Subsidiaries
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Red brown, low head. Fruity and piney nose. Fudge base flavor, berries, bubblegum, herbs. Sparkly mouthfeel. Fresh and dangerous.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Feb 2007
at 21:20
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Hoppy (pine) coffee aroma. Very dark, low head. Chocolaty roast base, piney and grassy counterpoint Very subtle and well made.
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Feb 2007
at 19:37
5.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 5.5
Bottle from MrBendo. Translucent copper body, light sediment, medium off-white head. Grassy, bready nose with tannic fruit skin. Tart cherry and breads, light grassiness, reminding me too much of Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. Tart, thin, and boring. Cool label though!
Tried
from Bottle
on 25 Feb 2007
at 16:29
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Hazy orange amber, low creamy golden head. Good punch of citrussy hops in the nose. Orangepeel, pine, oregano and salt - ultradry of course. Herbal pinecone aftertaste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Feb 2007
at 21:00
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8
Bottle Pours a very dark brown with some redish hues. Modest sized but very dense and creamy mocha colored head. Lacing is rich and sheeting. Classic porter aroma, dark roasted nd some coffee and dark fruits. Flavor is big time roasted and charcoal. Some bittersweet chocolate and campfire type notes. Very nice smoth creamy palate, and just the riht amount of lingering bitterness. This is indeed a robust porter. Thanks to Drewbeerme for this nice one.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Feb 2007
at 22:04
7.4/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Draught at EBF on 2/10/07
I didn’t find all the breadiness/over-yeastiness of this. There’s definitely a bit of yeast fluff, and light doughiness, but it seems to be expected from a strong Belgian ale of this sort and dosent seem any thing out of the ordinary from Smutty’s other Belgian beers. Not sure if they used Chouffe yeast, but I honestly like it better than a Chouffe beer, which I find almost sterile in their cleanliness. Perfume and lots of honey in the nose and flavor, with light biscuits and a bit of vanillin. Marmalade-like hops arent overdone, but seem to be more flavorful and less bitter than in the original dobbelen. All of the acidity that I find to be fatiguing in that beer is not as present here either. Carbonation is very high, making the texture light and easy to drink. Alcohol is well-concealed. The malt could stand to be more complex and some spicy/perfuminess gets a bit too much, but I think this is every bit as good, though for some different reasons, than Chouffe dobbelen on draught.
I didn’t find all the breadiness/over-yeastiness of this. There’s definitely a bit of yeast fluff, and light doughiness, but it seems to be expected from a strong Belgian ale of this sort and dosent seem any thing out of the ordinary from Smutty’s other Belgian beers. Not sure if they used Chouffe yeast, but I honestly like it better than a Chouffe beer, which I find almost sterile in their cleanliness. Perfume and lots of honey in the nose and flavor, with light biscuits and a bit of vanillin. Marmalade-like hops arent overdone, but seem to be more flavorful and less bitter than in the original dobbelen. All of the acidity that I find to be fatiguing in that beer is not as present here either. Carbonation is very high, making the texture light and easy to drink. Alcohol is well-concealed. The malt could stand to be more complex and some spicy/perfuminess gets a bit too much, but I think this is every bit as good, though for some different reasons, than Chouffe dobbelen on draught.
Tried
on 21 Feb 2007
at 21:42
6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
I think we are getting away from the purpose of this beer. Its a great label and a great description (like they wrote it in English, translated it to Japanese, back to English and then back to Japanese and finally back to English). I have not seen anything this original for a while. Again points for creativity from outside the bottle. Lets get inside. Color is amber/light copper/orange mix. Lots of light translucence but cannot see through the beer. Poured with a small head into a small goblet glass. You know if I were to imagine the color of a Smuttynose smile this would be it. Aroma is generic enough pale ale with hints of something herbally-floral. So basically take a ginger root and mix it with a rose, then dilute it. A fruitiness that resembles cheap lagers as well. Taste is slightly malt sweet with a slight floralness. Truely, the happy flavor of nature. Low bitterness and great marketing. I think I am turning Japanese, I really think so.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Feb 2007
at 18:39
7/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle. Cloudy amber. Malt with yeast and fruit aromas. Nice malt flavor, with some hop bitterness. A pretty decent winter warmer, and an overall good beer to drink when it’s chilly outside.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Feb 2007
at 00:15
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Draught at EBF on 2/9/07
Soft copper-melon colored body with light amber hues. Definite chill haze and a bit of haziness past that, but it still showed some clarity. Foamy/frothy dark beige head is actually quite prominent and recedes slowly, leaving light lacing.
