Notes on beers in the style
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2025 vintage. Mid to light brown body with a decent head that comes with the aggressive pour. Retention and lace are consistent with the ABV. Definitely feels 'wintery' than some in the series, but has some cranberry notes. Plenty of alcohol here,...
Lovely head, but it fades pretty fast. That's OK at this ABV. Nose has plenty of clean alcohol, and it's mildly solvent based. This beer is quite a mixture. Sweet and caramel based, followed by a much more acidic back-end with some additional...
I had such an amazing experience with the original version of this beer after 10 years (see this), that the 2025 vintage is something I am anxious to try. Nice head, retention and lace not that great, but certainly acceptable and within the...
Corked & Caged, 375 mL bottle. 2025 Vintage. I'm absolutely positive that I've had this on a least one other occasion, but no notes that I can find. Pretty, burgundy pour, decent head out of the bottle but it fades quickly. Little retention,...
32 oz growler, Ale Yeah!, Decatur, GA, USA. An Allagash Belgian Strong Dark Ale with a Christmas twist that I've never had before?? Yep, that's an absolute no-brainer. Great pour with a tremendous head with some lovely retention and lace. Chestnut...
A beer that I know oh so well, but in 2025 it appears that actually I know absolutely nothing! What on Earth do I mean? Read on. Every year I call Trader Joe's Vintage Ale "one of the best value beers in brewed in North America". Every year it...
... or Chimay Grande Réserve Fermentée en Barriques - Chêne Français, Chêne Américain, Brandy (02/2024) to give it its full name. Corked & Caged, heavy, 375 mL bottle. Big pop on opening, and the pour definitely shows that the Brandy '24...
... or Chimay Grande Réserve Fermentée en Barriques - Chêne Français, Chêne Américain, Calvados (05/2023) to give it its full name. Corked & Caged, heavy, 375 mL bottle, with Best Before End of 2028 date. As I saw with the Rhum version this is...
Mid-brown, slightly murky (Dubbel-like) pour with a off-white, significant head. Great sticky lace, some nice retention. The body seems to clear a little over time. This is very rich right off the bat. It has a very strong presence that is a...
Bottled on 01 24 25. OK. Is this a "bad" beer? Make up your own mind. Is this a poor example of the style? Yes. Without any doubt. Presentation is good, in the 375 mL corked and caged bottle. The color is very nice in literal terms (a crystal...
As any repeat reader of my notes posted on this site about Belgian barreled or liquor infused beers will know, I have a pretty low opinion of beers that have been bastardized. Additionally, if you know about me and my taste in beer you'd also know...
... or Chimay Grande Réserve Fermentée en Barriques - Chêne Français, Chêne Américain, Rhum (02/2021) to give it its full name. Corked & Caged, heavy, 375 mL bottle, with Best Before End of 2026 date. Good looking dark brown pour with some very...
12 oz single, 2024 vintage, still clearing up the festive season here in the middle of March. Dark brown close to black pour. Nose has light, plummy, alcoholic fruit, but it is not strong. Initial tastes have some mild acidic fruit. The very, very,...
It's hard to know if this is a different beer to this, but for now it exists as two separate entries. The reason it does is that I know for a fact that this bottle came directly from Belgium and was originally for a Belgian market, and the name of...
It's possible that this beer may have been called Ambree in the past - not sure, more research needed, and I don't know (formally) what style it is. Mid-copper body with some chill-haze below a high, generous head. Lace and retention are wonderful....
No idea what relation (if any) this beer has to this. Pour is a way lighter, copper amber colored than anyone should be expecting for a Belgian Strong Dark of any description. Head and retention are both as expected and as per all de La Senne...
Apparently black body on the pour, with a nice, light tan head. Head fades to give a little lace, but also one of those lovely, surface film creamy residues across the beer. Nose has some lovely, strong, rich malt notes. Very bready, very strong, a...
