Flavoured stout made by old Abbaye des Rocs in collaboration with Barrel of Monks and named after the year Jean-Pierre Eloir, the founder of Rocs, officially started his brewery, in those days the first independent one in Belgium (though closely followed by Dolle). Apparently this old but importantly pioneering and still respected microbrewery has felt the winds of change sweeping through the beer world, and having been familiar with their standard beers for two decades now, I was very curious to find out what their approach to the international craft beer idiom was going to be. Thick, regularly shaped, medium large-bubbled, greyish pale beige, slowly dissipating and eventually all but disappearing head, black robe with thin, hazy burgundy edges. Aroma of liquorice, chewing gum, caramel candy, damp earth, prunes, candied figs, cashew nuts, pear syrup, cappuccino powder, brown game stock, cloves, hazelnut purée, toasted chestnuts, 'koetjesreep'. Sweet onset, cleanly fruity with hints of candied fig, ripe pear and banana, even bubblegum; quite fizzy carbonation for an intended stout, but with a smooth-edged, hazelnutty, Ersatz-chocolatey and chestnutty malt body. That slick bubblegum effect remains, while a liquorice-like flavour becomes more and more prominent, paired with a phenolic clove effect and roasted, near-coffeeish bitterness in the finish; a very earthy, even somewhat manure-like accent sets in at the back too, while herbal hops add a subtle bitterness. Both sweet-caramelly and bitter-toasty maltiness gets the last word. Not an unpleasant beer at all, but overcarbonated and 'over-liquoriced'; in any case this is a very surprising creation for Rocs, and if I had tasted it blind, I would never have associated it with this brewery. Unusual, surprising and enjoyable, but I am left with a feeling that this brewery could have done better... Still, if this is the first stepping stone to a whole new series of adventurous Abbaye des Rocs beers, then bring it on, this groundbreaking brewery deserves a new launch into the world of craft brewing as far as I'm concerned.

Flaska från Hopt.se. Disig smutsigt gyllengul med lågt vitt skum. Ganska platt både till kropp och smakbild. Jäst, deg, surdegsbröd, lite örter. Skulle mått bra av lite sälta. Aningen syrlig. Inte dålig men på gränsen.

330ml bottle. Cloudy, dark amber-ish, brown colou rwith small to average, firm, frothy, moderately lasting, minimally lacing, off-white to beige head. Toasty malty, yeasty spicy and yeasty fruity aroma, notes of dried fruit, yellow stone fruit, raisin, plum, fig, date, apricot, pear, a touch of white pepper and aniseed, some marmite. Taste is minimally sweet toasty malty, slightly dry, yeasty fruity and yeasty spicy, hints of marmite, dried fruit, raisin, plum, fig, date; minimally warming, alcoholic finish.

This bottle seems old and stale. But there is no date. If you can look past that it is a nicely flavored beer. Online etre bier bottle

Pours dark brown, medium, off white and creamy, stable white head. Smell is spiced, herbal, cardamom like. Mild roastyness. Taste is full, mildly roasty, tad sweet. No real bitterness. Spices are very mild, the specific adjuncts unrecognizable to me ( tasted without knowing what should be in there.. maybe if you know ? ) low amount of a plastic-like finish, which makes this beer not as great as I had hoped and expected.

Fles 33cl thuis gedeeld. Fruitig, caramel, suikers, donker fruit, zuurtje, zoetig, redelijk boozy, krachtig. Redelijk complex. (23-1-2020).

Brown with a frothy to creamy beige head. Aroma full of caramel, plum jam and clove. Taste is bittersweet and full of spice, particularly at the finish. Medium bodied with a prickly carbonation. Nice.

330 ml. bottle @ Beerlovers Bar. Collaboration with an USA brewery which apparently specializes in BE style beers of whom I have never heard before. Appears to be a stout with non-specified spices. Pours dark brown, lively beer with a big mocha head, slightly bitter bubbles. Nose is spice, heavy BE overripe fruit, yeast, cloves, fruit, low metallic. Sadly body & taste-wise carbonation is too high and finish is slightly metallic, profile is very clove, BE dark fruit, sugar, hazelnut, dark red grape. Love the BE profile, fruit & clove, body sadly really took it won quite a bit, still good but would have been an awesome strong BE yeast forward dark beer with better body / carbonation.

This particular bottle is heavily oxidized, but i think the underlying beer is solid, belgian candi and malty with yeasty bubblegum flavor. Online beerwulf bottle (jan 2020 3.5) Tried again from saveue bier. Also showing it’s age, a slight sourness that shouldn’t be there.