6.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
(Bottle 50 cl) Only 6% in my version. Holy smoke! This truly is....smoked. Well, sorry for the bad joke, but I was truly surprised suddenly to encounter a Dutch smoked - that’s a first. Very red and slightly hazy with a decent, light brown head. Sweetish - a bit odd for a smoked - with a good hop bite in the finish. A beer with personality. 060404
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Aug 2005
at 11:43
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle, especially brewed for the 2000th anniversary of the city of Nijmegen. Cloudy orange amber color, big off-white head. Aroma of typical de Hemel spices, some orange. Taste is bitter, fruity and bit caramel malty. Most de Hemel brews are quite alike and this one’s not very special, though good brewed.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Jun 2005
at 07:51
7/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
A dark orange beer with a huge off-white head. The aroma is very yeasty and very sweet with notes of berries and spices especially coriander. The flavor is very sweet and spicy - again with coriander standing out, but also contains notes of peach and something I can’t figure out. The mouthfeel is smooth and the end is dry and sweet.
Tried
from Can
on 25 Apr 2005
at 17:51
6.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
2004 bottle (waxed cap!) shared at the 4/17/05 Montreal tasting. Light-brown, amber-bronze, hazy with good reddish-brown tinges on the edges of a, mainly, bronze colored body. Small white head is gone quickly, with minimal lace. I really enjoyed the fruity aroma, apples, mushy pears, sweet cherries, blueberries and some caramel/toffee on the end. Pungent yeast adds a little plastic/rubber astringency. Flavor begins with raisins soaked in brandy, plenty of full fruitiness, dry yeast, almost an oily, slick mouthfeel with a medium body, very low carbonation. Alcohol warmth quite evident on the end, with notes of plum brandy, some chewy yeast and light cinnamon. Somehow the raisins stay with me throughout the flavor. As Tiggmtl notes, this would be much more enjoyable did it not have a mouthfeel reminiscent of Gale’s Prize old ale (mostly flat).
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Apr 2005
at 17:29
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Cloudy orange color, large off-white head. Aroma of some yeast, mandarin and orange, typical de Hemel spices, coriander. Watery and sirupy taste, but in a very good balance, and exactly in the way i like these beers to be. It reminded me a bit of de Smisje Triple, but then its younger brother (or sister). Very nice brew.
Tried
on 02 Jan 2005
at 12:24
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Slightly hazy orange color, short lasting head. Very spicy aroma, some yeast which is typical for de hemel, some caramel malts, quite peppery, nutmeg. Spicy and yeasty taste, some orange. Nice palate.
Tried
on 28 Mar 2004
at 09:28
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
Pale orange colour, some UFO's, thin white head, lacey. Nose: oups - dishwater. Some overpowering smell of a herb, no idea which one. Valerian leaves/cat's pee as well. Taste is not that bad, faint spicey. Coriander, citrus (mandarinePEEL) and that other spice (galanga root, maybe?) Medium filled, some faint oily mouthfeel (~root spices). Kind of one-dimensional, heavy on the spices. But I really cannot get any more negative without being dishonest. It has its merits.
Tried
from Can
on 03 Mar 2004
at 15:29
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 8
(2003 vintage) Red amber, clear; yellowish carbonation, gone in seconds. Nose with molasses, dark candi sugar, pepper and other spices (ginger?). Also a smoked bacon whiff, but nowhere as heavy as Rauchbier. Spicey-bitter taste, alcohol jumps out from the first taste. This time I get coriander. Quite vinous palate. Warming up, palate gets very earthy notes. Slightly oily, slick mouthfeel. Alcohol overpresent, maybe some fusels. Fruity aftertaste and coriander. The above sounds harsh - it's better than that, and I think it is reasonable to believe the brewery when they advise to age it another 5 years. It has promise - and a mark extra on overall.
Tried
from Can
on 29 Feb 2004
at 02:05
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Gushing to huge brownish head; orange-amber beer. Very fruity nose, citrus-orange, Mandarine Napoleon, spicey too. Taste is spicey, as nutmeg and swet spices: cardemom, maybe cinnamon. Yet main flavour is sweet, liquorice like and citrussy. Rather thin mouthfeel for such a laden beer. Too sweet for my tooth. For the amateurs of liqueur-like beers.
Tried
on 21 Feb 2004
at 15:03
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Beautiful red-amber, clear; amberish head, falling, good carbonation. Truly superb nose of chocolate cake, fine brandy, fruits preserved in alcohol and a delicate smokiness. And somehow they found room for some noble German-smelling hops. Smokiness is the first to arrive in the taste, as in the Herrnsdorfer Rauchzart. Then a cakey-sweetness comes up, only to be reversed by a smoked:cured ham saltiness. The balance is just impressive! Medium-bodied only. But the "smoked ham" sustains mouthfeel well enough. This is great - ranks for me amongst the Schlenkerla/Spezial/Herrnsdorf classics. A real discovery!
Tried
on 21 Feb 2004
at 03:54