St. Feuillien Speciale - Brasserie St. Feuillien

GilGarp

Colorado

4.11/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml corked and caged bottle. Produced on 28-06-2012.

Served chilled into a goblet. This Belgian ale is a winter seasonal that is produced to celebrate with Christmas. I may be a few months late but, seeing as it's a snowy day in May, I figured it might be my last weather appropriate day until next fall.

Deep redish brown color with good clarity for the style. It has thick long-lasting head and some nice lacing.

Aroma is sweet and rich with some spice and a pleasant Belgian yeast.

Flavor is also leaning towards the sweet but has good balance. There is some warming winter spices and dark fruits like plum and raisin.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and nicely carbonated. The alcohol is subtle but shows in theory finish.

Overall a very enjoyable beer on a mid-Spring day with Winter-like weather.

Serving type: bottle

05-02-2013 00:50:50 | More by GilGarp

silverking

Florida

4.1/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A- It pours a hazy deep brown with a red tint. Lots of bubbles rising in the glass. It has a fluffy tan head with excellent retention and decent lacing. Lacing improves as the head recedes to a thin layer of fowm.

S- fruity, lots of raisin with some tart cherry and spices. It smells sweet, with some hints of alcohol and yeast in there as well.

T- Raisin, fig, brown sugar, yeast. I do get some spices, maybe corriander? The finish is slightly bitter and sticky.

M- It's medium bodied with aggresive carbonation. it turns to foam almost instantly as it hits my tongue. It does feel very sticky, especially on the lips.

O- I did enjoy this one, despite it's champagne-like carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 20:20:23 | More by silverking

EkimGram

New York

3.65/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: 750mL bottle poured into a large snifter. Colour is a maple brown. Half-finger head fades to thin surface film leaving little lacing. Very small traces of visible carbonation near the head.

Smell: Most prominent aromas are of yeast mixed with brown sugar, sweet dark fruits, spice, and a hint of alcohol.

Taste: Starts off with a mild sweetness similar to a plum or raisin, transitions to a spicy yeast and finishes with an alcoholic sweetness in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Medium body is alive with mild carbonation. Texture feels airy and foamy. Finishes a little sticky.

Overall: This is a good brew. The flavours are a little too sweet but the complexity redeems the negative qualities a bit. Nothing special but worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 03:53:35 | More by EkimGram

Amalak

New York

3.18/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A. It has a deep, dark brown color. There is only a hint of light that comes through, but basically opaque. It has a huge, tan foamy head that leaves a good deal of lacing behind.

S. A bit of a metallic scent.

T. That scent matches the taste. A good deal of a metallic malt flavor hits first. A bit of a nutty taste followed by a lemonish aftertaste.

M. Highly carbonated and fairly full bodied.

O. Well, if you include cost, certainly not worth the $16 pricetag I paid for it. But on its own, it's an OK brew, but the metallic taste is just a bit dominating.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 23:33:12 | More by Amalak

UCLABrewN84

California

3.68/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pour at the BevMo Holiday Beerfest held at Golden Road Brewing in Los Angeles, CA.

Pours a clear dark orange-brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, fruits, and yeast. Taste is much the same with a mild spice bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer but I think it smells better than it tastes.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2012 05:37:26 | More by UCLABrewN84

CaptFrothy

Maryland

3.63/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very nice, brownish red appearance with the most chunkiest of floaties in the glass, could be cause it's been in the cellar for 6 mfionths or so, but the most floaties I've seen in a while.
Smells of cherrys and figs, smells a bit sweeter than it tastes.
Overall very nice biscuity, fig with a smidge of cherry taste, not too carbonated. Very good, not great.

