6.6/10
—
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
—
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
6.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Red-amber, clear; thick yellowish head, going lacey. Coriander, alcohol, faint other spices (maybe some cinnamon) in the nose. Taste is a potpourri of spices (with lots of coriander) extracted in alcohol. I'm pretty sure of quite some fusels. Bitterish-burning finish as from raw alcohol. Quite oily, slick mouthfeel (~? fusels) and of course alcoholburn. Big body. Huge beer, no doubt, but quite unrefined. Somehow, I had expected more from De Hemel.
Tried
on 20 Feb 2004
at 16:16
6.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
6.0% ABV
Red amber color. Nice, delicate smokey touch, not enough maltiness. Thanks Jens (Ungstrup) for sharing this bottle.
Red amber color. Nice, delicate smokey touch, not enough maltiness. Thanks Jens (Ungstrup) for sharing this bottle.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Feb 2004
at 05:20
7.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
A clear red beer with a beige or light brown head. The aroma is great; corriander mixing with raspberries. And the flavor is even greater; malty sweet with smoked notes mingling with fruits and ending on a dry corriander note. A truely great beer.
Tried
on 02 Feb 2004
at 08:34