1554 Enlightened Black Ale - New Belgium Brewing

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BA SCORE
87
good
-
2,254 Ratings

rAvg: 3.86
pDev: 12.69%
Reviews: 1186
Hads: 1068

Ratings Help

Brewed by:
New Belgium Brewing

Colorado, United States

Style | ABV
Belgian Dark Ale | 5.60% ABV

Availability: Year-round. bottle (1073), on-tap (112), growler (1).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (78) | Reviews (5) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by kemoarps:

kemoarps

Washington

4.25/5 rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This is the one. This is the beer that started me on this odyssey; the beer that showed me that beer was more than a consumable beverage, it could be an artform. This is the beer that took me from, 'oh, there's some good beer out there I enjoy,' to, 'oh shit, there is some DELICIOUS beer out there.' This is the beer that got me into craftbrewing. and for that, New Belgium, thank you.

It pours a beautiful dark ruby chestnut, a shorter head to start but solid lacing.

The nose is very clean, a little weak, but toasty. the initial malt is caramel, and the yeast pokes through just a bit.

Once it hits your palate, that's when you really begin to get a treat. Just enough subtle spice to enhance the sweet chocolatey malts. Backed up with caramel some caramel as well, but not overly sweet. A little bit of that doughy yeast comes through on the tail. Almost somewhat earthy as it all comes together. Makes me think of a deep forest as the sun peeks through after a cleansing rain. /end hippie vignette

It dances across the tongue, and does not overwhelm, nor does it expand too heavily to fill the gut, allowing me to do what I'm about to do and reach for another one.

Overall, as you may have gathered, I'm a fan. For a while this was my favourite beer (it has since been usurped, but it will always hold a special place in my heart), and it is one that I try to use to introduce my friends to tasty brews, as opposed to tolerable swig. Please try it.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2009 05:19:05 | More by kemoarps

More User Reviews:

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.91/5 rDev +1.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance- The brew pours a deep brown color with ruby highlights shining throughout. Upon pouring there is a one finger tan head that fades slowly over time to leave persistent foam on the top of the brew.

Smell- The aroma has a nice roasty malt aroma mixed with notes of an earthy hop. There are nice smells of chocolate and coffee as well as a caramel smell giving it an overall sweet and toasty smell.

Taste – The taste begins with sweet caramel and some sweeter chocolate flavors. While sweet, there is some more roastier flavors with some bready notes as well. Some nut flavors come to the tongue along with flavors of dark fruit. More toward the end some lightly bitter flavors of coffee and an earthy hop come to the tongue leaving a moderately sweet and smoother roasted more porter like flavor is left on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is on the thicker and creamier side with a medium to slightly lighter carbonation level. The creamier body and lighter carbonation are great for the sweeter and roasted more porter like flavors of the brew allowing them to fully sink into and be sensed by the tongue.

Overall – A rather tasty brew. A little on the sweeter porter like side but still quite drinkable and refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2013 02:13:41 | More by Darkmagus82