Had a few notes on this from multiple, previous tastings, so time to put them together for a formal review. 11.2 oz bottle. Dubbel color on the pour which of course is not really that attractive a look. Murky brown. Decent head, but of course fades...
Picked up on the recent mercy mission to Pine Knob Wine Shoppe In Clarkston, MI, to release old beer into the wild. A no-brainer at $14.99, with a BB date of 08-12-21. This is one of three or four bottles from the $200+ worth of old beer that I...
Undated bottle from a recent mercy trip to Michigan to release some ancient bottles into the wild. This could be anywhere from the early 00s to approx. 2012. Purchased in early 2024, this could be 20 years old. Expecting nothing, purely...
I *think* this is the former Abbaye D'aulne, Christmas Triple Ale rebranded, but I'm not 100% sure. The pour is fine, but the initially nice head fades to not much. No significant lace, although the color is pretty. A clear, garnet hue with a real...
I'm not one for barrel-aged Belgians of any type, but I'll try anything once, so here goes with Black. $36.99 for the 750 mL corked and caged, Will it be three times as good as Nocturnum and/or Noel? I think I know the answer. Impressive pop once...
750 mL, capped bottle from Tavour. Categorize this beer as you will, hence my three designations. Pour is a pretty, dark-red brown affair with some good tan head. Some decent lace. Nose is not the greatest, and gives a slightly artificial smell....
Dark brown pour with some sumptuous, cherry red, garnet highlights. Head is decent, and fades to give nice, sticky lace and some thin, creamy foam on the surface of the beer. Looks good. Nose has some sweet raisins in the typical, BSDA tradition....
For something that is categorized as a BDSA, this beer is a very strange color. There is a light brown, chestnut appearance, not a typical, blackish, darker body. It looks like a, "slightly-better-than-usual" Dubbel. Head is initially good, but...
As is the case every time I make notes about a beer and then publish them on the site, they are no more than my thoughts, for my own records, and for my own reference. They really aren't for any other purpose, but if others enjoy reading them or...
22 oz bottle, courtesy of Mark, and directly from the brewery. The color of this beer is very attractive. A deep, garnet red hue in certain light, and clear as a bell. I saw bunch of pictures on Untappd which had me worried in relation to the...
Poured from the iconic, ceramic stubby bottle, on first look this appears like an ugly Dubbel brown - my favorite color complaint - but in better light there are a ton of red hues and the beer is significantly less dull than it first appears. Head...
Here we are at the beginning of June with the final bottle of the 2021 vintage. I usually get a case plus a few. I'm in the habit of saying that this beer is annually one of the best value beers available in North America, and the 2021 vintage is...
33cl bottle. Best before 19/09/23, so plenty of life left in this yet. Belgian Strong Dark? Maybe not. It has some Winter Warmer character too, and no, I’m not being fooled by the name, but in the end this seems almost largely brown ale-like....
Just like Hoegaarden Grand Cru, I like this beer. Shoot me. Pour is a dark burgundy body, with a resplendent head, that takes on a light tan hue, and a lovely, “noisy”, pitted, dense look. This looks great. Right out the bottle there is plenty of...
33 cl bottle. Finest Belgian Beers. Lot L2006 02369 26/10/2022 Turbid brown, murky Duddel like pour, with a decent but poorly maintained head. Nose offers a few, light fruit, and bitter notes. Something similar breaks across the plate early. This...
330 mL bottle. Rich, blackish-brown pour with a lovely dense head that lingers and produces some sweet lace. Nose offers mainly simple malts. Tastes start with those same malts but with added sweetness. However this never rises too far on the...
This is one of the prettiest beers that I've seen in a while. A truly deep red-brown pour, with a great head and some fantastic lace. Bone white layers are left behind in the glass. Unfortunately, the look is the high-water mark for it. The beer...
18/03/22 43 08.03 Leffe is much maligned. I've always liked/enjoyed/loved their beer. Partly nostalgia? Sure. But I simply don't drink beer that I don't enjoy, so shoot me! Radieuse is a pretty beer. A beautifully clear, red-chestnut body with an...
