Verboden Vrucht / Fruit Defendu (Forbidden Fruit) - Brouwerij van Hoegaarden

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Good dark ale, fruity and full mouthfeel. Held up in taste. Dark, yeasty and fresh from Belgiium at Volo's. Bit of wheat with yeast, popular with mates at end of hot day. Was good both below and at room temperature. Quite drinakable. Pepper, strong carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2005 02:45:48 | More by northyorksammy

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Cloudy brown beer with a medium head. Spicy nose with a lot of character. Hide the alcohol very well. I was expecting a very industrial beer but it seems this may be an exception. Very suprised and pleased by this beer. Adding "fruit" in the name might be misleading since this is more of a belgin strong ale than a fruit beer à la leifman...

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2003 06:45:54 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

4.4/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Again, one of those most elusive beers that I thought I'd never get to try. Nevertheless, here I am -- here it is... I'm going to drink it!

Pours a surprisingly dark beer (always thought is was blonde -- who knew?), that has a medium brown opaque-ness along with a muddy, murky dull-ness that picks up highlights of orange, rust, and copper. Medium head formation that reduced to a dainty sheet of froath and held firm. Aromas are very spicy and fruity (more of what I originally expected) but with a toasty, amber maltiness that was a surprise. Flavors of orange zest, peaches, pears, appricots, and lemons leaped out in front of any toasty German Dunkel-like maltiness. The dichademy of it all never resonated with me, leaving me wanting better balance and more medled-ness. The texture was as silky-smooth as the Witbier, but with a bit more abrasive carbonation (which remained quite high from the on-set). Finishes with a slightly-dirty, toasty, citrus flavor that cleaned up in a hurry and ultimately became quite crisp and refreshing. Certainly a good beer, it was just all over the place. Again, thanks to Clvand0.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2008 19:48:18 | More by BEERchitect

metter98

New York

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: The beer is hazy reddish brown in color. It poured with a finger high off white head that has good retention properties and hardly died down.
S: Aromas of light fruits - apples seem to stand out in particular - along with some notes of spices.
T: The taste is similar to the smell with additional flavors of yeast, dark fruits and subtle bits of initial sweetness. The spices seem a little stronger compared to the smell.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. Slight hints of dryness are perceptible.
O: This beer is rather complex and isn't too difficult to drink because the alcohol is well masked from the taste. It doesn't taste like a pure Belgian Strong Dark Ale and also tastes a little bit like a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2013 15:26:25 | More by metter98

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clouded dark browb with a nice creme head. Flavor is fairly hearty with darker sweet tones. Mature fruit tones. Hearty yes, though not severely complex. I dig it though. Feel is smooth on liquid. Carbonation is fairly vibrant. Man. Who needs the regular Hoegaarden when you've got this and the Grand Cru. The Speciale is waiting in my fridge and I am looking forward to trying that one too.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2009 01:08:08 | More by RblWthACoz

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served at 55º. Here's another overly sweet smelling beer. There's also some barn-like aromas. My notes say that this beer tasted both sweet and dry. It starts sugary but quickly gives way to a bitter aftertaste from the hop--the finish has little sweetness to it. Like many Belgians, this beer has a thick, rich body with a low level of carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2009 00:10:33 | More by smcolw

Jason

Massachusetts

3.83/5  rDev -1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 33 cl slender brown Euro style bottle with a “Best Before End” date on the back label. States that it is bottle conditioned. Front label depicts the tempting of Eve with the forbidden fruit.

Appearance: Deep and hazy plum reddish hue with a rich and creamy looking off white lace that is quite remarkable for the rings that it leaves.

Smell: Ripe fruit with suggestions of granny smith apples, golden raisins and slight pineapple. Bit of grain and a very noticeable ester content in the nose.

Taste: Very intricate mouth feel from the bottle conditioning, incredibly smooth without holding back on the crispness either. Creamy and almost slick medium body. With the wave of crispness comes a fruity ester alcohol flavour that grabs hold of the taste buds and does not seem to want to let go. Fruity yet on the dry side with some dry malt caramel flavours. Bit of hops that are over taken buy the earthy yeast with a slant of grain in there also. Finishes nearly dry but still has a drop of sweetness in the back end of it all.

