Tag Archives: belgium

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, Brasserie d'Achouffe

d’Achouffe Mc Chouffe

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Brewery: Brasserie d’Achouffe
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale

Brewer Description: (from website) Mc CHOUFFE is an unfiltered brown beer which is refermented both in the bottle and in barrels. Its fruity bouquet conceals a hint of bitterness.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle dated best before September 2016 poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: It poured a medium to dark brown with a slight reddish tint. One finger creamy tanned head with nice looking bubbles that dissipated slowly leaving nice stringy lacing.
Aroma: Main aromas of dark fruits of fig and raisins along with some pear and grapes. As it warms, the grape smell became really prominent.
Taste: Strong tastes of dark candied fruits, plum, fig, grapes and raisins with hints of caramel and brown sugar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium to high carbonation.
Overall: Overall, this was very good. Both the smell and flavours actually improve as it gets warmer. It is not too sweet and I especially enjoyed the dark fruit flavours. This is so close to being a must buy beer for me.

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3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Belgium, Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle

Westmalle Tripel

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Brewery: Brouwerij der Trappisten van Westmalle
Country: Belgium
ABV: 9.5%
Style: Tripel
Other Notes: As per the website, the larger 75cl bottles mature differently to the 33cl bottles. They say that in the larger bottles, the fruit flavours are softer, riper and there’s also a hint of vanilla.

Brewer Description: (from Westmalle website) Westmalle Tripel is a clear, golden yellow Trappist beer that undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle (9,5% alcohol). It is a complex beer with a fruity aroma and a nice nuanced hop scent. It is soft and creamy in the mouth, with a bitter touch carried by the fruity aroma. An exceptional beer, with a great deal of finesse and elegance. And with a splendid long aftertaste.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: The 33cl bottle had a best before date of 23rd July 2016 and was poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden straw colour with a white head that dissipates fairly quickly leaving thin soapy like lacing.
Aroma: There were aromas of bready malts, caramelised banana, candied sugar, slight bubblegum ending with lemon sour?
Taste: Tastes of sweet bready malts, orange, pear maybe some lingering banana ending with some slight alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with nice carbonation. Creamy and also somewhat sticky.
Overall: This was a decent tripel. The best thing about it was its look especially the thin soapy lacing. The taste itself was decent, but nothing too special either.

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2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Tripel, Belgium, S.A. Bières de Chimay

Chimay Triple (White)

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Brewery: S.A. Bières de Chimay
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Tripel
Other Notes: Trappist beer. Ale is brewed at Scourmont Abbey

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The <> logo certifies that this ale is brewed in a Trappist Abbey and that the majority of sales income is intended for social aid. Chimay Triple stands out thanks to its flavours of hops and fresh yeast.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.2
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.27

Intro: 330ml bottle dated best before end of 2017 and poured into a Chimay goblet.
Appearance: It poured a hazy copper colour with a two finger cream head that has good retention leaving a thick curtain lacing.
Aroma: Initial aromas of apple, pear and bready malts followed by a sweet banana and honey finish.
Taste: Surprisingly strong alcohol taste, but also sweet candied sugar, banana, bread malts and some light apple and pear flavours.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with medium carbonation and a creamy feel.
Overall: I’m a big fan of Chimay, but this was not one of the better tripel beers. Ultimately I thought that it was too boozy and everything just kind of got lost behind that.

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2 - Maybe (likely wouldn't buy, might drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Huyghe, Fruit Beer

Delirium Red

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Let me preface this by saying that I like everything about cough syrup. I like the smell, I love the taste. Now having said that, knowing the Delirium brand, I had high hopes for this beer. This 330ml bottle has a best before date of the end of November 2016.

Brewery: Brouwerij Huyghe
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Fruit Beer

Brewer Description: (from website) Sweet and fruity, with a nice balance between sweet and sour. An excellent dessert beer.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.73
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.8

Appearance: Poured into a tulip glass a deep cloudy ruby red with a less than one finger light pink head that dissipates quickly leaving some streaky lacing.
Aroma: Sweet bubblegum cherry, candy cane, almond.
Taste: Sweet sweet cherry, then sour cherry, then a lasting bitter cherry. I’m fine with medicinal tastes and cherry, but this was just odd… maybe a bit artificial, and the balance was not really there. But there’s absolutely no hint of the 8% alcohol.
Mouthfeel: Light with low carbonation.
Overall: Like I said, I like the medicinal/cough syrup tastes and the colour and the smell of the beer after the pour were great. However the taste was just a mix bag of all over the place. I think that there are better beers out there for this style. If it was in front of me, I would drink it, but I’m not sure that I would buy this beer again.

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