Re-branded Art of Darkness? Not much excites me in the beer world these days, but a new Ommegang beer is always something that has the potential to do so. Strong Belgian Dark makes it even better, and I’m anticipating much joy. The pour into the...
Yep, excited. Unibroue, large dark Belgian? Count me in. Dark Ale on Lees (as per Unibroue) presentation, a light spiced nose and some fruit in the nose. Jerry Viets Unibroue brewmaster brings his style to the masses. The usual Unibroue...
An apparent jet black pour with a tan, very modest head. Some lace. Nose offers a touch of sinus clearing alcohol and a decent bourbon whiff. Light burn in the mouth and in the throat, nothing too offensive but you know that the bourbon and the...
2013 vintage pictured in December 2016. Original notes 01/12/14 Always keen to crack the next one in this series since the Belgian influence is something that I'm interested in. Amber pour with quite a thinnish mouthfeel. This is a sweet booze bomb...
I believe that this beer is now retired since it became Kasteel Donker. Not sure about that, though. A lot of anticipation here, this find of thing looks like it might be right up my alley. A sweet, Belgian Dark/Quad with a lot of sugar. Oddly, the...
$15.99 for the tin and the corked bottle. Love me some Ommegang, but even before I open the tin or the bottle I feel that the price here is unlikely to be kind in terms of value. We'll see. The corked and caged bottle opens with a modest pop and...
Here we go with the final in the vertical epic series (neither a vertical or in most cases 'epic'), but nevertheless always beers that I look forward to trying each year. On the face of it, 12 sounds like a beer that will suit me a lot. We'll see....
The usual Ommegang Limited Edition series presentation. Cork pops with modesty. Brewery Ommegang says, 'A spellbinding homage to brewings' dark arts'. Really? Who brewed this? Harry Potter? Nice dark brown color which gives away a slightly olive...
Bottled in 2011, No. 2011-100254, best before 12-12-2016. Parchment like label, information on the back describing the 2007 beer and the process it went through to become the 'Grand Reserve'. I've been (generally) a huge fan of the Unibroue...
In the impressive, corked & caged bottle. Part of the Barrel Room Collection. Jet black with half-finger head. No lace, but ultimately a pleasing, spotty tan head. Sour notes in the nose, in fact almost sinus clearing. The sour, lacto element...
Additional notes 07/04/23 (Pictured) Almost 12 years old. A little fizz on opening and for a few seconds the head doesn't look too bad after av try aggressive pour. After that the carbonation drops off dramatically, but 100% as expected. Apparently...
This beer did something for me that happens pretty infrequently these days - it really WOWED me! One of the best beers I have tasted in quite some time, and a beer that for me, really took me back to some other classics. Spectacular pour that looks...
12 oz single can from Mac's, Midtown, Atlanta, GA, USA as part of their new "Pick/Mix a Four pack" as opposed to the pick/mix a 6 pack. The beer pours a hazed, reddish-copper color with some cream colored head that does not linger. Not much lace....
750 mL bottle with a synthetic 'cork', silver foil and cage with black cap. Cork is wedged in pretty tight, it is a pain to open. Also, the lack of 'pop' and lack of gun-smoke is a little disappointing. In anything other than bright light, the beer...
22 oz bottle with the usual, Great Divide presentation. Red foil on this one. Dark copper, garnet colored body with good clarity and a small, off-white head. In the Chimay chalice the beer leaves some decent lace and a thin, creamy spotty head on...
Notes added, 10/17/21 (Pictured) It is SO gratifying when a beer drinks like this after cellaring. Carbonation is great (always the first worry), and the pour is so good as a result. 10+ years has mellowed out the oak here tremendously, and the...
12 oz single, Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. When a beer has the generic words, "Belgian Style Ale" on the label it makes me nervous. When it's from the Holy Mackerel stable as well, it makes me even more wary, and to be honest I do not have high...
