6

Fruity floral beginning. Easy to drink, dry with a bitter finish. Hints of grain, moderate bitter with a grainy and soft fruity floral hop oily finish.

7.4

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

Hefty quadrupel flavoured with bourbon-soaked oak chips - just the right beer for a warm summer evening in August... Steinie bottle bought online somewhere. Thick and creamy, yellowish pale beige, densely moussey, regular, shred-lacing, stable head on an initially clear, mahogany brown robe with copper red glow, only lightly misty with sediment. Strong aroma of fried banana, candi sugar, toasted brown bread, hard caramel, bourbon, brown soap, some vanillin from oak wood (more outspoken than expected, considering only oak chips were used), plum jam, brown rum, fig compote, candied dates, old brown honey, sweet tawny port, almond, hazelnut oil, coriander seed (quite prominent - see the abovementioned soap), clove, vague hints of ketjap manis, bee wax, cinnamon, grass, dark green tree leaves, wood glue. Fruity, dense onset, but the flavours are a bit obscured by sharp (over)carbonation especially for this style; raisins, dried figs, prunes and banana, but also pear and red apple, with a vague sourish undertone no doubt established by the carb. Full, quite thick mouthfeel, deeply caramelly and lightly walnutty, brown-bready malts, sweet initially (dark candi sugar) but quickly sharpening into a more toasty bitter effect, a bitterness reinforced by the tannins from the oak and the alcohol; spicy effects show up, clove as usual but also hints of bayleaf, cinnamon, nutmeg and liquorice, paired with a leafy hop underbuilt. Everything here works together to counter the initial sweetness, but the bourbon effect, stronger than expected, blends sweetness and bitterness into a well-organised finish. The alcohol does become a bit tiresome and even astringent in the end, wry even on the root of the tongue - rather obnoxiously so after a while; meanwhile unnecessary coriander seed has built up its even more obnoxious soapy-spicy effect, keeping things firmly in the old Belgian idiom. A decent wintery sipper, in all - I guess I should have waited a month or four with this one - but the booze and the coriander seed are a bit too prominent for me. That said, the bourbon-soaked oak wood chips do add an extra layer of flavour which resounds well with the candi sugar, caramel and 'dried' fruitiness of the basic beer. Powerful winter quad with certain Scotch-like traits, but very clearly a case of muscle-flexing lacking in the kind of subtlety that can truly lift up a quad (see Rochefort 10 or Westvleteren 12)...

6.6

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

330ml bottle. Minimally cloudy, orange, pale golden colour with average to huge, frothy, moderately lasting, minimally lacing, white head. Floral and (citrusy) fruity, hoppy aroma, notes of melon, lychee, orange, kumquat, some coconut, whiffs of strawberry, rather neutral, pale and wheaty malty background. Taste is sweet-ish, wheaty and pale malty, fruity and slightly leafy-spicy hoppy, hints of coconut, orange, kumquat; dry, mineral and minimally papery overtones. Watery texture, slightly dry palate, medium, mildly prickly carbonation. Fairly complex, a tad too sweet - OK.

6.4

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

Amber with a big, frothy head. Aroma of lemon juice and caramel with subtle floral undertones. Taste is more citric than bitter with a big, malty sweetness just underneath. Finishes mildly sweet and mildly tart. Body to the full side of medium, moderate carbonation, alcohol well hidden. Ok.

7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Flasche 0,33l: Schwarz, deutliche Trübung, kräftiger stabiler feinporiger Schaum; sehr fruchtige + würzige Nase, kräftige Süße, dunkle/eingelegte Früchte, Backpflaumen, florale/kräutrige Hopfenaromen, kräftig Malz, dunkles Karamell, belgische Ale-Hefearomen, reife Bananen, malzig-fruchtige Bitterkeit; sehr fruchtiger + kräftig würziger Körper, kräftige Süße, leichte fruchtige Säure, florale/kräutrige Hopfennoten, dunkle/eingelegte Früchte, Backpflaumen, kräftig Malz, Karamell, cremig, mittlere Kohlensäure, kräftige belgische Ale-Hefearomen, dunkles Schokolade; fruchtig-würziger Nachgang

8

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

bottiglia 33 cl, schiuma bianca fine pannosa persistente, color giallo oro velato, al naso lieviti belgi tante spezie succo di pera pesca, in bocca è ancora tanto speziata pesche sciroppate pera frutta candita miele note erbacee, corpo rotondo, carbonatazione forte, l’alcool si sente non disturba e riscalda, dolce e lieve acidula con amaro accentuato lungo nel finale. Perfetta esecuzione, l’influsso Belga si sente. Ottima c. 1001birre.it 21.06.24

7.2

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

Tap at FOB, Rimini, Italy. Pours dark amber, partially transparent, with fine white foam. Aroma is great, with a nice mixture of honey and cereal, and cinnamon. Body is average, with good carbonation. Taste is medium sweet. Final is average.

6.9

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

Very dark brown with thin head. Not too much coconut or vanilla fortunately. Solid stout. Background chocolate notes. Quite a bitter aftertaste.

7.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

(sample, bottle) Dark brown color. Sweet, coconut, vanilla, spicy, alcohol. Very good.

8.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle from HavnensVinOgTobak. Pours clear dark ruby brownish read with huge offwhite head. Aroma is intense malt, caramel, fudge, dried fruit, English wine gums, port wine, molasses, perfumed soap, vanilla, oak and spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, pepper). Taste is medium sweet, medium bitter, light acidic and faint to light salty. Body is oily with fizzy carbonation. Finish is long and mostly sweet but also with a nice bitterness and fruity sourness and with notes of malt, caramel, cookies, chocolate, molasses, English wine gums, ruby port wine, oak and spice (perhaps the high ABV comes through as pepper notes?). Very rich but still well balanced.