Crom Hout - Brouwerij De Leckere

Absumaster

Netherlands

3.28/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A dark brown, reddish beer with a settling off-white head.

Smell is rich and has notes of chocolate, dark malts in general, some cherries and a little coffee. Maybe some vanilla.

Taste of sweet malt with lightly roasted notes. Actually 'maltiness' is not high enough, I seem to miss a base. The roasty and chocolate tastes are in here, but should be backed up a little more by malt and/or more yeast character. The yeast is bland and adds only a little fruitiness. Aftertaste is dry and lingering maltbitter.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2009 16:46:46 | More by Absumaster

TKempe

Netherlands

2.78/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Crom hout (meaning crooked wood in archaic Dutch) has a slight murky brown look and a small, short-lived beige head.

The nose is sweet and fruity in the typical Belgian dark fashion and seems to have quite a lot of sugar in it. A dry and roasty or wood-like note add character. Yeast is apparent as well and is slightly sharp. A rather bold and somewhat cloying smell that isn't all that elegant.

There is a lot going on in the taste, but alas there is no main direction, meaning more conflict than harmony. A sour-n-sweet fruitiness bounces up against a dry-roasted malt flavor, which slowly makes way for a woody aftertaste in which a hoppy bitterness arises that is astringent and unpleasant. I think this beer would benefit from toning down the sugary side and balancing it out with the roasty malt and maybe some more hops.

A medium body and creamy mouthfeel, slightly under-carbonated.

I have yet to try the brewer's tripel and other beers, but I am sad to say the dubbel is pretty average.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2009 16:43:34 | More by TKempe