regular form. Strong and far from unpleasant bouquet: a whole lot of rum indeed (Bacardi and the like) with an almost coconut-like effect, strong vanilla aspect from the oak barrels, figs soaked in brandy, peanuts, almond, melting butter, ripe pear, mandarin, oxidized sweet sherry, hints of Grand Marnier, dried apricot, apple juice, paprika, freshly made roux. Sweet onset but nowhere cloying, fruity hints of red apple, peach and fig in a clean, bit ‘candied’ way, citrusy touch of kumquat, soft carb; very vinous, smooth mouthfeel but feeling remarkably ‘thin’ for a 12% ABV beer – clearly strongly thinned by alcohol, after all the beer has gained an impressive 3.5% ABV from its barrel treatment. Slender dry cookie-ish, somewhat peanutty and biscuity maltiness with a caramelly character I can only ascribe to the rum and the wooden barrels; drying woody tannins are there, but the dominant factor is definitely the rum itself, adding aspects of coconut and almond as well as considerable, warm alcohol which I can physically feel going down my chest – and yet it does not harshly burn, like I was fearing. The vanilla aspect from the oak remains strong all the way. Quite a surprising experiment, for me personally more successful than the bourbon editions even if I hate rum just as much as I hate bourbon – but the beer that came out in this case, is very different from what I was expecting based on the bourbon versions. Granted, subtlety is not in order here and for the price they charge for these bottles, you should be able to find at least two or three more ‘deep’ and rich barrel aged beers from other, more originally and credibly ‘craft’-oriented breweries if you know where to look, so I expect this one to receive rather negative reviews too, but I don't care: I like the fact that this one pleasantly surprised me – even if my expectations were low. Whether it will be capable of convincing the die-hard Duvel drinker also remains to be seen, of course…