A release that I look forward to every year for two reasons; the value associated with this beer is generally exceptional, and Unibroue is simply a brewer that rarely misses when it plays in its own, Canadian inspired, "Belgian" ballpark. Corked...
12 oz single from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Word on the street is that this is essentially the same beer as this; http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/864/46125 but the beer has been "tweaked" a little in terms of the recipe, and (obviously) it...
Updated notes 10/31/21 This is the bottled pictured. Best Before 24/11/2025. Just about 11 years since I made the original notes below. I’ve drunk this beer a few times in between, but without additional notes. Pour looks more black, and the head...
Pictured 03/09/2014: Original notes 11/05/2010: 750 mL corked & caged bottle. MASSIVE thanks go out to Steve for the opportunity to finally get my hands on this beer. I've been trying to get hold of it since I came to the US, and until very,...
11.2oz "stubbie" bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. WOW! This happens about every 6-12 months, i.e. a beer that truly blows me away. A truly magnificent, regal beer. The pour and the appearance are most definitely the weakest points. A light...
750 mL corked & caged bottle from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Beer pours with a brown, Dubbel like color but with more clarity than one associates with the Dubbel category. The bottle opens with a disappointing lack of pop, but pours in a very...
750mL, corked, caged and red-foiled affair. $12.99 from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Rich looking dark brown pour with a creamy, tan head. Some nice, creamy lace and a thin film forms on the surface and around the rim. A few cocoa notes and some...
750 mL bottle, paper wrapped. Pretty impressive presentation. $15.99 from Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Cap has an extra plastic appendage on the underside and it comes off with some force. Pour is a very attractive, orange copper...
22 oz bottle. Had this a few times in the last few weeks, time for some formal thoughts. Pour is a good looking black with a few brownish highlights. Head is initially nice and creamy but the retention and lace are both very poor even when...
Additional notes 01/11 About 14 months old. Nose seems stronger than ever (in a good way). The carbonation is still quite prickly, and I think this is probably the weakest part of the beer, but paradoxically it lends a pretty lively element to the...
Additional notes 08/06/23 (Pictured) Almost 14 years on, and WOW. WOW! The pour (pictured) is extraordinary. A decent pop on removing the cap, and a little gun-smoke - surprising. Head is inexplicable for the age and the ABV. I have no words. Lots...
750mL corked & caged bottle. Found this at Mac's, Atlanta, GA, USA. Delighted and surprised, wasn't anticipating getting hold of this. Black dot-matrixed on the neck: PKG on 08/28/09, Best by: 08/2014. Pour is a pretty bright, darkish bronze...
Surprised to see so few reviews of this (only 5 at the time of writing), since I've had this in my posession since last week. First time that I've drunk a VE on the actual day! Pour has a jet black body with a lovely, high head with fine bubbles....
750 ml, capped and corked from the latest batch to make it to GA. Delighted to see this back in GA after a fairly lengthy absence due to production and distribution inconsistencies. I think it's worth saying right off the top that this beer is...
750 mL corked & caged. I was delighted to get hold of this as I was pretty sure that this would be a beer that I would never get the chance to try, but thanks go out to the generous trader that hooked me up. One of my favorite brewers and one...
Paper-wrapped 750 mL, capped bottle in typical De Ranke presentation mode. This came from Hop City, Atlanta, GA, USA. Popping the cap produces a touch of gun-smoke but the pour produces a pretty lively beer. Some really substantial, thick, bubbly...
Well, I'm always holding my breath when I crack open a Lost Abbey these days as I wait to see if the carbonation is going to be an issue. Luckily this open opens with a decent pop, not huge but enough to leave me confident that this beer is...
Pictured 03/25/17 Original notes 02/21/09 750 mL corked & caged affair, $7.99 from Tower on Piedmont, Atlanta, GA, USA. I must admit, when I saw the description that included the honey and the citrus peel I was expecting a beer that fell more...
