8.2/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Vibrant orangey-amber colour. Slight haze. Soft, thick head - luscious to behold. Aroma of yeast, pepper, pear, tangerine, slight grass and banana candy. Palate starts out with abundant yeastiness in the form of sweat and dust. Dry pepper alcohol notes come next, leading to a slightly sweeter middle with tangerines and apple skins. Finishes with a herbal hoppiness and a slight shot of alcohol & a kiss of sweet malt for balance. A good mix of assertiveness and balance. Nothing spectacular save for the fact that all the little things are done quite well.
Tried
from Can
on 23 Jan 2004
at 19:53
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 8
Glowing orange color with a rich head that laces the glass. Spicy aroma with Belgian yeast. Fruity and tart with just a little alcohol. Finishes warm and with just a slightly bitter bite.
Tried
on 21 Jan 2004
at 13:52
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Nice reddish brown colour with little to no head. Swishing the brew in my mouth, there was an abundance of spicy flavours maybe dominated by cloves. For a 9%abv brew, I thought the alcohol was pretty well hidden.
Tried
on 25 Dec 2003
at 17:41
6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Dark amber color; generous, frothy head. Average aroma: malt, roasted malt, caramel. Not bad flavor, with roasted malts and nuts, but too thin, and short final.
Tried
on 24 Dec 2003
at 21:50
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle. Dark amber-brown color with a big beige head. Aroma is yeasty (baked bread) with a little caramel. There’s a big caramel flavor with a subtle spice and a little fruit (plums or dark fruits). The body isn’t quite up to it (a little light) and there’s a high carbonation. Not as spiced as I thought and a little too mellow. It’s good, but not what I wanted. There’s a creaminess to it and a strong alcohol presence Re-rate: not much I’d change (modifed umbers a bit), but the carbonation is still too high and I could taste honey, honey, and more honey. The body wasn’t as light and had some depth. Better.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Dec 2003
at 21:22
5.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 3
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Ruby amber color; nice head. Simple aroma, paper-like.Thin body, just a lot of caramel, ending with a quite strong but short bitterness. Missing complexity, not mellow, and far from being a beer for Christmas!
Tried
on 18 Dec 2003
at 11:23
7.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
The aroma is sweet with notes of raisins and cloves. The color is deep red and it has a light brown lasting head. The flavor is lovely sweet with notes of raisins, cloves, oranges, and plums. The alcohol is well disguised, but runs prickling over the tongue. It has no bitterness, but the raisin notes and alcohol lingers for a long time.
Tried
on 17 Dec 2003
at 16:29
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Hazy orange; huge head, yellowish and collapsing. Bit of chalk, cookies, orangezest but sweet. Might be some coriander around in the nose. Taste is mainly sweet, vague orangezest (mainly on the palate); aroma rather than taste/bitterness from the hops. Sweetish, slightly spicey and yeasty finish. Alcohol well hidden. More rounded than most tripels (yeast?); very creamy mouthfeel. A bit dull, IMO. Heineken certainly polished the beers a bit, but they haven't become more interesting.
Tried
on 23 Nov 2003
at 13:08
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Light amber; huge fluffy head, disappearing. Quite hoppy nose - noble hops, but immediately overwhelmed by metaloxide, wet dog, meaty. Taste starts again like the nose: quite hoppy. Some sugar, and metallic flavour is confirmed. Palate is very neutral. Not very well-bodied. In the end, the hoppy bitterness stays around. Not really bad. I would have preferred it being a bit more affirmative in the hops idea.
Tried
on 22 Nov 2003
at 13:58
5.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 5
Bottle - in a side-by-side tasting with Op-Ale (wiich I heard of as being the same beer as this one
Clear, amber body. Moslty lasting lightly brown head. Fair lace. Nose of yeats (light - dough) and hops (moderately - flowers) Lightly bitter, lightly sweet initial flavour. Lightly bitter finish. Slightly watery. Result of the side-by-side: the beers aren’t exactly the same. They are very similar, but the GB beer is a little bit more watery.
Clear, amber body. Moslty lasting lightly brown head. Fair lace. Nose of yeats (light - dough) and hops (moderately - flowers) Lightly bitter, lightly sweet initial flavour. Lightly bitter finish. Slightly watery. Result of the side-by-side: the beers aren’t exactly the same. They are very similar, but the GB beer is a little bit more watery.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Nov 2003
at 17:17