Serafijn Celtic Angel
Microbrouwerij Achilles

Serafijn Celtic AngelSerafijn Celtic Angel
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From:
Microbrouwerij Achilles
 
Belgium
Style:
Belgian Dark Ale
ABV:
6.2%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.63 | pDev: 11.85%
Reviews:
25
Ratings:
31
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 20, 2016
Added:
Jul 07, 2005
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by CharlesDarwin:
Photo of CharlesDarwin
Reviewed by CharlesDarwin from Rhode Island

3.64/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
750ml Bottle - Sep 26, 2007. Strong, creamy Bosc pear flesh, perfectly ripe and imbued delicious yeasty esters. Peppery and with sandalwood. Pours a paler shade of amber, with a soapy sparse tinted head. Flavor is a lilting pale fruits and light esters. Nice sugar character, with bits of brandy, oatmeal and caramel. Mingling between caramelization backed with nuttiness and the brighter more alive fruits. Airs of scotch, foamy brine, and muskmelon. Palate is explosive and heavily carbonated, which makes it bright and brings a dancing soft air quality to it. Eventually as this beer settles and breathes and becomes familiar it reveals the heavy Munich use, making it a bit of a Belgian Oktoberfest. If that makes sense. Really not a bad beer...Thanks Rudy for an awesome extra!
Nov 23, 2011
More User Ratings:
Photo of PlutonowyManiek
Reviewed by PlutonowyManiek from Belgium

2.82/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Color: copper, slightly cloudy. Head color ecru, not too high.
Aroma: roasted notes, dark fruit, delicate notes of coffee.
The taste is the same, dark, sweet fruit, fresh bread, and again roasted coffee notes.
Saturation of high, alcohol on the verge of a pleasant reception.
Apr 20, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by mattfancett from England

Sep 02, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by jaydoc from Kansas

Oct 19, 2013
 
Rated: 4.75 by DmanGTR from New York

Jul 20, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by RBorsato from Virginia

Nov 06, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by animal69 from Louisiana

Dec 11, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Nov 25, 2011
Photo of Knapp85
Reviewed by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Saw this one on tap at the Bethlehem Speakeasy one night when I was there. I ordered a class out of curiosity. The beer was handed to me as a really nice looking dark red brew with a big fluffy lookin head on top. The lacing was pretty solid for the majority of the beer. The smell was lightly roasted with some Belgian yeast aromas and spice on the nose. The taste I thought was pretty good also. The flavors were just about the same as the nose. The mouthfeel was mostly smooth with a little carbonation in there. Overall this beer wasn't too bad in my opinion.
Jul 13, 2011
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

4.1/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Did a double take when I saw this on tap at Max's today.

The beer pours a slightly hazy, darkish copper color with good head retention and lacing. The nose is attractive in this beer, showing brown sugar, chocolate, a hint of orange citrus and considerable spice. The flavor profile replicates the nose in this well crafted beer, though it has some light hoppy bitterness in the finish as well, which helps to balance the moderate sweetness. As a result, the finish is actually on the dry side. Mouthfeel is medium bodied to full, withe beer showing more richness tha I expected, considering the relatively low abv. Drinkabiity is very good, with the alcohol no more than an afterthought.

Just an altogether delicious beer from this brewery.... pretty much everything they make is.
Aug 27, 2010
Photo of fairdinkum2
Reviewed by fairdinkum2 from Georgia

3.16/5  rDev -12.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
How could you a Celtic Angel lead you astray? So it was the beer's name that attracted me to it in the first place, but an angel should be sublime, not ordinary.

Nice pour. Clear copper color, but poor retention

Slightly medicinal, mineral notes. Weak and not memorable
Feb 20, 2010
Photo of popery
Reviewed by popery from California