Additional notes 04/27/24 (Pictured) BB 2014 bottle purchased on a recent Michigan trip. A gamble that I could simply not resist. (Pictured below) Carbonation is magnificent for the age. Decent pop, nice head. Great for the age with plenty of...
Additional notes 12/18/22 (pictured): Still gushing 13 years later. A cleaner beer in terms of floaties than previously noted, and to me, now this drinks more like a Belgian version of an imperial brown ale rather than the original designation of...
750 mL capped and corked from Duke's package up on US-41 in Marietta, GA, USA. Green, heavy glass with a champagne dimpled bottom. Dark brown, hazy pour with a decent amount of head and lace. VERY Dubbel-like as opposed to BSDA, and lacks the...
Draft, Brick Store, Atlanta, GA, USA. Pours with the look of an RIS. Much thinner though. Lactic, sour notes hit the nose and the combination of that and the thin mothfeel make this one a non-starter for me. Nasty, lacklustre effort that has a sour...
750 mL bottle from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. $8.95 for the orange foil topped, capped bottle. Lot 06/07 on the cap. A little gunsmoke on opening and a slight burst of carbonation. Into the Duvel tulip it goes. Smells a bit "old". Big head...
750 mL corked & caged, Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Slightly cloudy, reddish Dubbel-like pour that starts with a good head but fades rather badly giving no lace. Nose has plenty of Bock notes with rich alcohol and some depth -...
$14.95 from Green's on Ponce, Atlanta, GA, USA. 750 mL corked & caged affair with a red foiled neck. Poured into a small wine glass whilst on vacation in a villa on Hilton Head Island. Deep, dark Porter colored body. Close to jet black with...
750 mL, corked & banded (as opposed to caged). Picked this up at Arbor Place in Douglasville, GA, USA. Date on the bottle is 03/10/07 which probably means October 2007, but either way this will not have suffered much. Anyway, when I pointed this...
750 mL Corked & Caged bottle with the usual Unibroue, silk screened presentation. $8.49 from Bullocks, Marietta, GA, USA. Had a bit of a job to track this down. Big pop on opening, it's poured into the Ommegang chalice. Dirty brown, Dubbel like...
11.2 oz "stubbie" bottle that is different from the picture in the BA database. $4.29 for the bottle. It lists the ABV as 11.0% which leads me to believe that it *could* possibly be the Grande Reserva version, but there is NO mention of this on the...
750 mL corked & caged from Jax in Sandy Springs, Atlanta, GA, USA. I think this was $12.99 for the bottle. The January 2008 bottling. I was a little wary of this, as I am with the majority of Oak-Aged beers. Often I find the oak tastes simply...
On tap at Tyler's Taproom, Durham, NC, USA. Served in a Brooklyn snifter, $6.00. Flanders Oud Bruin? Not to me. This appeared to be an overly sweet Dubbel. Typical, dirty brown Dubbel body with some floaties. The overwhelming sensation and taste...
Thanks go out to BA Rustydiamond for hooking me up with this via South Bay Drugs - nice piggyback shipment Lance, thanks buddy. Impressive 750 mL bottle, thick and heavy glass and thick gold foil on the neck. Nice presentation. Bottle lacks the...
330 mL single from Tower on Piedmont, Atlanta, GA, USA. $3.99 (I think). Very interesting in terms of style. Categorized in the BA db as a BSDA, on the label and in the name as a "Mild Stout" (whatever THAT is), but IMO it seems to be very close to...
Poured from a bottle that looks like this but reliable information suggests that these two beers are the same offering, just packaged in different ways for different markets - change request for the BA db has been submitted. $14.99 from Green's on...
$10.99 from Jax, Sandy Springs, Atlanta, GA, USA. 750 mL corked & caged, relatively new to GA, in the second wave of Allagash brews. Pour is a dark, dark brown (basically black) with some dark brown chestnut highlights. Head is dense and...
