Bink Bruin - Brouwerij Kerkom

Jason

Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

33 cl slender brown bottle with a consumer before freshness date on the side of the label.

Appearance: Two fingers of light tan foam settle to an appeasing lace, burgundy brown hue with some haze.

Smell: Soured woody notes bring a tartness to the nose, the yeast is in flux as well.

Taste & Mouthfeel: Moderate body with a soft smooth carbonation. Mild tart twang with brown bread malt flavours. The light hopping seems faded and a touch cheesy. Hint of warming alcohol shows a quick fruitiness. Some phenols and the yeast take a bite into the palate in the end and ride out the semi-dry finish.

Notes: A tasty little Bruin, delicate and somewhat flavourful with shaded complexities. A pumpernickel and smoked ham sandwich would be an ideal pairing.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2003 14:02:18 | More by Jason

spycow

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%

03-11-2013 06:05:42 | More by spycow

rcjennings

Ohio

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%

01-18-2013 02:02:14 | More by rcjennings

superspak

Michigan

3.78/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours very cloudy dark reddish brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Spotty foamy lacing clings to the glass. Aromas of raisin, prune, caramel, toast, toffee, light chocolate, dark bread, and earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance, strength, and complexity. Taste of caramel, toast, raisin, prune, toffee, light chocolate, dark bread, molasses, and earthiness. Lingering notes of caramel, raisin, toast, toffee, dark bread, light chocolate, and earth on the finish for a short bit. Good balance and complexity of flavors; but were not as robust as I was hoping; with zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a creamy and lightly slick mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with zero warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a very good Belgian dark ale. Nice flavor balance and complexity; and very smooth to drink. A nicely enjoyable offering.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2013 07:38:06 | More by superspak

wisrarebeer

Wisconsin

3.43/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

$3.99 for a 355ml bottle. Some chunky sediment on bottom.

A: nice deep brown color, poured with a nice head that eventually dissipated to thin veil
S: medium nose, flat sweet malt quality, ever-so-slight oxidation, slight mustiness
T: decent beer, nothing unusual or special but good roasted malt up front with some bitter hop finish
M: easy drinking, somewhat thin for mouthfeel but it is a lower ABV beer

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 01:49:49 | More by wisrarebeer

CWhite

Wisconsin

4.25/5  rDev +17.4%

11-18-2012 00:12:37 | More by CWhite

UCLABrewN84

California

3.08/5  rDev -14.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

After popping the cap there is a gross plug of yeast stuck to the underside of the cap and around the mouth of the bottle. Pours a murky dark brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Chunks of sediment are seen floating around and settling to the bottom of the glass. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, dark fruit, brown sugar, and some slight soy sauce aromas. Taste is much the same but quite watery and slightly sour. This beer has a low level of carbonation with an almost flat mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty average beer that seems to be suffering from a slight infection issue perhaps.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 03:03:49 | More by UCLABrewN84

cowboy83

New York

2.75/5  rDev -24%

08-24-2012 19:03:59 | More by cowboy83

Absumaster

Netherlands

4.4/5  rDev +21.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A dark brown beer with a light head.

Smell is full of ripe dark fruit, lots of cherries. It makes the beer almost smell like a dark red wine. There is even some wood in the smell. Maybe some slight tart notes. Maybe even like a Vlaamse Bruine.

Taste is a great mix of ripe fruit and tartness. The mouthfeel is a little syrupy but not overly sweet and it balanced the tartness. Some wood is shining through. This is not a standard Belgian dark ale with the complex yeast profile and proves Belgians are still creative.

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 19:32:24 | More by Absumaster

ssjkyle

Nebraska

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%

07-14-2012 23:13:37 | More by ssjkyle

rolltide8425

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%

07-11-2012 21:34:59 | More by rolltide8425

aszatk01

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%

07-03-2012 00:14:31 | More by aszatk01

pohldogg356

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -3.3%

06-28-2012 14:05:20 | More by pohldogg356

metter98

New York

3.8/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear very dark reddish brown in color and has a moderate to high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a two finger high beige head that quickly transitioned to a half finger high dense head and then gradually died down, leaving a large patch of bubbles in the center of the glass and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: There are aromas of candi sugars and dark fruits in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell except that the flavors are a bit stronger and there is also some sweetness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and very smooth on the palate with a moderate to high amount of carbonation.
O: This beer shares a lot of similarities with a dubbel, except that it is a little lighter-bodied on the palate and doesn’t have as much alcohol content. There is some sweetness, but it is not cloying. I would definitely pick up another bottle of this if I see it again.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2012 00:36:32 | More by metter98

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3.75/5  rDev +3.6%

05-04-2012 23:12:29 | More by ejimhof

rarbring

Sweden

3.88/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The brew is dusky brown with red nuances, a warm off-white head leaving little lacing but good curtains.