2.88/5  rDev -20.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
An unexciting to mediocre Belgian. I was looking for a calm, middling beer tonight, and even that relatively low bar was not met. I've been fairly dubious of this bottle since I purchased it. It's an odd name for a beer and it was on sale for $8 at a grocery store that I don't normally associate with good beer. That said, my experience matches up to other reviews, so I don't think that the bottle was bad or anything. The beer pours a normal enough warm brown-amber color with an extremely effervescent head. The head puffs up hugely at first, filling the glass with bubbles with only a couple inches of liquid. Despite all of this initial excitement, the head actually dissipated quite quickly and left very little lacing. It's actually sort of funny that there were so many bubbles in the appearance because the mouthfeel is distinctly under-carbonated. I would admit if this were my fault from an overly vigorous pour, but I babied it into the glass trying to avoid the monstrous head. The smell is really lacking. It's a flat, yeasty odor with very little of the normal complexity of good Belgian yeast. I'm not sure how the yeast would really be at fault, so I'm not totally sure what's wrong with this beer. The flavor is somewhat better but still odd. It's sweet with a fair bit of caramel and bread malt flavor, but it's not really very interesting or complex. The bitter yeasty flavor is also there in the flavor. There is a merely passing earthy Belgian note. The beer just doesn't come together. It's not awful, but if you're going to make an oddball Belgian variation, it's got to be good. Experimental or not, this beer doesn't really work on any level for me.
Jun 16, 2009
Photo of SLeffler27
Reviewed by SLeffler27 from New York

3.5/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A big, rocky, almond head quickly rises and falls, settling to a thin blanket atop a rich, clear, copper-to-chestnut ale. A syrupy film coats the walls of my Hoegaarden Snifter.

This angel begins to sing at arm's length, with notes of bourbon and fig. Once within reach of the nose, strong molasses almost dominates while allowing some raisin and butterscotch to share the stage.

The promise of a Belgian Dark Ale is more alluring than what is presented here. Strong acid, with moderate bitterness, steals the thunder, allowing little else to be enjoyed. Perhaps there is some black tea and dark bread mixed in the finish which is overwhelmed by alcohol fumes.

The thin, watery body belies any expectation developed by the appearance noted above. Sadly, this beer is akin to flat soda pop.

While disappointing and far from the style, Serafijn still delivers an enjoyable experience which perhaps has more to offer when paired with a meal.

This is not quite the six-winged angel implied by the label, however, with some tuning, this one could deliver the haunting melody of a folk harp.

date consumed: 16 Nov 2008
Jan 11, 2009
Photo of lhaqq
Reviewed by lhaqq from California

3.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
A: Somewhat cloudy light pale brown body and thin tan head.
S: Some spiciness, wheat, and yeast.
T: Tastes wheat-ier and not as sweet as expected. Some malts, but not overall terribly flavorful.
M: Feels creamy but still bubbly.
D: Unlike how I would label most Belgians, it would be a pretty good session beer. Not too complex and covers the abv well. A couple of friends generously supplied it over dinner. I think that its a great beer to have alongside a good meal.
Nov 16, 2008
Photo of tmoneyba
Reviewed by tmoneyba from Ohio

3.48/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Bottle shared by shigadeyo.

Poured hazy copper color with an average fizzy off-white head that was mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Moderate toasted bread malty and fruit aroma. Medium to full body with a sticky texture. Medium sweetbitter flavor with a medium sweet finish with a small alcohol bite of moderate duration.

Appearance was the best of process.
Nov 15, 2008
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.75/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bomber from Preiere Gourmet. A blonde ale, good yeastiness, finishing with some hops. Aftertaste of the yeast. Yeasty head on the golden colour. Yeasty aroma. Medium plus mouthfeel, though above average carbonation. Decent more hoppy than usual from a Belgian.
Oct 02, 2008
Photo of wheelinshirt
Reviewed by wheelinshirt from Pennsylvania

2.58/5  rDev -28.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Cool looking 750 mL bottle purchased from Capone's for $12 (yikes!). Let this one warm after taking it out of the fridge and poured into a tulip glass. Batch 0607 printed on the cap underneath the gold foil.

Color was darker than expected based on the label which reads "unique belgian golden ale." Really it is more of a light, golden red with a large off white head that looks stiff, if that makes any sense to anyone, and falls off rather quickly to an unimpressive collar with no lacing.

Smell is weak, there is some toasted bready malt as well as some spicy yeast notes but not enough of anything to make this one stand out.

Taste is similar, pretty weak and uninteresting. There is a little tartness in there as well, a tad lemony, but overall this one falls well short of expectations.

Mouthfeel is medium with medium-high carbonation.

Drinkability is fine but with a beer this boring, who would reach for another. dgallina is right about this being "expensive for this level of quality." If you do happen to see this on a shelf somewhere and it is bargain-priced, pass for any number of better and cheaper beers, rare vos being a widely available and far superior substitute.
Aug 17, 2008
Photo of RWD1
Reviewed by RWD1 from New York

3.68/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance: Definitely a redhead, not a brunette. 1½ finger head is active but sticks around. Significant bubbles from the bottom.