Thanks go out nlmartin as part of Secret Santa 2007. 11.2 fl oz, best before 22/08/2009. Poured into the Gouden Carolus chalice, this creates a lovely chestnut brown pour with plenty of creamy, foamy head and some whippy lace. A little whiff of...
Additional notes 01/19/26 Pictured. I believe this is a 2024 can, so in the region of 12 months old. I *think* that this is the same beer as Noel De Calabaza becasue of the ABV and the appearance, so for now I'm putting these together. I'm a little...
Extremely interesting on a number of fronts. Purchased at City Beverage in Winston-Salem, NC, USA (a great store BTW), for $5.99 marked down from $8.99. Notched rear label that seems to indicate "Lot B", but the "Best Before" notches fall EXACTLY...
$6.99, Tower on Buford, Atlanta, GA, USA. Poured into the Abbaye du Val Dieu chalice. Mid brown/orange body with plenty of carbonation. Slight murkiness. Lots of fine bubbles form a thin film on the surface and the lace is very labile. Dark grape...
Notes added 01/21/22 33 cl bottle (pictured) imported from Belgian Happiness. Still that relatively unattractive color, although this bottle has a little more chestnut and less of the Dubbel dirty brown. A lot less prickly than the 750 mL...
$8.99 for the 750 mL corked and caged bottle. Best Before 05/09. Macs, Downtown, Atlanta, GA, USA. Encouraging pop on opening. Poured into the Duvel tulip this forms a large, high head. This falls to give a classic, creamy and spotty film on the...
For all intents and purposes this drinks like a stout. Black pour with a creamy head, dark chocolate raisin notes in the nose and in the taste and the mouthfeel is VERY dense and creamy. Dense, creamy, conservative lace. Plenty of smooth, creamy...
=== Updated Review 02/10 === Now re-released in the 22 oz format as part of the Mutiny Series. The new big beers from Clipper City have generally been a disappointment to me with some serious hot character i.e. too much alcohol, and generally rough...
On-tap at the Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. Upstairs in the Belgian Bar. As Dave suggests, the silly glass and wooden block (like Kwak) means the kids love this without understanding the very average nature of this beer. Looks decent with a dirty,...
Updated notes 12/03/22 (pictured): Oerbier continues to impress and give a "big" BSDA. Plenty of fruit and depth, and the alcohol seems bigger and more present than it has has previously. I always think of Oerbier as an outlier in the style, and a...
22oz bottle, $5.99 Hiram Bottle Shop - thanks to Matt (BA SilentSabre) for putting a bottle of this aside for me. Pours like a Dubbel with that typically unattractive thin looking, dirty, mid-orange/brown pour. I dislike the look of Dubbels in...
11.2 oz stubbie bottle. The label has been modernized significantly since the one in the current BA database picture. Poured into the Brasserie de Abbaye des Rocs chalice, the body is dark and cloudy (Dubbel look) with a small head and little lace....
Additional notes 12/13/24 Fresh 33cl bottle. Still more Dubbel than BDSA, and still a surprising, light hop note up-front underneath the Belgian, malt base and sweetness. This always has been and enigma, and it remains so, but at the same time it...
750 mL corked and caged, Liquor Barn. Lexington, KY, USA. Cork pops with a pleasing burst, and the beer pours beautifully with a dense head of very fine bubbles forming on top of the Dubbel brown body into the Gouden Carolus glass. Head has a...
750 mL corked and caged, $6.99 Greens, Ponce de Leon, Atlanta, GA, USA. Frankly, very disappointing for the style. My Belgian darks need to have much more body than this, and unfortunately this has an acidity and tartness that is completely out of...
12 oz bottle, batch 7673, purchased as a single from Liquor Barn, Lexington, KY, USA. Basically a black pour with a very coffee/tan colored light, spotty head. Very little lacing, almost a stout like appearance. A bit too dark for the style I...