Notes: Sometimes beer can be too complex, this is one of them. Flavours are big yet flailing around. A big Belgian to reckon with and to also respect with its high alcohol content. A beer to pair with a rich meal rather than to drink alone.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2002 23:40:33 | More by Jason

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

3.8/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

330 ml bottle at the Biermarkt.

Pours a cloudy dark brown, some orange highlights, medium sized off white head forms, quickly settles down to a thin ring around the glass, a few lace spots stick, some chunky proteins floating around.

Smell is neat, very fruity, some caramel, lightly funky, wheat, yeast, iron, raisin, slightly oxidized, alcohol, more fruit, cherries, pretty decent.

Taste is similar, very sweet and fruity up front, caramel, some bready malt, raisin, oxidation, lightly earthy, a bit of sour fruit funkiness.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium to high carbonation, alcohol is well hidden. Maybe a little oxidized but I remember when they brought these in. Assuming its the same batch they got it has aged pretty well.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2009 18:33:22 | More by Viggo

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

3.33/5  rDev -14.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

This is the beer my wife and I always have when we visit 'The Cirio' in Brussel's, with a cheese platter normally. This review however is from home.

Brown 33cl bottle, best before Oct 2008, drank March 2007.

Poured into the correct 'Forbidden Fruit' chalice, with the sediment getting fully into the glass. The beer was therefore cloudy and darker than if I had allowed just the beer to leave the bottle. This also effects the head, which doesn't stay so long with the 'bits' in the glass.

Dark mahogany wood colour, lace head because of the sediment, it's hazy, also because of my pour.

Typical malty, yeasty, Belgian dark ale type of aroma, the coolness doesn't help the aroma to be overly heavy, but this is as average as you are going to get.

Fairly sweet, caramel and some toffee flavours, but with sour apples thrown in too, add alcohol esters, coffee and grapes into the mix and you are half correct, a very complexed taste indeed.

The mouthfeel and aftertaste introduce hops, which must have been hidden by the alcohol and other flavours earlier. having said that, the mouthfeel is not great for such a strong beer.

My wife loves this beer and as I said earlier, it is now a tradition when we go to Brussel's, to drink it. Try it also, I know who owns the beer etc, but it is good, honest.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2007 22:55:32 | More by BlackHaddock

lacqueredmouse

Australia

4.08/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance:
Deep opaque maroony strawberry-jam colour, topped by a majestic ochre crown of foam.

Nose:
Rich mellow caramelised fruits, with a wonderful lashing of that sweet Belgian yeast.
As it warms there are hints of toffee, molasses and milk chocolate. Also a little organic mustiness like dried lucerne. Very complex and rich

Taste:
The basis of the flavour is strongly pinned on the alcohol, but it stays just as a background canvas to the other flavours. Bittersweet fruits provide the main interest, underripe plums, red grapes and feijoa.
This is a very rich and complex beer. It's almost verging on being too complex, in that there's too much to take in, resulting in an overwhelmed palate.

It's good, and certainly challenging. But not a beer for every day.
From what I read, this beer has gone severely downhill since they changed the recipe. It must have been truly magnificent in the past.

Serving type: bottle

02-19-2005 00:10:48 | More by lacqueredmouse

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This 'Forbidden Fruit' looks like it was freshly pulled out of the ground - it's tone is muddy, its complexion dirty and its colour an earthy brown. It looks more like a potato than any fruit I can think of (mostly this is because of all the yeasty specs). Its head pops out the glass like a giant cranium, its domed shape and lined pattern just like the human brain.

The aroma harmonizes sweet, caramelly malts and fragrant, over-ripened fruit. This smells like it could be the ultimate holiday log cake: it has a heroic amount of dark toffee, rum raisin, holiday spices and dried dark fruits. In fact, I may never have had a holiday log cake that tasted as good as this smells. My nose rolls around in this like a pig in mud.