Serving type: bottle

11-24-2012 23:58:10 | More by CaptFrothy

metter98

New York

3.65/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is very dark reddish brown in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high light beige head that has very good retention properties and hardly died down.
S: The are light aromas of Belgian yeast candi sugar in the nose along with some hints of coriander spices.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and flavors od coriander arevespecially prevalent towards the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: The spiciness is a little unusual for the style but the spices sets it apart from other beers. No alcohol is present in the taste.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2012 22:04:07 | More by metter98

OttoPeeWee

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Good, but not great. The look is amber with very little soda pop head. Smells rummy, plums, raisins. The taste is rummy, bubblegum, clove. Good beer, but St. Feuillien has better. I especially like their tripel. If you're looking for a world class amber strong scaldi has a fantastic one. I guess I expected this to be better, but is it still very good.

After reading other reviews I am wondering if their is some inconsistency in the batches.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2012 02:52:02 | More by OttoPeeWee

arizcards

Arizona

3.93/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Received this as a gift from Da Boss in early February.

Beer poured a burgundy color with an off white head which is floating on top.

Nose has hints of cinnamon and dark ripe fruits.

Taste has hints of pear, cinnamon, cherry, and corriander.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and pretty smooth but not as smooth as what i am accustomed to with this style.

Overall i like this brew, not really at the top of the style but pretty tasty nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2012 01:36:44 | More by arizcards

Gmann

New York

3.55/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a fairly clear amber color, some small yeast particles floating about. The head was airy and rather small, settled into a solid ring.

The beer has a spicy aroma, mainly from coriander. Some candied fruit notes; pear and raisin as well as tropical fruit. There seems to be a touch of earthiness from the malt but hard to tell over the sweet aroma.

The beer is fruity, spicy, and sweet. Big candied fruit sweetness. Candied pineapple, apricot, and raisin mix with a substantial coriander spice. Some floral perfumey notes and a subtle hint of grass. A bit one dimensional.

Light to moderate body with very fizzy carbonation, almost burns a bit. Quite sweet on the palate but does have a bit of a drying, grassy finish.

Not a huge fan of the flavor profile. Too sweet and too much coriander presence.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 00:30:17 | More by Gmann

Dodo2step

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

P -AOH

22 oz.

A- a clear burgundy/amber color with a 5 finger head that is foamy. lacing is splotchy and sticky.

S- The nose is very complex like it states on the bottle. I get plum/raisin, a cide like quality as well, bubble gum and a vinegar malt smell. Quite complicate and not sure if it works yet.

F- a sour metallic dark fruit taste. I get the plum and some peppery spice as a round off. Banana actually comes through in the flavor that i couldnt detect in the nose.

M- a thick bodied carbonated beverage. The complexities still dont have me sure, i will have to drink the full beer and think about it.

D- For the Heavy ABV it goes down fairly easy. This is a nice brew and i would drink with a seafood meal.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2012 19:33:29 | More by Dodo2step

impending

California

3.33/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

C+

750ml into a goblet. Pours as a cola with a tan head that retains nicely on the surface, ok lacing. Back lite it is a gorgeous deep clear garnet, a rich gem.

Aroma exudes vinous qualities. Plums about to rot, grape bubble gum with overripe banana esters, all other fruits are dark.

Flavor begins with a sweet figgy intro with a caramel highlight. Nearly zero mid flavor, it goes abruptly into the long lasting finish. Strong phenolic heavy aftertaste with a touch of zinc, not a strength as this is a dominant flavor. Zero bitter, little dry. The alcohol while not overt is a flavor component. Medium to full bodied creamy mouthfeel.

improves tremendously with warmth and inebriation
cheers
jd

Serving type: bottle

01-07-2012 05:28:42 | More by impending

drtth

Pennsylvania

4.33/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a tulip glass. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically. From this year’s bottling.

Appearance: As served the beer is a bright clear Mahogany color with lots of reddish pale highlights from the room lighting. The 1” foamy tan head soon recedes leaving nothing on the sides of the glass. By midway through the first glass there is only the smallest ring of bubbles and a small thin irregularly shaped island of foam on the liquid. Sipping leaves only a few speckles of lacing that soon slide down the side of the glass to the liquid.

Smell: The aroma is clean, fresh, and filled with green orchard fruits which given its color is a bit of surprise as I was expecting something more in the way of dark orchard fruits. There are also hints of cherries here which show more as the beer warms.

