Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 5.5 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 4.5
Pours close to black, no head to speak of, even with relatively hard pouring; quite ok for the style, but really not even an hint. Quite good intensity in a simple, straightforward aroma (fades pretty quickly though): vivid dark chocolate notes, lighter coffee grains, hints of leather and oak. The issues start in the taste. Taste notes are much less intense if compared with the aroma, with some variations: much less vivid chocolate, leather more prominent, perhaps a licorice hint. Feels like it lacks a solid malty base. But most of all some significant flaws: a metallic, slightly blood-like feel (more prominent in finish/aftertaste), booziness too strong even for the abv. As for sweet/bitter balance, it's ok: good dose of sweetness, relatively low on bitterness for the style but balanced enough by alcohol attenuation, though as mentioned ruined by the metallic finish. Pretty dense in body as obvious, practically no carbonation, but somehow fails at both feeling dense/full or silky, with booziness enveloping the mouth. Overall feeling is worse than the sum of it's parts. Well: Deproef usually makes ok beer, so i gave it a try. A sadly failed attempt at getting decent value on a non outrageously priced barrel aged stout.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle, 375 ml courtesy of Miro B, shared with him, Max and Zec brothers. Black with tan head. Some roastiness, chocolate, caramel, some fruit, sweet. Thin, medium bodied. Soft texture.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle, 375 ml courtesy of Miro B, shared with him ,Max and Zec brothers. Black, no head. Chocolate, roasted, grappa, alcohol, sweetish, tad tart. Low carbonation. Elements not well combined. Too boozy.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4
4th February 2015
Opaque dark brown beer, a few tan bubbles. Palate is smooth and semi dry, no carbonation. Smooth and tangy dark malts. Powdery spice. Mild and tangy dark fruits. Smooth dry finish with a spicy dark chocolate linger. The flat palate makes this a bit chewy.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle 375ml. corked.Clear dark black brown colour with virtually no head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, dark dried fruit. Flavour is moderate sweet with a long duration, chocolate, wood, sugary, tobacco. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20130223]
fonefan (85107) reviewed La Roche de Noël from Asolo Bevande 12 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle 750ml. corked.Clear dark brown colour with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, roasted, caramel, sweet malt, sugary, spicy, dried fruit. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and light to moderate bitter with a long duration, sugary. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20130223]
daniele (14510) reviewed La Roche de Noël from Asolo Bevande 13 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
scura buona schiuma fine piutttosto persistente leggero etilico buon corpo leggere tostature caramello frutta legggera speziatura non molto amara
CloakedDagger (37568) reviewed La Roche de Noël from Asolo Bevande 13 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle 75 cl. Courtesy of fiulijn. Pours a cloudy, deep dark brown with a creamy beige head. Dark drie fruit in the nose with a phenolic twist. Medium body, lowish carbonation, dark dried fruit rather than roast, again a little phenolic, some cocoa powder. Subtle hops. Dark brown Belgian. 230213
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle 37,5 cl. Courtesy of fiulijn. Pours an opaque black with a tiny off-white head. Sweet, dark dried fruits rather than roast in the nose. Rich body, low carbonation, sweet and pruney, again not very roasty, some cocoa powder and a warming alcohol. Very far from a classical Imperial Stout but quite enjoyable. 230213
yespr (55573) reviewed La Roche de Noël from Asolo Bevande 13 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
75 cL bottle. Pours hazy brown with a small tan head. Aroma is toasted malty and breadihs to caramelish. Bitter and toasted malty finish. Light spiced.