7.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Dark brown colour with quick fading head. Aroma and flavour have a tonne of dried fruit and dry woody notes. Rich and full bodied. Jammy. Elements of port.

7

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Sample, 2017 on bottle, black beer, small head, aroma is liquorice, malt, fruit, chocolate, rum soaked raisins, taste is the same, alcohol warmth, sweet, bitter, quite nice

8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

0.75 l bottle from 'belgiuminabox.com', 2014 vintage, cellared for almost four years. Clear, very dark ruby with a thin, frothy, slowly diminishing, beige head. Sweetish-malty, gently fruity, slightly oxidized, a bit yeasty-spicy and a little woody aroma of molasses, cherry jam, port, figs and some oak. Quite sweet, malty, gently fruity, slightly yeasty-spicy and a little oxidized taste of molasses, figs, raisins, prunes, chocolate, quite some port and a touch of oak, followed by a long, slightly bitter, moderately yeasty-spicy and gently boozy finish. Medium to full body, slightly effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Almost five years old and such a nice sipper for the cold days. Quite complex and well-balanced but also a real heavyweight. Overall a stunning winter beer.

8

6 years old... Great!

8.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle, 2017. Color: Very dark ruby, almost black, thin beige head. Aroma: Dark roasted malt, coffee, licorice. Taste: Dark roasted malt, boozy, dark coffee, espresso, licorice, oak tannins. Full body, just below average carbonation. Earthy. Complex. Very nice.

8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8

0.75l bottle - Samobor tasting - thanks Bazz! Poured a dark brown body. Full malty aroma, dark malts, oily, figs, bit dryish and nice. Soft, silky malty taste, chocolate, dried fruit, bitterish chocolate touches, nice and warming, growing on you sip by sip as it progresses, while the first sips may be 3.7ish, at the end it's this, well deserved score.

8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

F: thin, light tanned, quick gone to some bubbles. C: dark, opaque. A: vinous, dried fruits, chocolate, banana, cocoa. T: malty, vinous, warming alcohol, banana, dried fruits, bit raisins, chocolate, red vine retronasaly, bit woody, bit spicy, alcohol is not very good masked and is too much prominent and that’s a pity, but still very good beer worth to try, full body, low carbonation, enjoyed as a nice winter evening sipper, 75cl bottle vintage 2015 from Prik & Tik Leuven.

6

Fuzle, ulatnija sie, ale resztka zostaje, troche alkoholowe. Ale sumarycznie i tak smaczne, melasowo owocowo slodkawo przyprawowe. MieszaneU

7.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Sampled @ O.B.E.R. Kerstbierfestival 2014, Essen. Dunkelbraunes Bier mit einer ordentlichen beigen Schaumkrone. Geruch röstmalzig, schokoladig, hefig, sehr reife Früchte. Geschmack sehr fruchtig röstmalzig, reifes Obst, schokoladig, leicht alkoholisch, holzig.

8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

American oak aged version of Winterkoninkske Haspengouwse Grand Cru, more limitedly produced than the regular (already a quite spectacular beer in itself from a traditionally Belgian perspective). Had this years ago when it first availed, but now re-rating it from a 75 cl champagne bottle bought at Dranken De Moor in Haasdonk. Very loosely knit and unstable, brownish pale beige head, mousy and bubbly, but quickly dissolving into virtually nothing under influence of the alcohol; very dark brown-bronze robe, almost approaching a 'black look' like a stout, but still translucent, with warm burgundy hue, hazy. Intense aroma, pushed forward by the alcohol: candied cherries, 'pralines', melting caramel, fig jam, liquorish and 'drop', walnut liqueur, tawny port, strong vanilla-scenting oak wood, candi sugar, dates, chocolate-coated peanuts, whisky or even its descendant kahlua, dried prunes, cloves. Equally intense taste: a condense candied cherry sweetness with notes of fig and raisin, very sweet with a thick layer of candi sugar on top that will accompany the entire flavour 'parcours', softly carbonated and evidently very thick, syrupy, somewhat resinous mouthfeel. Chocolate-coated peanut maltiness with more chocolate than peanuts, very caramelly as well, with a champagne-like flavour accent developing in the finish (as is the case in the regular version); before long, a 'hot' alcohol effect sets in, but remains tolerable thanks to the thickness and overall candi sugar sweetness of the beer - the latter even sticking to the teeth a bit. Port- and rum-like alcohol heats the throat without burning it, and the oaky tannins do their work in providing retronasal vanilla scents and a timidly drying effect - yet nowhere near dry enough to counter the sweetness. Intense, thick beer, this is a Belgian 'praline' in beer form, a walnut- or other liqueur-like creation to be taken in small sips as a 'digestif'; for me, the sweetness can be toned down a bit, but it remains an overwhelming experience especially if you look at it from a classically Belgian perspective as stated above - Kerkom, after all, is run by an elderly brewer, who has little connection with the American craft beer movement. But anyone who knows Belgian beer from the inside, knows that he is first and foremost a very skilled brewer, quietly making very interesting and perfectly shaped Belgian ales for many years. This one, along with its somewhat more 'common' regular version, is a must taste for anyone interested in Belgian beer culture.