Uit fles. Licht mistig, diepgouden kleur, witte kraag. Floraal, honing, zachtzoet, biscuitjes, verbena, hint van citrusrasp, zachtbittere finish. Lichte body, glad mondgevoel. Golden Ale met diepgang, lekker.

(from Nathan) haxy bright coppery golden color with a very tall white head; aroma of cereal, pear; balanced flavor with a long, light bitter finish, nice

Christmas present from my stepson, drank at home on New Year's Eve. Very pleasant.

Flasche 0,33l: Mahagoni, dunkles Rubin, leichte Trübung, mäßig stabiler mittelporiger Schaum; kräftig würzige + sehr süße Nase, dunkle/eingelegte Früchte, Backpflaumen, getrocknete Beeren, kräftig Malz, Malzzucker, dunkles Karamell, Vanille, leichte Hefearomen, leichte Röstaromen, dunkle Schokolade, Kakao, würzig-süße Bitterkeit; sehr süßer + würziger Körper, dunkle/eingelegte Früchte, Backpflaumen, Rumtopf, kräftig Malz, dunkles Karamell, würziger Honig, sehr cremig, kräftige Kohlensäure, Alkohol, leichte Röstaromen, würzig-kräutrige Hopfennoten; würzig-süßer Nachgang

'Refterbier' of sorts by the single English trappist brewery, comparable in concept with Westmalle Extra or Chimay Dorée, albeit notably stronger than a traditional trappist refterbier would be (or have been, as some are extinct now); many thanks to tderoeck for sharing this rarity. Pale greyish beige, medium sized, thinning head over a misty mahogany brown robe with burgundy tinge. Aroma of dry caramel (strongly so), biscuit, walnut paste, 'Koetjesreep', prune, ground hazelnuts, brown bread, dried lingonberries, autumn leaves. 'Dark dried' fruitiness in the onset, dried prunes, fig, raisin - sweetish but not too much, with a gently drying, dimly sourish undertone; medium carb, smooth dry-caramelly, biscuity and nutty maltiness, brown bread and even vague chocolate hints, feeling quite full and layered for a beer at this strength. Slight toastiness but very subdued in bitterness, with more bitterness coming from a leafy hop dosage in the end, a bit earthy and played out against this ongoing caramelly and nutty sweetness, ending in perfect balance. Belgian inspired in concept, but (and this is what I like about Mount St. Bernard) executed the English way, as this one is 'physically' clearly an English brown ale - and a very good one at that, soft, gentle, honest and rich all at once. A 'quiet' trappist ale in both availability and character, but a lovely one indeed.

The original collaboration between traditionalist Mount St. Bernard (England's very own trappist brewery) and postmodern Round Corner (a local craft brewery) - a bitter, apparently brewed in the trappist monastery with the help of Round Corner; later this relationship would be turned around in the form of Réunion (an atypically spiced witbier). Egg-white, moussey, stable but breaking head, initially clear orange amber robe, turning misty and a bit more copper-brown-tinged with sediment. Aroma of drying tree leaves, Graham crackers, some light but not unpleasant oxidation already setting in, unsalted peanuts, spring water, dry straw, raw spinach, petrichor, rusk. Restrainedly sweetish onset, dried persimmon and unripe peach notes, hint of apple peel, medium carb; very malty profile, rusk- and dry biscuit-like, crackers and peanuts even, under a 'dark green' hoppiness - that odd raw spinach-like flavour again (almost iron-like), but also beech leaves and dandelions, bittering in a way that balances out neatly with the toasty side of the malts. Very English in that sense and quite to the point for a 'special' (in more than one sense) bitter.