St. Bernardus Abt 12

Here comes another beer brewed in good ol' Belgium. This one comes from St. Bernardus and is by far considered to be their best one. This Quadrupel pours extremely dark brown/not quite black, with an large off-white head that has good life and lacing. The smells are of dark fruits (plums, grapes, figs), caramel mats, and a hint of chocolate. Although the aroma of fruits is quite strong the alcohol shines through as well, this brew does not hide the fact that is ABV is so high (10.5%). Even so the taste does not disappoint and has the overwhelming flavor of dark fruits and dark malts with a hint of alcohol at the end. Smoother than Tucker Max at a bar.

Appearance - 4.1

Smell - 3.9

Taste - 4.3

Texture - 4.4

Overall - 4.18/5

Victory Wild Devil Ale

Another Belgian style ale, this time not of the strong variety, courtesy of Victory Brewing Company. This ale pours a nice light brown color with a huge foamy white head, which lasts the entirety of the tasting. The smell is of hops, light malts, and citrus, with a nice flowery smell in the background. The taste is slightly different the aroma although the hops, and citrus shine through and hides the alcohol very well. This is a very drinkable, light tasting, hoppy Belgian ale. I look forward to trying some other styles from Victory after enjoying this one.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 3.5

Taste - 3.6

Texture - 3.6

Overall - 3.63/5

Maredsous 8

Another Belgian strong ale... lets see how it holds up against the other big hitters. This brew pours dark red/brown with a fairly long lasting white head. The smell is of dark fruits, hops, sugar, molasses, and brown sugar. Very nice aroma. The taste is a little more on the bitter side than expected from the scent and consists of apples, caramel, brown sugar, and honey. Overall it is a pretty decent example of the style but is still lacking when compared to some others reviewed on this blog.

Appearance - 3.8

Smell - 4.2

Taste - 3.9

Texture - 4.0

Overall - 3.98/5

Rogue Chocolate Stout

Rogue is a well known microbrewery out of Oregon that, thankfully for those of us on the East coast, distribute around the country. Starting at the stouts is usually my style so I decided to go with their chocolate variety to begin with. This sweet stout pours black with a creamy chocolate colored head that disappears into nothingness rather quickly. The smell of dark chocolate is overwhelming on the nose but I can sense some roasted malts and hints of licorice in the background. For once this stout actually holds the same taste as with the smell: instant dark chocolate that fades into a nice bitter alcohol sting with a hint of roasted coffee taste. This defiantly tastes more like an imperial than a sweet stout, but the relatively low ABV (6.3%) tells the tale.

Appearance - 4.0

Smell - 4.2

Taste - 4.0

Texture - 4.0

Overall - 4.05/5

Brooklyn Brewery Black Chocolate Stout

Here's Brooklyn's highest-ranking specialty beers. The only thing better than this might be the BlackOps. So, I will treat this as a top-tier beer.

This brew poured pitch black, but, it seemed a little thing compared to other Imperial Stouts. It had a coffee-tan head and was completely opaque (dark as space). It had the classic Imperial Stout scent of chocolate, barley and hops. It was very sweet smelling; delightful. It had a nice, chocolate and coffee taste with an alcoholic bite (it's 10% - what do you expect?). It wasn't nearly as sweet as it smelled, though. By comparison, it was a weak imperial stout. The texture was disappointing. It was just as thin as it looked. It went in weak, the alcohol comes in too quick, and it's a tad rough going down. This was a pretty big letdown.

The brew looked and smelled great. The taste wasn't nearly what I expected and the texture was a huge letdown. For Imperial Stouts, I expect the texture to wow me. This brew would be in much higher regard if it had a fuller body. But, for what it is; an inexpensive Imperial Stout; it holds its own. Kudos to Brooklyn to trying - just work on the body and it's a real winner.

Appearance - 4.1
Smell - 4
Taste - 3.8
Texture - 3.6
Overall - 3.88/5