7.1

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

0.75 l bottle from 'Mr. Hop', best before October 2025, cellared for almost a year. Almost clear, very dark ruby with a large, foamy, almost stable, light beige head. Sweetish-malty, gently yeasty-spicy and slightly fruity aroma of caramel, raisins, cocoa and some clove. Quite sweet, malty, moderately bitter, rather spicy, quite yeasty, a little roasty and a bit fruity taste of caramel, cocoa, coconut, licorice root, anise, cinnamon and some raisins, followed by a medium long, moderately bitter finish. Medium to full body, quite effervescent mouthfeel, average to lively carbonation. Solid Belgian dark ale, quite spicy but still balanced, fits definitely well into the pre-Christmas season.

6.9

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle shared by Joen. Brownish color, reddish hue. Full sized a bit bubbly white to off-white head. Aroma is malts, distant sweet red fruit notes, moderate herbal and spice notes. Flavor is malts, sweetish, leaves lightly, lighty herbal malty. Soft malty bitterness. Not bad.

7.5

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

Bottle shared. Bit hazy dark brown with fluffy head. Lots of spices, caramel, bread crust, grassy hops, light earthy, dry unripe fruits. Over medium sweet but also a solid bitter finish. Over medium bodied. Not bad!

7

Tijdens de jaarlijkse Devoxx trip meegenomen uit Meer (BE), wat kruidig, zacht, moet wel opwarmen

6.8

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

On tap at the Brugge Beer Festival 2024, Brugge, Belgium. A dark ruby brown coloured pour with a decent off white head on top. Sweet, malty, dark fruit, caramel, cinnamon taste and aroma. Pretty damn sweet but it is fine.

7.9

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

75cl bottle from the De Achelse Kluis bottle shop. F: medium, tan, good retention. C: brown with coppery hue against the light. A: banana, ginger, apples, spicy, cinnamon, nutty, bit honey, leaves. T: full malty base, banana, red apples peels, nutty, spicy, leaves, caramel, honey, nice balanced bitterness, medium carbonation, nice winter ale, enjoyed yet I am bit sad that is not Trappist beer any more.

6.6

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

Bottle, 75cl. Color: Clear ruby, beige head. Aroma: Malty, raisins, spicy. Taste: Malty, dark malt, raisins, some dark dried fruit, spicy clove and cinamon notes. Hoppy hints at the background. Medium body, just below average carbonation. Quite thin and a little disappointing, I expected more from this Achel special.

6.5

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

Kerstbier Festival. Hazy dark orange brown beer with a beige head. Aroma of dark spicy malt, herbs. Taste of herbal and spicy dark malt, cardamon.

7.8

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

Unexpected winter version of Achel Extra Bruin - the same beer in fact, but flavoured with ginger and cinnamon, inspired by a long tradition of dark Belgian winter ales; temporarily for sale at the brewery and online here and there. I was quite surprised to stumble upon this one, considering it came out at a time when Achel had already lost its trappist logo due to the fact that there were no trappist monks present anymore at the Achelse Kluis - but at least the abbey was still governed by 'mother' Westmalle, so the 'trappist beer' description remained valid. Coincidentally, however, less than a week after I tasted this beer, the news was out that the abbey has meanwhile been sold to a private investor - therefore ceasing to be a trappist abbey, and by consequence, the Achel beers will almost automatically turn from trappist beers into ('commercial') abbey beers, if anything; in any case Belgium loses a trappist brand in a time when new trappist brands pop up abroad every now and then. I did buy and open this bottle before the news was out, though, so it was still a semi-trappist beer at that time (last week Friday)... Thick and frothy, cobweb-lacing, pale greyish beige head, resting stable on a misty caramel brown beer with ruddy glow. Aroma of caramel, ginger powder indeed noticeable from the start and much stronger than the cinnamon which discreetly shows up later, brown honey, dried prunes, ground hazelnuts, nougat, brown bread, dry autumn leaves, candi sugar, nutmeg, clove, some 'jenever' and brown soap. Sweet, dark-fruity onset with pronounced candi sugar (as usual in a quad), hints of candied fig, pear jam and light banana, fizzy carb in a tiny-bubbled way; full, soft, fluffy mouthfeel. Caramelly malt core with ongoing candi sugariness (though nothing cloying), brown-bready edges, some very vague hazelnut; clove-like phenols accompany the actual spicing, which warms and colours the finish, with again ginger upfront and cinnamon remaining much more subtle (perhaps too subtle, in fact). Some mildly leafy hops ensue, along with warming, rum-like, very noticeable but not annoyingly astringent alcohol. Decent Belgian style winter warmer, indeed the Achel Extra Bruin with a pinch of extra spicing - but the difference with the original remains altogether subtle and I personally would have loved to find more cinnamon in this one. As solid as its base beer, but less distinct from it than I was expecting. Now let us see what this private owner does to this iconic Limburgian brewery - and its surroundings. I cannot say that I have a lot of confidence in this place's future, not its beers - but expect the Achel brand to be commercially exploited to the bone any time soon.