Wow. That’s a funky aroma (not literally). Definitely strong in the bocky/wine-like yeastiness. Much more than when fresh. If I wasnt looking at it, I would almost guess it was dark. Very assertive, powerful aroma. Staunch caramel, butter toffee and a snappy, creme brulee finish alive with sourdough-like lager yeast and light melanoidins. Waves of citrus pass through the nose, but it’s certainly much less hoppy than when fresh. To the point where it smells like a doppelbock and the malt easily outshines the hops. Buttery crackers dipped in caramel with light traces of crystal malts. The bourbon is very well-done here, giving only a light liquorous feel and actually accentuating and improving upon the malt flavors instead of distracting from them. It creates a very elegant, delicate sort of....not sure how to say.....creme brulee splashed with strong brandy, I guess. High strength of aroma, no flaws. Vast improvement upon the oak-aged imperial stout (which was way too much bourbon).
Flakey toffee with light saltiness and buttercream cover the palate on first sip, aided by a very tight, moderately carbonated texture. Moderate breadiness begins to show, but is smoothed out by sweet caramel which in turn gives way to dark chocolate mixed with creme brulee and bourbon notes. But again, the bourbon is deeply integrated in to the flavors, even the yeast is hard to separate from the bready malts and robust bourbon character. Some lightly chewy, aged caramel malts yield easygoing dark fruits on the finish, which is also dotted with light brandy/bourbon notes. Hops leave some bitterness behind at this point, but do little else (some citrus notions, I guess). Delicious, unique! A year has done wonders for this beer.
Soft copper-melon colored body with light amber hues. Definite chill haze and a bit of haziness past that, but it still showed some clarity. Foamy/frothy dark beige head is actually quite prominent and recedes slowly, leaving light lacing.
Wow. That’s a funky aroma (not literally). Definitely strong in the bocky/wine-like yeastiness. Much more than when fresh. If I wasnt looking at it, I would almost guess it was dark. Very assertive, powerful aroma. Staunch caramel, butter toffee and a snappy, creme brulee finish alive with sourdough-like lager yeast and light melanoidins. Waves of citrus pass through the nose, but it’s certainly much less hoppy than when fresh. To the point where it smells like a doppelbock and the malt easily outshines the hops. Buttery crackers dipped in caramel with light traces of crystal malts. The bourbon is very well-done here, giving only a light liquorous feel and actually accentuating and improving upon the malt flavors instead of distracting from them. It creates a very elegant, delicate sort of....not sure how to say.....creme brulee splashed with strong brandy, I guess. High strength of aroma, no flaws. Vast improvement upon the oak-aged imperial stout (which was way too much bourbon).
Flakey toffee with light saltiness and buttercream cover the palate on first sip, aided by a very tight, moderately carbonated texture. Moderate breadiness begins to show, but is smoothed out by sweet caramel which in turn gives way to dark chocolate mixed with creme brulee and bourbon notes. But again, the bourbon is deeply integrated in to the flavors, even the yeast is hard to separate from the bready malts and robust bourbon character. Some lightly chewy, aged caramel malts yield easygoing dark fruits on the finish, which is also dotted with light brandy/bourbon notes. Hops leave some bitterness behind at this point, but do little else (some citrus notions, I guess). Delicious, unique! A year has done wonders for this beer.
Tried
on 17 Feb 2007
at 17:59
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Pours bright, clear amber into a snifter. Conglomerate/micro tan head leaves splotchy lacing as it slowly recedes. Strong vanilla, malt and alcohol aromas. Creamy and full with upfront sweet caramel and a lasting alcohol-tinged bitter vanilla finish.
Tried
on 13 Feb 2007
at 17:22