A rather weak smell, porridge with nuts and apples, some dust.

Starting with brown bread, then forest fruits, blackberry, a small bitter grape-fruit peel finish.

Medium high carbonation, a fresh texture, good body and a lighty dry finish.

A malty yummy beer, goes very well with robust food.

Serving type: on-tap

04-25-2012 18:43:48 | More by rarbring

druptight

Massachusetts

3.25/5  rDev -10.2%

04-24-2012 14:07:06 | More by druptight

SLeffler27

New York

3.98/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The half-inch, creamy dark beige head slowly turns rocky over a clear, dark brown beer with dark ruby highlights and minimal lacing. Initial tasting was with yeast in the bottle. A viscous film clings to the walls of a Dogfish Head Snifter.

Strong aromas begin with plum pudding and all of its ingredients. This is a very complex beer with dates up front and some vanilla and a background funkiness. However complex it may be, it lacks progressive layers.

Sweet malt permeates every sip of this beer. As expected, one will find plums, prunes, figs, dates, though little progression with warming and no real sensation of hops.

After adding yeast in the second half of the sample, I found little impact aside from clouding.

This is a smooth, almost slick, medium bodied beer with no real alcohol presence. Carbonation is soft and residual sugars are left on the lips.

An easy-drinking dark ale that pairs well with light conversation. While not quite a sessionable beer, if one takes their time, a second offering would be welcome.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 21:46:50 | More by SLeffler27

soulfly1492

Pennsylvania

3.43/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Aroma: Dark malts, brown and chocolate malt along with some lighter pilsner and Munich. Some floral hops. Mildly spicy yeast. Nice and worty.

Appearance: Dark brown, opaque. A nice lump of yeast falling out at the end of the pour. Head is light brown and dissipates leaving some foam that barely covers the surface. Lots and lots of sediment.

Taste: Sweet brown malt. Chocolate. Some mildly bitter European hops. Pleasant, but not much there. some yeast, a bit peppery.

Mouthfeel: Light body. Mild carbonation. Watery, a bit oily and a bit drying.

Overall: OK, but I was expecting more.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2012 04:20:41 | More by soulfly1492

Harkrank

Sweden

3.5/5  rDev -3.3%

12-23-2011 21:26:11 | More by Harkrank

ROGUE16

Delaware

4/5  rDev +10.5%

12-07-2011 12:32:55 | More by ROGUE16

Rochefort10nh

New Hampshire

4/5  rDev +10.5%

11-25-2011 13:42:46 | More by Rochefort10nh

BerkeleyBeerMan

California

3.73/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Reddish brown hazy full bodied with little head.

Smells is of cocoa, figs, dates, and mild spice.

Taste sweet to the lips with a sugar and spice malt profile. Medium roasted malts. Hops as present at the label advertises but there is enough bitterness to keep the beer balanced

Mouthfeel: Finishes clean. Refreshing and balanced.

Overall: It is good and definitely is a good for a brown ale. Nothing too spectacular. Definitely drinkable. Not worth the price.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2011 07:00:10 | More by BerkeleyBeerMan

mjtiernan

New York

4/5  rDev +10.5%

11-15-2011 05:02:37 | More by mjtiernan

drpimento

Wisconsin

4.03/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I let this warm a bit out of the fridge. Poured with a nice, large, thick, foamy, frothy, fluffy, creamy, tan head that lasts a long time and lots of lace. Color is an opaque brown with a little red and lots of sediment in suspension. Aroma is roast, cocoa, molasses, spice, yeast. Flavors almost exactly the same, just more intense plus a nice balance of carbonic tang and just enough sweetness. Body and carbonation are good. Beer is a little chewy. Finish is of average length and satisfying. Decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2011 16:51:57 | More by drpimento