Much of what we taste actually comes from our sense of smell, it stands to reason that this beer tastes very much the same as it smells. The dark, spiced fruit and dark toffee malts are both flavours I like and they taste even better concurrently than they do consecutively. The alcohol is neutralized by all this malty flavour.

The brewer called on his malts (rather than the yeast) to derive the bulk of this beer's flavour, a decision that suits me just fine. Some Belgian ales can be a little over-reliant on their yeast and it can make for thin or slightly superficial flavour. This beer has a deep and profound flavour that, so it turns out, has been able to stand up to the test of time.

Forbidden Fruit, Verboden Vrucht, Fruit Defendu - call it whatever you want - this is pretty good (or goed or bon) beer - and I'm not just saying that because the importers in this province have seemingly forbid me from obtaining more of it. Belgium is a beer drinker's Garden of Eden and this may not be its sweetest fruit but it's still quite an indulgence.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2010 22:49:00 | More by biegaman

Derek

British Columbia (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this at Chaucer's Pub/Marienbad Restaruant in London Ontario. Served with its own glass! (Bottle good 'til Oct 19, 2006).

A: Redish-brown, pours with a nice off-white head, good retention & lace.

S: Similar to a mulled cider, seemingly appropriate for the 'forbidden fruit'.

T: The spices really come through in the flavour as well (nobel continental hops and certainly some Belgian yeast products as well). A little earthy with fruity esters; some mild, dark fruit flavours from the malt as well.

M: Extremely well attenuated for such a strong, all-malt brew, surprisingly light. Finish is dry and crisp. Very nice.

D: I nice, digestable Belgian.

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2006 15:50:34 | More by Derek

Georgiabeer

Georgia

4.22/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle shared at a BA tasting at the Brick Store Pub. Perhaps supplied by OskarBamaBlues? In any case, I was happy to try it and had been interested in this beer for a long while, so I took my sample off tto a corrner and contemplated it. Poured a dark amber with a very lively head that stuck around. The aroma conisited chiefly of a light, brigght, fruitiness- perhaps passion fruit? The taste had a hay-like flavor like the smell of good clean straw might taste and more of that tantalizing bright fruit. Very floral and delicate and not laser-like like one of the New Glarus fruit brews, noree sour like a real lambic, nor sweet and popsicle-like like one of the pretend lambics. Very smooth in the mouth, and quitee intteresting. Thanks so much for the opportunity!

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2008 15:40:22 | More by Georgiabeer

tavernjef

Minnesota

4.6/5  rDev +18.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Color is a very deep, dark brownish gold color with a fluffy styrofoamed, light cream colored head that grew to about an inch high after a fairly slow pour. Impressive. Takes forever to settle down to a solid hazy creamed top always present with drippy ink blot lace.

Smell is super spiced and fruity, lots of orange and lemon peels. Extremely wafting and strong. Spiced to the hilt with corriander and white pepper with a smokey musky yeast underlay and a alcohol reminscent of rubbing alcohol or cleaner. Hugely strong aroma! Oh yeah! Although the aroma mellows out as it warms.

Taste is mild, mellow, and balanced well between dulled orange and lemon with a touch of banana and unripe mango mixing with spices of corriander, pepper, slight cinnamon, clove, yeast, herbal hops and a dry crisping finish grabbing a bit more lingering qualities with fruit peels and spice. Feel is smooth, lightly creamy, and quite full, finishing a bit milder and with a crispy lingering of slight hop bite and dull tangy orangey fruit.

What a lovely beer, incredibly enjoyable, a soothing ale with just the right bite and character.

Oh thank you sooo much Mr. jeffboo!!

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2003 00:49:40 | More by tavernjef

ccrida

Oregon

4.28/5  rDev +10%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

33cl bottle served in the matching stemware at Herberg Vlissinghe, the oldest bar in Bruges. Verboden Vrucht is a murky chestnut with a small, off-white head leaving nice lace.

