Notes 11/28/21

2021 Vintage. Now labeled as “Imperial Dark”, and pictured here.

This bottle came from Belgian Happiness, directly from Belgium.

Nothing to report here, other than the beer maintains its place in my top ten of all time. The waves of raisins, dates, plums, alcohol, rich sugar and all of the Belgian yeast notes collect to give me a mildly religious experience every time.

Notes 03/11

2009 vintage.

The beer exudes a reddish brown hue with the classic, spotty, cream lace that sits atop the body. Appearance bumped by 0.5 from the original review.

Alcohol remains a feature here, but the beer gives up more marzipan than I remember on earlier vintages. Slightly drier finish than in the past too, but all of the usual, normal features are there.

In short it’s a classic and stands out for me.

Original Notes 06/05

2004 Vintage. Apart from the appearance, it’s perfect.

The aroma, taste and mouthfeel are simply densely scrumptious. It’s a combination of plums, dates, figs, sultanas and alcohol, wrapped inside a coffee bomb, wrapped inside a malt monster! 100% chocked full of alcohol, fruit and taste, this is a huge beer.

It’s full, it’s rounded, and it’s an attack on the senses. The appearance lets it down a little, with a slightly brown rather than the expected deep black color that would match the taste and smell. Not much to complain about though, it’s a “stunna”!