Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle: Poured a dark brown beer with a huge foamy head with good retention. Incredible amount of yeast is contained at the bottom of the glasses and I decided to pour those in my glass. Aroma of roastiness mix with some nice fresh sweet fruit (Apricot/peach) creates quite an incredible combination. Taste is quite complex as it start with some sweet flavour and then roastiness come aboard and ends with a subtle bitterness coming straight from the hops. Wow! Almost up there with the Rochefort/Westy 8.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle: Poured a hazy light copper beer with a huge foamy head with great retention. Incredible amount of yeast is comprised in this drink. Aroma is great with hint of sweet fruit (apricot? Orange?). Taste is also quite good with a refreshing sweet taste reminiscent of summer fruit (again apricot?) and a good mix between the malt and the yeast. Overall, a more complex wit then what I’m used to drink and, in my opinion, a underrated beer in this category.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5
Keg at Delirium’s Café
Cloudy golden color; creamy head. Nice malty aroma, with some hop and spices. Very good taste, which combines the maltiness, quite sweet in the front, to the late bitterness. Aromatic and spicy. Good, as always by Abbaye des Rocs.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Hazy golden color. Balanced Belgian Ale, well brewed, everything is in the average, with a quite evident spicy character; ends quite dry.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Poured a hazy copper-red with tons of rather nasty-looking yeast "floaties" and a dense, puffy light tan head. Very perfumey aroma with pepper and anise; the combination is reminiscent of a Saison. Perfumey notes are carried over into the flavor as are licorice and pepper. The body is floral and spicy, with a somewhat muddled fruitiness and leathery quality. Ethanol and apple peel finish the beer on a somewhat bitter note. This was certainly not what I expected, and a bit disappointing following the great Midnight Sun La Maitresse du Moine.
TBone (30139) reviewed Spéciale Noël from Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottled (Helsinki Beer Festival 2004)
Dark hazy red color. Huge brown foamy steady head. Aroma is quite close to "standard" Abbaye des Rocs: sweet, alcoholic, prunes, yeast. Taste is earthy, woody, dry and sweet. Very close to normal Abbaye des Rocs totally.
TBone (30139) reviewed Brune-Bruin from Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs 21 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 10 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottled, BB 2006 (Helsinki Beer Festival 2004)
Dark copper brown. Brown/beige head, which stays forever. Aroma is fruity, even parfumic: very unique. Taste is leather and malts. Smells better than tastes!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
[Draft at ZBF 2004] A clear yellow beer with a fine disappearing though lazing head. The aroma is sweet spicy. The flavor is sweet oranges with hints of alcohol. The end is dry with notes of corriander and hops.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7
(Draught) Hazy amber beer; yellowish head. Smells a bit green, aromatic but no hops, yeasty and a touch spicey. Bitter taste as from bitter almonds - maybe vegetable bitter too (Brussels' endives or suchlike). Not very distinctive. Sticky mouthfeel. Aftertaste becomes sweet, even cloying with a bitterness more remindful of scorched sugar. It's definitely sweet, and not my cup of, euh, beer.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Fizzy, light brown head, which is fairly lacing and mostly lasting. Hazy brown body. Malty aroma. Lightly sweet and moderately bitter initial flavour. Lightly sweet and moderately bitter finish, average long. Oily texture, soft mouthfeel. Great by it's simplicity.