Smell is nice, strong dark candi syrup, raisins and brown sugar.

Taste is malty bruin, a bit of astringent roastiness, clean and smooth, with a nice lingering sweetness as it opens up. Nothing monumental, but a very nice strong bruin.

Mouthfeel is dry and crisp, but very creamy when swished, with a medium-light body.

Drinkability is good, a tasty, digestible beer. Nothing really special, but I'm glad I got to try it. I liked the logo on the glass, my wife prodded me to buy one at Bier Temple the next day, but for some reason I passed...

Drinkability is

Serving type: bottle

10-22-2009 03:52:22 | More by ccrida

OWSLEY069

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a hazy brown color with an off white head. In the aroma, sweet dark fruit an a small note of alcohol. In the taste, dry dark fruit, especially ripe raisin, and a small alcohol burn. A small bite andmedium bodied mouthfeel, with a small dry dark fruit in the aftertaste. Nice dark fruit and alcohol, makes me thing different of Hoegaarden.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2011 00:54:01 | More by OWSLEY069

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.5/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Presentation: “Well bless my little cotton socks”. Quite literally. After having supped a fresh Hoegaarden ‘Forbidden Fruit’ in Belgium during my recent 2004 Easter tour, I was reminded just how much I used to love this spicy malty dark beer, and especially its cheeky glass. One of the first Belgium Darks that I ever tried - and I loved it then as I love it now. So I bought one from the back-street dive Bar I was in. Having explained my love for this beer, the owner of the rather average bar asked me if I fancied some “aged” examples of the beer “before it had changed”, his words not mine. I duly obliged. One of the bottles was stuffed in a thick walking sock and it made its way Stateside. I wanted to save it longer but I gave in to my carnal desires tonight. Like the BA database picture but with a foil covered crown cap. Smudged Best Before Date that most certainly looks like 99, but could well be 98 or even 96!!

Appearance: Poured exceptionally clear from the bottle that had lived in my fridge upright for 6 weeks. Dark amber, rich Alder and Cherry wood body with a ruby searchlight pan when back lit. The head is cream in color and creamy in texture. Not bad for a beer that is at least 5 years old. Served in a Westvleteren goblet – oooh, I have sinned I am sure!! Super fine bubble carbonation, excellent conditioning, a few streamers and a marvelous head retention all help to establish a seriously fucking impressive presentation from this mature Belgium mainstay. The last 'top-up' pour dislodged some yeasty sediment, whispy in nature as most of the solids stayed firmly glued to the base of the bottle it seems - still the sediment that was raised from the dead was ghost like in the glass.

Nose: My oh my!! Superb fruity tangy odors, acidic orange and lemon zest with some sharp grapefruit. Toasted malts, coriander, lots of coriander, spices, peppers, more coriander, herbs and some thick yeast. Slight vinegar hints in the back end. Is the beer turning? Maybe!? Maybe Not!? It could well be a part of the aged character of this offering for I am not sure that I ever had a Forbidden Fruit this old, so who knows? This smells bloody good. Holy Fucking Shite - this aroma should be available for Glade Plug-Ins!!!!

Taste: The odors are a taste of things to come. The tastes are a mélange of complex interactions betweens the toasted malts, aged hops, dark fruits, herbs, peppery spices, zesty citric rinds and yeasts – all mixed into an emulsion that is backed with a high alcohol common denominator. The aged character of this imparts a mature balanced ecosystem of flavors that is really prevalent when compared to the more mixed up fresh version that I drank in Belgium. Mildy warming when swallowed, but highly satisfying.

Mouthfeel: The super-fine carbonation is a Jacuzzi delight; it softens the malts, edges the aged hops and accentuates the fruity and acidic citric zestiness of this majestic Belgium Strong Dark Ale.

Drinkability: I thoroughly enjoyed this one, can you tell?, I am not sure if I will ever get to drink an aged example of this one again, and even if I do, I am not sure if the "modern version" can withstand such aging. That said, this example was a damn fine brew indeed.

