7.8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
2003 (I presume) bottle. Muddy dark brown with some lighter auburns mixed in. Light beige tinges around the edges. Bottle conditioned. Big malty aroma, caramel to the max with some ripe brown/red fruits. Big fizzy off-white head. Begins with a huge burst of caramel sweetness with an equally big bitter hops kick. Interesting. . .this much bitter hops in a biere de garde. Body is medium to medium full. Alcohol is quite apparent on the finish, which has some lightly smokey flavors as well as some rich caramel and dry, dry yeast flavors. Typical barley/grain flavors for the style, with that sweet malt, but this is more aggressive, rich, almost roasty, and as I said, has a hint of smoke. Mouthfeel is extremely carbonated, but settles down somewhat. Finish is way too acidic for my liking, but the flavor is bold and I like that. I could see this aging well.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Mar 2004
at 13:20
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
(750 ml corked bottle). Pale golden pilsener-like colour, . Large lasting head. Spicy aroma. Flavour is spicy white wine-like, a bit alcoholic. Well balanced, nice aftertaste. A good beer, but I don't find it quite as complex as some other raters do.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Mar 2004
at 10:33
8.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
New shipment in 2004 though it may still be a 2003 bottling. Pours a lovely light orange-amber/yellow, lightly hazy, bottle conditioned with a big slightly creamy wheat colored head. Aroma is big and fruity, golden delicious apples, lightly spicy hops, raw barley, dusty cobwebs, and grassy herbs. Flavor is equally impressive; vanilla liqueur, spicy yeast, yellow candied fruits, touch of sweet caramel and maybe some orange blossoms. Mouthfeel is smooth and almost creamy, but has a nice sour/bitter hops bite on the finish. Wonderfully complex and balanced. Full to medium-full bodied.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Feb 2004
at 09:17
6.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Bottled. Amber colour, rich head. Grassy and appley with clean mouthfeel. Salty sharp bitterness in the finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Jan 2004
at 09:28
4/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4
Quite flat, blond color. Simple aroma, corn and peanuts flavor. Quite disappointing.
Tried
on 18 Dec 2003
at 11:30
3.6/10
—
Appearance 4
Aroma 3
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 3.5
Bottled. Pale yellow, rich head. Lightly grassy. Malty, sweet, raisiny and fruity. Unspectacular.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Nov 2003
at 10:52
6.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Some bitterhop aroma, some sulphury notes as well, later some alcohol aroma. Deep golden, champagne carbonation, big rocky head. Warming medium body. Quite nice balance between fruity malt and hops, but i wish a particular flavor would stand out a bit more, this way the beer is more like a strong Helles. Smooth mouthfeel. Alcohol aftertaste comes when the beer warms up.
Tried
on 23 Oct 2003
at 13:26
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
The aroma is sweet of plums and fruits. The color is a beutiful deep red and it has a fine though disappearing light brown head. The flavor is sweet with notes of cloves, corriander, honey, plums, raisins, and yeast. Very comlex and lovely. It ends with the alcohol prickling over the tongue. It has a good palate.
Tried
on 15 Oct 2003
at 17:23
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7
Bottled. Amber coloured. Lightly roasty, lively and yeasty. Some honey, yet dryish. Light bodied, flavourful and complex with grassy bitter finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Apr 2003
at 12:57
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bottled (2003 version with 8.0% alcohol). Pale reddish amber with rich head. Fruity nose with a hint of cherry. Cloves and other spices like oregano are there, as is toffee and yeast. The mouthfeel is light and lively. The lingering finish is full of toffee, salt and grass. Complex and really pleasant.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Apr 2003
at 12:53