Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

rating #10,100! s: honey - malt - caramelised sugars a: brown - no head t: sweet - honey - flowers p: light peat - earthy malt - pitted fruits o: balanced - clean - sweet 16 ounce can - Total Wine: Alexandria (Potomac Yard), Virginia - 29-November-2021 US$4,99 - canned: 20-October-2021 - sampled: 13-July-2023

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

Spiced amber lager intended as a winter beer by Spencer, the only American trappist brewery, which recently announced that brewing activities have ceased – sadly, because I have always liked them: old-fashioned as they may have been to the present-day American beer geek palate, they did create a bunch of perfectly fine beers in styles which were never before executed by trappist breweries, and did it technically flawlessly. This winter warmer had a thin and open, off-white ‘ring’ for a head consisting of tiny bubbles, on a clear deep copper-brown-hued amber robe. Ethereally-spicy nose, hinting at clove, star aniseed, cinnamon, perhaps vague nutmeg and even a background touch of liquorish candy, patchouli even springing to mind, caramel, bread crust, peanuts, tea, honey, dried apricot. Clean, sleek onset, typical lack of fruity esters because this is a lager, so immediately turning to maltiness, sweetish and caramelly with a peanutty edge and light carbonation-induced minerality at the edges; the finish brings a toasted malt bitterness to the foreground and pairs it with the spicing, again reminiscent of clove, star anise, nutmeg and light cinnamon, with very herbal-ethereal effect. Quite firm leafy hop bitterness appears in the tail as well, matching with the toastiness and spiciness; it is the toasty effect which lasts the longest. ‘Mulled’ Vienna style lager as it were, clean, sleek and bittering with a very spicy profile – quite an interesting combo in fact, drawing from different European traditions and combining them to create something altogether new. Enjoyed it – cheers to the zealous trappist monks at Spencer, they can commit to other tasks than brewing now, but I will never forget how solid many of their beers have been (and often challenging to obtain here in Belgium, too…).

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

11/VI/22 - 1 Pt. can @ Tournée Trappiste (Oostvleteren), BB: n/a, canned: X/20/21, batch: BD89 (2022-682) Thanks to Alengrin for sharing today’s beers!

Clear amber orange beer, small creamy off-white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very malty true Vienna lager style beer, toasted caramel malts, spicy, some ripe banana, star anise, more malts. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: malty, some caramel, soft acidity, grains, spicy, a bit earthy. Aftertaste: some banana, a little bitter, lots of toasted malts, nice clean malt profile, subtle spiciness, good!

Great, typical winter warmer.

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

Can from The Davis Beer Shoppe. Pours darkly ruddy amber with a beige/tan head. Aroma of nuts and cinnamon. Med body, barely. Flavor is roasty, nutty, cinnamon. Not dry. Not all that sweet. Honey on my lips. Some mild bitterness. It's pleasant, but the flavors aren't strong, and the ABV is lacking for the style, IMHO. Nice enough.

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

Bright amber and fine head. Nose is honey and dark fruits. Tastes of fig, cherry, some cloves and nutmeg, and good amounts of honey. Not overly spice but pleasant. Very drinkable

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

Pour is a dark amber with a average white head. Aroma is honey covered white bread toast with some fig. Flavor is a big honey with some toffee and dark fruit with a small spice. This was pretty good. Nice malt and spice combo.