Smell: Mostly malt; pretty bready, but with some nice spice. Stays the same as you drink it.

Taste: Very much a red ale when you get to the taste. Nice spice... not as overwhelming as a lot of Belgian dark ales, which makes it more approachable in a way. Might be a good intro beer for someone who's never had a Belgian dark ale.

Mouthfeel: Pretty good, although I have mixed feelings here. The carbonation is relatively high, which gives it a nice zip, but it also to a certain extent overpowers the beer, which deserves better.

Drinkability: Not a session beer by any stretch of the imagination, but a nice one to knock down and, as mentioned, might be a nice intro beer for a beer-challenged friend.
Jul 25, 2008
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Dried apricot with an impressive amount of yeasties after a small initial pour. The pour was small because the golden sandalwood colored crown expanded quickly, cresting the rim of the glass in a flash. The foam, which is more stiff and rocky than creamy and melty, isn't sticky enough to result in more than a few fingers of sea foam lace.

The label calls Celtic Angel both a Belgian golden ale and a light Irish ale that uses Belgian yeast. BA calls it a Belgian dark ale. It looks exactly like Serafijn Christmas Ale, a beer that was supposed to a BSPA, but didn't look or taste like one. Maybe the smell and taste tests will make sense of the confusion.

There isn't much to be gained from the nose. The beer is lightly toasty malty, musky fruity (apples primarily) and is Belgian yeasty. It isn't very aromatic and isn't very interesting or complex. So far, the needle on my excitement meter has barely budged.

It seems odd for a Belgian brewer to attempt to combine an Irish-style ale (whatever that is) with a Belgian yeast strain. For my money, quality Belgian yeast will improve just about any beer it touches, assuming that beer was decent to begin with. The only reasonable conclusion, then, is that the base beer started out on less than solid ground.

As is the case with its Christmas counterpart, Celtic Angel tastes like a Belgian golden ale since it's darker than a Belgian pale ale and lighter than a Belgian dark ale. I might have to drink my first two Microbrouwerij Achilles beers side-by-side because the flavor memory of the first one isn't much different than the flavor of the second one. And I would... if they weren't $12.99 each. Ouch.

Specifics include toasted whole grain bread topped with malt powder, tea leaves, ground clove, dried apple slices and dessicated orange peel. I'm reminded of spiced, fruit-added iced tea. The beer is also somewhat woody and is snappy and drying on the finish. Bland doesn't fit, but generic does.

The mouthfeel falls in line with the rest of the attributes. It's closer to light than to medium and has less than the optimal amount of carbonation. The result is a lack of volume in the mouth that isn't likely to impress anyone who's paying attention.

Serafijn Celtic Angel is impressively packaged (with new lime green and yellow labels on the 750 ml bottles), but doesn't get it done where it matters most. A name this good deserves a much more accomplished final product. I would like to see these guys brew an authentic Belgian pale ale that bears little resemblance to the beer I'm drinking now.
Mar 20, 2008
Photo of albern
Reviewed by albern from Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is an interesting Belgian, certainly lighter and with less alcohol than you will typically find for the style, and very drinkable. The beer pours an orangish amber, slightly cloudy, not much head, retention or lacing to speak of. There is some off white head and the smell is malty, grainy, good but not brilliant. This is a medium bodied beer, that gets a bit more watery as things settle. I like the creamy mouthfeel best. You will find a nice buttery smoothness on the tongue that is quite nice. The taste is clearly malty, somewhat grainy, a bit on the lemon/citrus end of the continuum, and there is a touch of the candied sugars in the fermentation. This is really a Belgian lite type of experience. You won't get the yeasty zing, the syrupy candied sugar experience, the spicy clove, or the alcoholy warming notes typical of the style. You'll get a pretty mild, somewhat medium bodied beer, with a bit of a metallic taste in the finish and no real after taste to speak of. This beer won't challenge anyone's palate, but neither will it offend. It's worth seeking out for a nice introduction to a Belgian ale without some of the more challenging, yet complex, characteristics. This is an easy beer to drink and enjoy. L'Chaim.
Dec 14, 2007
Serafijn Celtic Angel from Microbrouwerij Achilles
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 31 ratings