[1] Review by Sap from Tucson, AZ, USA who has tried this beer once. (2/7/2008 10:23:17 PM)
"Best by date of October 2009; Sampled February 2008
Pours with a frothy, somewhat large bubbled and short lived, dirty, lightly brown tinged, tan colored head. The beer is a very dark, burnt amber color, but does show a brilliantly clear, concentrated cherry color when held up to the light. Dark fruit aromatics waft to my nose as I pour this beer and a deeper inspection confirm aromatics of raisins, prunes and a bit of fig. There is an underlying spiciness here that is somewhat contributed by warm alcohol notes; these aromas are similar to white pepper, clove, a touch of ginger and some more herbal notes that contribute a slight green quality. Underneath the spice and fruit notes is a bit of deeply caramelized malt sugars, toasty bread crusts, and brown sugar that is not very sweet. The aroma is a bit out of whack somehow; it is a touch too vegetal, the spiciness seems a touch too hard and the alcohol can be a bit hot at times; not bad, but not great either.
Sweet and fruity tasting up front; the beer tastes strongly of prunes and raisin. It also has a substantial carbonation to it that causes it to be a bit fizzy. The excess carbonation is easily released, after which the beer becomes a bit more manageable. Quite light feeling for a Christmas beer, but within what I would expect from a Belgian version; the beer is pretty easy drinking, but does have a light fullness to it towards the middle. I think the noticeable sweetness makes this seem a bit thinner than it actually is; it is overly sweet and feels like it should have a bit more body to offset this. A touch of molasses up front, hints of toasty malt towards the end, some dusty browned grain flavors and even a touch of roast character in the finish are what is cleanly noticeable of the grain character (though that molasses note could well be from dark sugars). Not nearly as spicy as the aroma might have suggested, but there are notes of clove, a hint of pepper and a touch of woody, slightly green herbal notes. The combination of sweetness and fruit remind me a bit of grape soda.
The off note of the aroma is much muted in the flavor, but still with the up front sweetness the beer is a bit out of balance in the flavor too. Not a bad beer, just seems not quite dialed in.
Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ"
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
8/10
Mouthfeel:
7/10
Flavor:
6/10
Overall:
6/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.4)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 750ml @ $7.75 Unit Cost: $4.89 per Pint
[2] Review by OrvalPlease from Orland Park, IL, USA who has tried this beer many times. (3/25/2007 4:31:52 PM)
"Dark brown ale with rocky thick head dotted with specks of yeast. Aroma is of yeasty, bready malts with a solid licorice note. Flavor is sweet and malty up front and bitters towards the end. Finishes with a nice alcohol warmth and and aftertaste of licorice and burnt toast."
Aroma:
7/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
7/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.7)
Sampled: Bottle Sample Size: 3960ml @ $45 Unit Cost: $5.38 per Pint
[3] Review by yog from Harwich, United Kingdom who has tried this beer once. (12/20/2006 6:51:04 PM)
"What a gorgeous beer all round - pours and smells like a heavyweight triple. Nice carbonation - small bubbles. Lots of fruit going on here with a few christmassy flavours too. If this was a "normal" beer rather than a seasonal one, i imagine it would be in top 10% on this site - I don't know what the base beer is for this one."
Aroma:
9/10
Appearance:
10/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(4.3)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[4] Review by lilkem from Marietta, Ohio, USA who has tried this beer once. (5/15/2006 6:51:59 PM)
"smells like dark fruits and berries. strawberry, peach, definitely get some Jim Beam aroma. lol. like a cola and some oranges mixed in. Appearance is a nice even medium brown, but is transparent. Tastes very carbonated. lemons and oranges in the flavor, along with some kiwi strawberry flavoring. Has a hint of grape soda. Dry finish but i really like the imagination behind this and the fact that this is totally different than any beer i have ever had. :) this makes me happy. "
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
7/10
Mouthfeel:
8/10
Flavor:
7/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.8)
Sampled: Bottle
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure
[5] Review by aracauna from Adairsville, GA, USA who has tried this beer once. (3/18/2006 5:12:54 PM)
"Dark, slightly cloudy brown body, but not a lot of head. The flavor is a bit on the tart side. The aroma has a bit of sweet malt supported by a plethora of fruits, the most discernable one being cherries. The alcohol is hidden extremely well making this a more drinkable beer than it has a right to be."
Aroma:
8/10
Appearance:
6/10
Mouthfeel:
6/10
Flavor:
8/10
Overall:
8/10
Final Rating, by Style:
(3.6)
Value of this beer for its style: Not Sure Compared to this brewer's other beers: Not Sure
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(3.4)
