No head, dark Armagnac coloured beer, clear. Soapy, whiskey, resin, Badedas. Sweet, caramel, toffee in the flavour. Faint booze, difficult to specify. Flavours of almonds, dried figs, nougat. Feels light, almost empty for such a big beer. The aftertaste yields dark raisins, intense. Strong - but doesn't give the impression. Quite sweet, leaving not much else.

The bottle I’m holding contains 33 cl and came from Belgium’s Finest. My globe glass awaits the pour, dark brown with amber around the edges finished by a consistent, taupe head. I smell dark fruit and a curious roasty effect. But I’m here for the taste. Sweet dates, charred barrel, grain, malt, sweet vanilla and cherries. Did I mention the sweetness? Some too much, even for me. I anticipated a knock it out of the park brew. It’s more like a stand-up double and, yes, I use baseball analogies here, trust they make sense. Still a decent beer in one of my favorite styles.

Bottle. Color: Murky reddish brown, very thin off-white head. Aroma: Bourbon, caramel fudge, malty. Taste: Medium sweet, Bourbon, caramel, vanilla. Malty. Light to moderate bitterness. Bit sugary, candy sugar. Hints of dark dried fruit and almond, marzipan. Some pear. Over medium body, low carbonation. Ok, but would have benefit from some more carbonation in my opinion.

Bottle from Bierboom. Pours hazy brown with a lasting, small, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of candied date, pear syrup, rum-soaked raisin, plum, dried banana, cake, sweet tobacco, whisky. Taste has sweet plum, pear, banana & date on a sugary, toffee- & cake-like malty base, low herbal bitterness with some phenols in the back, very slight meaty umami edge. Malty finish, lots of sweet fruit & tobacco, subdued hoppiness as a result, warming whisky alcohol in the throat. Medium body, syrupy texture, soft carbonation. This X marks my soft spot for sweet, dark Belgian Ales.