Taste: The flavor is a subtle mix that is partly predicted by the nose in that the green orchard fruits are complimented by some refreshing light semi-sweet cherry and a hint of chocolate and a touch of caramel. Neither the hops nor the alcohol are showing here except in their effects (e.g., the warmth from the alcohol shows fairly soon.)

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied with some faint, lightly prickly carbonation. The medium length finish is fruity and soft, fading gently away into a touch of dryness.

Drinkability and Overall Impression: This is a very nice beer where one sip follows another with the kind of ease that makes a beer with ABV this high one to take especial care with. My overall impression is that this is indeed a special beer and I’m glad I decided to give it a try. There are two words to be used in summarizing my impressions of this beer, they are “subtle” and “complex.”

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2011 17:41:35 | More by drtth

chakadrum

Pennsylvania

3.35/5  rDev -13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

750ml corked and caged bottle around 50°F.

Ruby-red when held up to a light source. Started with a pillowy head but quickly dissipated. The top of the pour shows light patches of foam but no long-clinging lacing on the sides.

I smell fruitcake. Very distinct. If you like fruitcake the smell could be quite pleasant. I would think there is a bit of coriander in the beer.

Lots of spice in this one. Again, the coriander is quite present. Not particularly sweet. This kind of reminders me of a darker, dryer witbier.

Tough to separate the taste and the mouthfeel on this one as the spices really stand out. I think a little extra carbonation would have been nice.

Overall, I'm not blown away by this. With that said, the $17 I paid for it was definitely too much.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2011 04:17:34 | More by chakadrum

mrfrancis

Kentucky

4.22/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: From the bottle, this beer pours a dark amber with a huge, rocky white head. In the glass, this ale displays a slightly hazy appearance, with little streams of bubbles being readily apparent.

S: Aromas of toffee, caramel, plums, and spices are present on the nose. This smells much more interesting than the typical Belgian speciale.

T: Notes of toffee, caramel, ripe plums, cream, honey roasted nuts, peppery hops, cinnamon, allspice, cocoa, and slightly pungent yeast swirl across the palate. The finish is robust and flavorful with a lingering fade of cocoa, cream, toffee, nut, and plum flavors.

M: Medium bodied and somewhat dry. Carbonation is rather gentle and restrained. Despite the high alcohol content, this beer is quite drinkable, though the alcohol does eventually sneak up on you.

O: I'm very impressed by this beer, and I'm definitely glad I got to try it. The complexity of the flavor profile is amazing, yet it is so easy to drink. In this respect, it reminds me of Bosteels' Pauwel Kwak, though it is not nearly as sweet. I'm not certain whether this is a fall release or a limited release, as I was unable to get a clear answer from anyone, but I believe it is brewed in the summer for an annual fall release in very small quantities. If you can find it, be sure to give it a try.

Serving type: bottle

12-03-2011 13:36:21 | More by mrfrancis

Jamesthebrit

Michigan

3.03/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Reddish brown color.
S: Couldn't get any smells from this, which given it's high alcohol content is pretty good.
T: Drinks like a super light red wine. Very subtle carbonation, grape flavors as well. Some hops but the fruityness seemed to come through for me.
M: Sits a little bitter but not overly abrasive. Can feel the alcohol as well but again, nothing terrible.

Overall this had some good unique characteristics but there were enough little flaws that added up to this being a quite average beer.

Serving type: on-tap

02-19-2012 16:44:07 | More by Jamesthebrit

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

3.9/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at Mahaffey's today.

The beer pours a fairly dark amber color with good head retention and decent lacing. The nose is also fairly attractive, though I wish there was a bit more of it. I get some underlying sweet malt and rootbeer, and really not much else. On the palate, this beer is much better. While fairly sweet and malty, there is some interesting brown sugar, light chocolate, cherry and more rootbeer. This beer is actually rather tasty, and I get no sense of hte 9% abv. Mouthfeel is medium bodied to full, with a fairly long, fairly sweet, spice filled finish.

Pretty nice beer... really don't understand some of the more critical scores for this one.