Overall: Along with Hoegaarden Speciale and Grand Cru, this is (was?) one of those Belgium beers that is always a staple fall-back for me when presented with the usual “boring” Interbrew beer list. It appears in the most unlikely of situations, bars and Cafés all over Belgium and will rescue you when presented with macro IB drabness. From a macro stable, yet, when called upon to provide some flavor and excitement amidst a Sea of generic blandness, it seems that it never fails in its duties. Technically, it can be deemed a “macro”, it is. But I will say this, fresh, it is always a solid beer that never disappoints – but aged, Holy Shite! that’s when this *really* gets chance to reveal its “Forbidden Fruits” to you.

I am not sure if it is my age, rose-tinted beer glasses or altering tastes, but I have to say that sadly this great beer may well be getting dumbed down, for it seems to me like the “Spicy Ooomph” that it had when I first tasted it some 10 years ago, seems to have disappeared from recent fresh versions that I have imbibed. Still, it is most definitely still present in older (or aged) versions [like this one] and should be sought out.

Superb! Oooh, I fancy playing "Hide the Leaf" with Eve now……

Serving type: bottle

06-06-2004 05:09:01 | More by TheLongBeachBum

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.1/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I picked up a 330ml bottle at a department store in Utsunomiya, Japan. It's unbelievable what you can find in the most unlikely locations in Japan, especially as this beer is difficult to find in my part of the USA.

Overall this beer was exceptionally good. Maybe one of the best beers from a "macro" producer I've had so far. But then Hoegaarden Grand Cru is pretty good too, both beers are a credit to the brewery.

The beer is copper colored, thin frothy tan wet foam, lots of yeasties floating around. The aroma surprised me in that the malt overpowered the smell, kind of similar to a maibock or doppelbock but with a more fruity ester thing going on. The taste was really complex, there were a lot of flavors with sweet malt being dominant (but you could taste the Belgian style yeast quality). The aftertaste is a little cough-mediciny which knocks the rating a little for me (only 0.5 point).

If you haven't tried this, I recommend you do. I'll grab it without hesitation again.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2007 19:13:04 | More by TurdFurgison

bark

Sweden

2.65/5  rDev -31.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

The colour is brown with a tint of red; the liquid is cloudy. The finger-thick head is quite compact and beige.

The smell is rather weak with some alcohol, yeast and that sour wheat-beer touch.

The carbonation is really strong with small bubbles that build lots of foam in the mouth.

The taste is fruity with a quite weak body, the bitterness is potent but there are also some funny metallic flavours. The aftertaste is sourish – bitter with a salt touch of broth.

To be frank, this beer was a disappointment to me; it turned out to be an almost average Belgian dark strong ale.

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2004 16:56:20 | More by bark

tpd975

Florida

3.7/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This bottle came from my Westvleteren guy in Brugge Belgium. He threw it in with the proper glass in a deal I made with him for some Westy.

A: I love the bottle with a nude Adam and Eve along with all the French writing and foil…Pretty Cool. Pours with a tall light head that recedes nicely. It is a wonderful reddish brown color, very pretty actually. There are lot of floaters, and little to no lace.

S: Nice sweet fruits. Notes of Strawberry, Cherries, and maybe even a little mine apple. Nice Maltiness about it as well. Pretty Nice.

T: Nice caramel malty yeasty sweetness up front. Some fruits and a bit of sourness as well. There is a hint of spice also, clove maybe?

M: Light and bubbly.

D: One bottle is enough for me.

Overall: Something different, but not the best beer out there. It was nice that it came all the way from Belgium with the proper glass but I would not pay to have it shipped again. If available locally I would give it another go around though

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2007 14:54:11 | More by tpd975

dgilks

Australia

3.85/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Rich, sweet malty aroma with notes of raisin, fig and christmas spice. A touch of alcohol. Quite nice.

Mostly clear with a few yeast particles. Orangey-red colour with a big, light tan head. It looks good.

