330 cl. bottle @ O.B.E.R. Kestbierfestival 2014. (Thx!) Politically incorrect name #XX :) Black, little tanned head. Nose is soy sauce, gravy, oily thick syrup. Taste is gravy, soy sauce, malts, herbs, warming,… Body is lighter than you would expect. Too much soy sauce etc. for me dominating pretty much all of the flavor.

330 ml. bottle sampled @ O.B.E.R. Kestbierfestival 2014. (Thx!) Hazy golden, solid white head. Nose is artificial fruit, Windex style lemon, candy; Taste is very odd, fizzy, lots of carbonation, way too much carbonation, soda, lots of yeast, light grass. Carbonation destroys most of the flavor. Not for me.

0,33L bottle (from Wines of Galilee). Pours brown with light tan head. The head stays for some moments. Aroma is herbal, sour, dark fruits, caramel Flavor is sour, malt, fruits, caramel, yeast, some dirty water. Overall: ok-ish.

Bottle from Kiya. First impression is peanuts in the nose! Salted peanuts, some chocolate and caramel, bit of stone fruit and grass. Almost black, with a medium, airy head. Somewht astingent flavor, light coffee, dark chocolate. Very bitter. Not much hop flavor, but big dry bitterness. Rather thin. Not my kind of dubbel. Too bitter, not nice body, too little malt character. The astrongency does not seem to come from hops, rather there seem to be other problems.

Bottle at barely legal tasting room . Pours unclear , dark blonde . Small , nearly no head . Smell is sweet, fruity yeast . Taste is sweet, sugar, honey , sticky . Some maltyness ( very hidden ) and yeasty ( fruity, sweet ) . Good carbo . Touch of ( rather chemical ) bitterness . Kinda blank taste, Borning and not balanced .

Imported from my RateBeer account as Boelens Zwarte Piet Donker (by Boelens):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 5/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 9/20, MyTotalScore: 2.8/5

6/XII/14 - 33cl bottle @ De Graanmaat (Sint-Niklaas) - BB: n/a (2014-1466)

Note: what better day to drink these, than today, right? :p

Clear dark brown beer, creamy dark beige head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: sweet, dried fruits, dusty, band-aid, overripe banana, chemical touch. MF: soft carbon, medium body, smooth texture. Taste: pretty bitter, quite a chemical and dirty bitterness, overripe fruits, mocha and coffee touch (more burnt malts than what we're used to in most Belgian brews, so that's good), dusty, caramel, in general pretty unpleasant. Aftertaste: bitter, bit hoppy, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, unpleasant bitterness, quite some alcohol, yeast, rubbery, bit dirty, rotten fruits and overripe banana.

Imported from my RateBeer account as Boelens Sinterklaas Blond (by Boelens):
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 10/20, MyTotalScore: 2.9/5

6/XII/14 - 33cl bottle @ De Graanmaat (Sint-Niklaas) - BB: n/a (2014-1465)

Note: what better day to drink these, than today, right? :p

Clear deep blond beer, creamy off-white head, pretty stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: fruity, some banana, yeasty, bit dusty, sweet, sugary. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty bitter start, yeasty, some banana, bit dusty, somewhat sweet. Aftertaste: soft bitterness, very yeasty, bit of banana, some orange peel, little chemical.

Boelens’ best known beer, classic Belgian honey beer since 1994; deep peach blonde, hazy, with honey being present in the aroma along with spicy yeastiness, caramelly malts, herbal hops; less sweet than expected, though very estery, had a sourish accent many times I tasted it probably due to lactic bacterial infection; yeasty, sweet honey touch, otherwise spicy and malty with grassy hop bitterness in the finish. Decent, if you can find a non-infected sample, at least.

Bottle @ Home. Pours hazy burnt orange with a creamy offwhite head, heavy floaties, heavy lacings. Aroma of malt, yeast, candy sugar, sweet fruity, banana, light tartness. Flavor is sweet, tartness, malt, yeast, candy sugar, tart fruit, light vinegar note. Medium body, average carbonation, light tart finish. 301114

New addition to the Boelens range, because a tripel needs a dubbel brother, apparently. Pours a very dark ruby red, clear but hazy with deposit, under a thin, light beige, finely structured head without much lacing. Aroma of caramel, chocolate liqueur, candied dates, fresh orange peel, overripe blue plums, fresh redcurrant, bourbon, candi syrup, liquorice, peppermint, sherry, cardboard and something phenolic (I’m thinking fresh paint...). Sweet onset of candied fruits and candi syrup, bit ’fatty’ and smooth mouthfeel, soft carbo, some citrus refreshment, then turning very caramelly malt sweet, somewhat nutty and chocolatey as well, under a spicy yeastiness which leads to a finish of grassy and leafy hop bitterishness, gin-like alcohol (though in all relatively well hidden) and sweet chocolatey maltiness lingering on. Tasty, decent and in my opinion more interesting than the original tripel version. More a classic ’massieve ale’ (abt) than a true dubbel, though.