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

Old rating found back, unsure when drank but it should have been fairly close to the release. Pours black, tanned head. Scent is roasty, sweet, caramel, malty. Bit too simple and sweet perhaps? Taste is full, roasty, sweet, caramel. Bit bitter in the finish. Creamy, almost lactose-like. Nice as a base stout for a pastry, but on it's own perhaps a tad too simple.

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

A flashback to the start of the Escort Deluxe series apparently, described by the brewer as a creamy caramel stout... I have fond memories of this Antwerp series and so, to support the great city at the Schelde which is now experiencing a serious resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic, very well then. Frothy, quite thick, very mousy, yellowish beige, uneven-bubbled head slowly breaking and opening over an initially only very lightly hazed, dark bronze-blackish beer with ruby red glow. Aroma of no other of the previous Escort Deluxe editions: black cherries, raisins soaked in brown rum, candied dates and a lot of them, brown-sugared quince jelly, ruby port, toffee, chewing gum, 'kriekenjenever', molten caramel, elderberry syrup, vague notes of liquorice, sweet cicely, Belgian chocolates, anise, peppermint leaves, bay leaf somewhere very faraway. Syrupy onset, sweet with lots of dark sugariness, a tad sticky even but not quite, as a well-positioned streak of soft, yet still colourfully black cherry- and brambleberry-like sourishness sets in quickly; no discernible umami effects, just sweet ripe black cherries and brambleberries continuing, in a medium carbonated, full, thinly syrupy environment. Inherent caramelly-toffeeish maltiness with a milk-chocolatey edge, but remaining slick and a bit bubblegummy, without ever developing that thick, dark oiliness that typifies a modern imperial stout; hardly any roasted bitterness, too, just a vague and superficial touch of toasted malts, but the treacle- and toffee-like flavours persist. In the end, a very 'kriekenjenever'- and ruby port-like effect dominates, reminding me a bit of the liqueur-containing, chocolate-coated sweet cherries my grandmother loved. A herbal, tea-ish hop note is noticeable, but alas, it does not nearly provide enough bitterness to bring some complexity to this altogether 'kriekenjenever'- and port-like brew; the alcohol does give a warming feeling and even becomes very slightly astringent in the end, but I would never have given this beer a 13% ABV if I hadn't known. Lots of cherry candy- and port-like sweetness lingers, highlighted by the alcohol, with some distant sweat-, tea- and liquorice-like impressions. Caramelly sweetness is obvious, but even in that respect it lacks oiliness. The fact that a lot of red colour passes through here could have been a warning; this is not a true imperial stout, this is an overly sweetened, dark-end quadrupel, dramatically lacking in bittering balance, depth and complexity. I thought some of the previous Escort Deluxe editions were great, but this one, though demanding, is too sweet and port-like for me personally to enjoy. Where are the layers of roasted nuttiness and coffee bitterness? Granted, imperial stouts have become significantly sweeter over the years due to their popularity, but this is so sweet and simplistically caramelly that it remains stuck in the Belgo-Dutch quadrupel idiom, even at 13% ABV. Even for a 'liquid praline', which was seemingly the intention, this needs more layers of flavour; thick, but more from sugary sweetness and alcohol than anything else. Something of a low point in this series for me, I hate 'kriekenjenever' and that is exactly what this beer constantly reminded me of - sorry guys!

Boozy and pleasant but could benefit from some maturing.

backlog: Billie's Craft Beer Fest day 1 - 3.6

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

Draft at Billie’s Beer Festival ‘18.  Brown with a ring tan head.  Aroma of caramel, booze, fruity notes and toffee.  Flavour is heavy sweet.  Light full bodied with soft carbonation.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Dunkler, bananig würziger Beginn. Starke Süße, keine Herbe, kurzer Abgang. Eintönig. 10/9/9/7//8

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

Sampled at Billie's 2018. Black with thin head. Aroma and flavour are very sweet. It's almost syrupy.

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

Sampled @ Billie's Craft Beer Fest 2018, Day 2. A black beer with beige head. Aroma of dark dried fruits, oak, plums. Taste of dried dark brown fruits, caramel, raisins, boozy.

Thanks! Sampled draft @ Billie’s Beer Festival 2018. Day 2. Black syrup. Nose is overly alcoholic, too BE for an RIS, dark fruits, overripe fruits. Taste is too BE, dark fruits, overripe, sugar, thick bodied but no real caramel, figs & prunes, sugar. To BE for what it should be but okay.