Pictured 09/19/25 Presentation has changed slightly over the years, now "Bottled BeBop". Still weighing-in at 9.4% and North Coast still says this is a BSDA, but for me it seems like a lighter, fruity Dubbel. Original notes 08/18/06 *Since my...
Additional notes 04/08 (Almost two year old bottle) Purchased at Kybecca, Fredericksburg, VA, USA. $7+ for the last bottle in the cooler. Poured in to the Val-Dieu goblet. Still has the dark, dark brown almost black body. Very thin spotty head...
750 mL corked and caged. Delicious and absolutely typical with one major exception - the appearance, especially the color. It was disappointing to me. It resembled one of the nasty, murky dirty water Dubbels that haunt me. Delicious head with an...
Additional notes (01/10/25) 2024 vintage. Had a couple of bottles of this in 2024, it's on a pretty regular rotation in recent years. Beautiful head in the St. Feuillien "bowl" (pictured); I always think this class is so imposing. Plenty of spice...
Notes added 01/29/22 33 cl bottle, pictured. The color is a chestnut brown with plenty of red included. The head is small and short-lived, but at 12% expected. This beer drinks infinitely fruitier to my palate in 2022 than it ever did in the past....
Poured into the Duvel tulip. One half inch, dense pock marked head sits atop the dark brown, almost Dubbel like body. Color is not the most attractive. The head fades but leaves that tell-tale spotty and creamy deposit for the remainder of the beer...
Batch 001, from BigLove as part of BCG BIF. 750 mL, corked and caged. Dark, murky brown looking a lot like a darkish Dubbel. Smallish head, but very, very fine carbonation make up the head and the lace. The lace is liquid rather than sticky, but...
Updated notes 08/07/26 Looks like a re-brand and a re-launch in the US for this. New label, slightly changed name. This is definitely a fresh bottle, and offers more than others have. A lovely head with some significant lace, and a film on the...
Additional notes 12/10 2005 Vintage. Thanks go out to finewine mike for a chance to try this again. Same vintage as the original reviews (below). Murky brown body with obviously no head or lace. Massive fig, dried fruit and raisin notes with...
Additional notes 06/23/24 (pictured) Still the classic, Strong Belgian Dark notes upfront of sherry, raisins and plums, but because this is NOT the Emperor, it drinks more lightly and with a touch more subtlety. It's fruitier, in a lighter, more...
Updated Review 10/10 Bottle Best Before: 10-15-2014 Dot matrix on neck: A14102232Q Same magnificent flavor profile as usual with huge, rich fruits and a great alcohol kick. Unbeatable value at $8.99. Updated Review 01/10 New Years Day 2010. Bottle...
Additional Notes: 07/12/22 Sixteen years on and my notes below look a little naive and dated. Having said that I kinda stand by them and it's still the same color, and for me the beer really lacks the depth that many others can provide. Don't get...
Now retired, this beer used to be available in the US and was called "Winter", but should not be mistaken for the newer Val-Dieu Noël confusingly also called Winter Ale in the USA. This is designed to be a sipper, but because of its sheer...
Poured into the St. Bernardus chalice, I wanted to give this a full chance to breathe and release those deep aromas. Burned orange color, obviously zero head and zero lacing. Slightly viscous, liquor like appearance, again as expected. Aroma is all...
Poured into the Chimay goblet, there was a distinct lack of life to the beer with little or no carbonation, and as a result vitually no head or lacing. Murky orange/brown hue reminiscent of cold tea, I'm afraid this did not score high on the...
Notes added, 08/19/21 33 cl bottle, L19 20238. Only notch that is visibly cut is on 5 (of L1-5). Nothing on 18-21 sections. This is the bottle pictured. The body still has that great, mahogany color, but with larger red elements than I remember and...
