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!

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

Gushing to towering yellowish head over fully hazy foxy-amber beer. Spicy, herbal nose. Certain perfumey sweetness suggested as from rosewater, candied apple, but also rosemary, toffee. Slightly sourish surrounding over light-sweet caramel. Fine peppery seasoning. The high carbonation accentuates the acidity. Backthroat liquorice. Very carbonated, light to medium bodied, probably some light acidthinning. I find it pleasing, but given the combination of gushing and acidity...

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 5.5 | Flavor - 5.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

pours an unclear, darker amber , copper. Medium big, stable white head. Smell is rough, grainy, tad metallic, tad DMS perhaps. nothing truly problematic, more like inperfections. Taste is herbal, slightly DMS but building up. Definately metallic. Overcarbonated. 10 % is relatively hidden. Not to much body, taste intensity. Sharp grainy, mild bitterness. Hints of toastyness. A heavy amber ale, overcarbonated, with inperfections.

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

Pours clear, amber. Mild gusher, thus resulting in a huge, surprisingly stable, white head. Scent is a bit metallic. Taste is surprpsingly bitter, rather metallic ( never a nice feature, but it's not as bad as it would be in another style of beer, I guess )Hoparoma is very low, perhaps one can even say hidden. mild maltyness. it's all nitpickin', as this beer is very dominated by it's bitterness and metallic features.

BO 02/2018;Over two years old bottle purchased at BCBF;Straight up Belgian Strong Dark aroma than stout, loads of dry fruits like dates, cherries, raisins, pears, toffee, caramel, butterscotch, sweet bread & crust, hints of cacao powder, dough & dry yeast

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

Fles thuis geprobeerd met LiekevdV. Het is een helder goudgeel bier met een volle witte schuimkraag. De geur is hoppig en wat kruidig. De smaak is kruidig, gistachtig en licht hoppig in de afdronk.

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

330 ml. bottle @ brewery. Made on their own installation. Honey orange amber, creamy soapy white head. Nose is low metallic cheep honey & very bitter weeds & hay hop. Taste is low metallic upfront, grainy, higher carbonation, fizzy, bit empty in taste due to that, feels less in ABV than 8.4, grainy, hay, burlap sack, hops are very harsh in fish, burlap sack & hay hugely raw & bitter. Difficult to drink & massively unbalanced.

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

Draft glass @ brewery during launch of this beer. Reddish amber beige coffee head. Nose is slightly metallic, raisin, red grape, BE fruit, sugar & yeast. Bit thin for ABV, definitely thinner than expected quite BE forward with the yeast, raisin, chewing gum, fermenting red grape, low metallic, grainy, largely yeast & raisin, low watery rum. Not bad but expected bit more.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

29 November 2019. At Billie's Craft Beer Fest. Cheers to the lovely Anke, tderoeck, 77ships & Ghent beer crew! Hazy ochre, quickly thinning, frothy, white head. Aroma of ripe melon, pineapple, mandarin, yellow apple, banana. Taste has sweet banana, apple & apricot, touch of melon, bitter spices, yeasty & bready profile. Dry, grassy hoppy finish, yeasty, lingering apple & banana. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. This beer's name is too punny to be really good.