Big fruity flavour with some spritzy citrus notes, lots of alcohol and some dried fruit. A touch of licorice too. It's interesting. A play on the classic witbier flavours whilst playing at the idea of a stronger darker ale. The alcohol is a bit of a let down.

Medium-full body with lots and lots of carbonation. The carbonation is a little high for my liking but the whole isn't too bad.

On the whole, a nicely flavoured strong Belgian ale with some interesting notes thanks to the wheat and the yeast.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2010 06:03:21 | More by dgilks

GCBrewingCo

North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The beer arrived on the table very lightly hazy and deep amber with an off-white frothy head which lasted long and laced the glass.

The aroma was fruity with a storng dark caramel character and a very light bit of DMS. The fruity presence contained a light banana.

The flavor was that of dark fruits with deep caramelization. The flavor was fruity and estery with a spicy presence. The dark fruits were raisins and prunes and were coupled to a light spice that stayed long in the flavor.

The finish was dry with a dark fruity character lasting long with a bit of spice into the aftertaste. The body was medium with a moderate carbonation and a creamy mouthfeel. A very nicely done Belgian Strong Dark.

Bottle served in proper glassware at Cafe Vlissinghe in Brugge on 9/13/06.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2006 21:57:17 | More by GCBrewingCo

laituegonflable

Australia

3.93/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a burnished orange colour with a lot of haze and floaties in the glass. Beige, sticky head with a few large bubbles, clings to the glass beautifully. Lacing is just as nice, maybe a bit less sticky. Powerful good.

Nose is insanely fruity with very, very sweet strawberry and blackcurrant aromas, a tangy tartness as well, almost like sherbet. A very light woodiness and a hint of grain, but it's dominated almost entirely by that fruit. Pleasant indeed, but maybe a bit too sweet. I would love my fruit bowl to smell like this instead of like rotting carbon matter and fly shit, but beer is something I like a bit more grounded.

Taste is a lot more musty, with a distinct bitterness coming through on the mid. Front is still dominated by that pleasant berry fruit, but the mid ventures into phenolic and oak resin territory, with a fair boozey character as well and a light carbolic tart edge. Lots of character throughout the palate though, with tart socialising with dank, and slightly roasted breaking bread with syrupy sweet. Overall it's a bit of a hodge-podge with no distinct profile, but it's definitely a swinger's party for flavours and I love what's nude hot-tubbing in my mouth.

Feel is slick but syrupy with a lot of texture from the yeast and a really delightful pang of alcohol just at the back. This is quite a tasty gang-bang, and I look forward to seeing the video going viral on my favourite beer-porn channel.

Serving type: bottle

07-29-2009 00:52:31 | More by laituegonflable

bobsy

Ontario (Canada)

3.7/5  rDev -4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Drank at Cirio in Brussels.

Awesome glass and a great appearance - a mahogany as rich as fine panelling, with a voluminous head that lasts and laces well. Sweet, fruity aroma, with a strong back end of alcohol. It smells for all the world like a brute of a beer. Pleasant fruit flavour is somewhat steamrollered by a fusel element and brutish alcohol. Decent berry notes at the start, mixed in with raisin and spice. The alcohol really begins to assert itself in a lightly drying, but heavily warming, finish. Full mouthfeel, with restrained carbonation, though it never becomes cloying. Its a decent stab at the strong dark style, but its just a touch too boozy. If you have a bottle I recommend aging it to see if it mellows out.

Serving type: on-tap

09-09-2009 14:42:54 | More by bobsy

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.95/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Earthy brown hazy pour with medium cream head, which lasts right to the finish.
Sweet, musty aroma, with subtle alcohol kick in the background. Hints of straw, and possibly brown sugar.
Definate alcohol taste, with a very delicate bittersweet finish. Doughy flavour, slight cream and banana notes. Heat from high alcohol present. Rich creamy body with mild carbonation.
Lovely combination of flavours and aromas, although the alcohol does become slightly overpowering.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2009 00:16:26 | More by CrazyDavros