Viscous 12th anniversary ale utilizes one dozen hops and malts to anchor concealed 12% alcohol luster. Syrupy sweet brown chocolate malting and maple-sapped molasses-dipped toffee fudging receive cinnamon-toasted hop-spiced raisin-prune souring. Oaken vanilla subsidy pervades lilting bourbon, barleywine, cherry wine, and dark rum warmth. Boozy brown ale makes superb dessert treat.
(STEENBERGE) BORNEM DOUBLE ALE
Admirable amber-browned Abbey ale in stubby, chubby brown bottle not as winey as most Belgians, relying instead on casual coffee bitterness, candi-sugared fig-date-cherry waver and cereal-grained carrot caking to frail rye-dried barleycorn spine. Mouthwateringly medicinal 8 % alcohol sway deepens caramel-spiced dried fruited finish.
UNIBROUE QUATRE CENTIEME
Subtle candi-sugared Belgian strong ale nears creamy hefeweizen styling with its mild banana-clove theme, fuzzy butterscotch nicety, and honeyed wheat spine. Peppery hop bite ignites terse orange and lemon peel bittering as well as floral nuance. Tart green apple and white peach illusions emerge above white wine reminder.
WEYERBACHER FIRESIDE ALE
Languid ’08 ‘dark ale with touch of smokiness’ (previously known as ‘Charlie’ and now a permanent seasonal release) needs deeper flavor insistence. Dry-hopped meat-cured beechwood-smoked frontage drops off quickly as tranquil cocoa-powdered tartness rises above tobacco-leafed vegetal nuance. Staid hickory-smoked molasses malting fades into nutty chocolate murk.
(VAN EECKE) KAPITTEL PATER ALE
Subtle well-watered Belgian dark ale brings dry rye, toasted pumpernickel, and baked whole wheat breading to sweet marzipan midst. Grassy barnyard funk drowns out pithy apple-cherry-raisin allotment of approachable light body that’s closer to a less nutty brown ale.
TWO BROTHERS NORTHWIND IMPERIAL STOUT
Well-balanced soft-watered mahogany-hued medium body brings bitter black coffee, creamy dark chocolate, and maple-sugared caramel-burnt vanilla symmetry to viscous molasses-sapped anise center. Tertiary cocoa powder, roasted espresso, and cappuccino illusions ride along descending prune-plum trail. Further sips revealed lilting bourbon-burgundy wining and black cherry nuance in deepest recess. Despite heightened 9.1% alcohol range, lighter flavor profile than most Imperial Stouts.
(STEENBERGE) BORNEM TRIPEL ALE
Subtly expressive blanched golden Abbey ale segues crisp pineapple-pear-mango tang into mild bubblegum-sugared banana-clove midst. Reservedly bitter floral-hopped honey-glazed lemony orange finish enhances coriander-cinnamon-spiced rosebud-sunflower illusions. Solvent 9% alcohol piquancy may appease stronger ale heads but it’ll burn lighter thirsts.
SMUTTYNOSE GRAVITATION BELGIAN-STYLE QUADRUPEL ALE
Engrossing terrycloth-textured full-bodied Belgian knockoff maintains chewy chocolate-caramel-molasses malting. Candi-sugared Sugar Daddy sweetness echoes through cohesive hop-spiced raisin-dried cherry-grape-berry souring raiding medicinal orange-bruised pumpkin-pureed cognac persuasion and mild bourbon boozing. Tertiary sweet-corned fennel, anise, and caraway illusions also aid complex doppelbock-like quad.
SAMUEL ADAMS IMPERIAL WHITE (2010)
Updated and bettered 2010 Imperial White recipe of glutinous golden-browned ‘wheat ale brewed with spices’ takes unlikely stylistic route, forgoing rudiment banana-clove-coriander expectancy for boozy malt-driven tropical-fruited 10% alcohol elixir. Bright hop-spiced, peach-brandied, nectarine-pineapple tang picks up bittersweet cherry-pureed bruised orange viscosity and minty tingle as whiskey-tinted caramel creaminess thickens.
SAMUEL ADAMS IMPERIAL STOUT
Well balanced Russian Imperial Stout with mahogany-hued motor oil-like viscosity places bittersweet cedar-smoked oats-charred dark chocolate frontage and sticky anise resonance ahead of rich vanilla-tousled coffee-roasted espresso bittering. Bourbon and sherry illusions pick up steam for 9.2% alcohol-infused heavyweight.
ROCK ART THE VERMONSTER
Advertised as ‘Ridge Runner’s Big Brother,’ sharp spice-hopped brown-sugared mocha-bound barleywine betters lighter-bodied sibling. Viscously caramel malted and heavily dry-hopped, its black cherry-pureed buildup overwhelms coffee-stained cola nutttiness, fig-raisin latency and resinous pine sapping.
ROCK ART EXTREME I.P.A. (II)
Viscous bronze-bodied ‘hop’ celebrant with sinewy yeast sediment places candy apple-glazed peach-pear-honeydew sweetness inside bitterly piney floral-hopped orange-peeled deluge. Tangy papaya, mango, pineapple, grapefruit, and honeydew tropicalia connects sedate spruce sprawl to super dry finish that perpetually lingers.