![La Montagnarde [Brasserie Des Rocs Ambree]](https://dingsbeerblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/10/30F9D884-4B19-407B-AEB3-8A911D773C52-scaled-e1670085020471.jpeg)
Notes added 09/04/21 New look labels that have been a round for a few years now, pictured here. In its sixteen year evolution since the original review in 2005, it still feels ‘mild’ - I stand by that word. The BSDA style classification looks...
Cellared Review 09/09 Well, 4+ years on this beer, time to crack one open. Firstly the pop on opening gave an indication of things to come. It was small, and although not completely dead it was disappointingly slight. I was anticipating some drop...
Notes added: 08/27/21 750 mL bottle with the newer, but paradoxically old school labels (pictured), from Finest Belgian Beers. 13/04/23 as the date, L2150 17.16 as the lot. Having been really disappointed with a couple of recent bottles of newer...
11/24/22 (Pictured) Still that same, dryish bitter finish that is atypical of a Belgian Strong Dark or Quad, and plenty of dark malts that place it in brown ale territory. Still enjoy it. 2004 Vintage. Dark brown pour, but not so deep that a real...
![Abbaye Des Rocs [Brasserie Des Rocs Brune]](https://dingsbeerblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2005/07/IMG_1253-copy.jpg)
Notes added 05/04/24 Took a chance on a Best Before 2013 bottle on a recent trip to MI, and was guardedly optimistic. Pictured underneath. It came through big time. Wonderful dark copper body, with a creamy, tan colored, fine bubbled head....
On-tap, The Brick Store, Decatur, GA, USA. Very red/copper color, with a small but beautiful head, some light lacing and served in the correct glassware, this looks like a dream. Very, very complex. I get so many contrasting sensations I find it...
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...
Additional notes: 10/09/22: Pictured. Beautiful, cherry-red mahogany pour. Lovely, rocky slightly beige head. Lots of alcohol, still, but there is a light fruit note which makes it insanely drinkable. Light in the mouth, moreish and sweet. Gentle...
Additional notes 01/24/25 (Pictured) Not 100% sure that this is the same beer as noted below for a couple of reasons, but I think it is for at least a couple of other reasons. This is labeled as Nostradamus Bio, and comes in at 10% ABV. The Bio is...
Additional notes 12/17/22 (Pictured): 2022 Vintage (see cork pictured). I still maintain that this beer has a very small element of an English barleywine about it, despite its Belgian, candy sugar presence. A very light, bitter presence all the way...
I'm not at all sure that I would classify this as a Belgian Strong Dark, in as much as its characteristics seem much more like an Old Ale or an American Barleywine. As expected, very little carbonation on the pour and a quick to form (and to...
Additional notes 01/14/23 (pictured) Bottle from Belgian Style Ales, best before 08/08/25. I try to get a bottle of this every year around Christmas, but the doesn't always work, and I've certainly not had it 20 times since those first notes, but...
Additional notes 01/02/25 (Pictured) More than 20 years between these notes, even though I also drank this in August of 2021. 33 cl bottle this time, and an adjusted ABV of 7.5. Pretty sure this is the same beer as the one reviewed below. This...
$5.99 33cL bottle, Arbor Place Beverage, Douglasville, GA, USA. Very similar to the Rochefort 6. A very large head came with this pour, with a significant amount of sediment despite a careful pour. Not sure about that at all. The overwhelming...
Pictured 03/23/24 Additional notes 10/05/23 - pictured below You'd have to bump the appearance up to at least a 4 from that disappointing, original score - just look at it! Still the same rich fruits. The raisin notes and the plums come together...
Additional notes 03/23/24 (pictured) I always forget that this is designated as a Dubbel, for me it drinks differently than most in that style - a style that is the least favorite of all Belgians for me - and I enjoy it more than most Dubbels. It...
Spectacular style and most importantly spectacular experience. This brew exudes quality in every respect. Surprisingly, a highly carbonated pour with really quite a fizzy initial appearance. Murky brown color in the body. Dubbel appearance. Belgian...