Serving type: on-tap

02-11-2012 21:24:33 | More by johnmichaelsen

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clean orange-ish to amber color with an off white head. In the aroma, quite sweet, with notes of caramel and spice. In the taste, sticky sweet caramel, and a cinnamon like spice. A smooth and medium bodied mouthfeel, with a small dry and sticky sweet cinnamon like spice. A bit sweet, but a nice presence of cinnamon spice.

Serving type: on-tap

02-06-2012 18:54:55 | More by OWSLEY069

shangwang

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

on tap at Craft Ale House, served in a Duvel tulip

Served with almost no head, just swirly bits of white bubbles on the surface of a mahogany-amber body. Very pellucid complexion for a darker beer. Lots of different esters in the smell - I detected banana, anise, raisins, and honey. The result was a fruity sweetness with spicy undertones. The taste had a very boozy quality about it that dominated the flavors - licorice, pepper, pear, and banana with cinnamon spice. Very complex, but so much so that it felt a little out of balance for my liking. Mouthfeel was a medium weight, with a bit of carbonation and a dry finish which left the taste feeling very pronounced. It certainly became more pleasant as it warmed.

There wasn't much subtlety to this beer, and it was a bit much for me. Lots of strong tastes, and I would say they worked together well, but every sip tasted so concentrated and heavy. Glad I tried it, but I probably would not order this one again.

Serving type: on-tap

01-14-2012 14:37:03 | More by shangwang

RedSpecial1

Florida

3.1/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: Comes out with very minimal white head and is a burnt caramel color.

S: Pretty one note with a candy sweetness.

T: Tastes like a cross between gelatin and strawberry cough syrup. Very sweet.

M: A touch thin but with a silkiness as well.

O: Not very well balanced, far too sweet.

Serving type: on-tap

01-06-2012 23:21:08 | More by RedSpecial1

warnerry

Michigan

3.98/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- Pours a clear mahogany with no head or lacing.

S -- Fruit and spice, with raisin, banana and a little pepper.

T - Quite fruity up front, with raisin, banana and pear. Also a nice amount of spice with pepper, and maybe coriander. A bit tart on the finish. Also a bit earthy on the finish.

M -- Medium mouthfeel, not too heavy, with a nice crispness. Finishes dry and a bit tart.

O -- A nice dark ale, with elements of a tripel. Would have again.

Serving type: on-tap

12-23-2011 17:41:13 | More by warnerry

Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

St.Feullien Speciale

Pours a light amber color, silky foam covers a bright clear brew. Aroma of estery Belgian yeast, fruit, noble hops and a touch of fusel alcohol. In the taste, fruity with suggestions of pear, peach and raisin. Some mineral aspects are met with hop bitterness and a small alcohol kick. Medium bodied, smooth creamy feel with Belgian yeast lingering into the finish. Overall, an approachable Belgian Strong Dark, and worth the purchase price.

Serving type: on-tap

12-20-2011 23:55:36 | More by Stinkypuss

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.05/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

On-tap at Prime 16 into its proper branded goblet.

A: Crystal clear, striking crimson-amber body with a solid stream of bubbles rising to the 1/2” cap of fine tan foam. Ok retention, light lace. Amazing clarity and color, but otherwise pedestrian.

S: Sweet and fruity, with raisin, pear, apple, and cherry all coming through brightly. A bit of phenolic spice shows up upon a deep inhalation. Light chalkiness. Thoroughly pleasant.

T: Spicy and malty up front, with sweet fruits building through the middle and a clean, mineral- and alcohol-laden finish. Raisin and pear are the most distinct of the fruit flavors, and there’s a definite toffee edge to the malt. Hops aren’t really noticeable, but the spiciness and booze take care of keeping the finish from being cloying. Quite nice.

M: Lively, smooth, creamy medium body. Excellent.

O: This doesn’t really fit into any style category, as it combines the fruitiness of a Quad with the spiciness of a Tripel. Whatever you call it, it’s tasty and worth trying.

Cheers!

Serving type: on-tap

12-10-2011 17:09:03 | More by woosterbill