BFM Abbaye de Saint Bon-Chien 2004

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Pours with a cloudy red-brown body topped by a thin to medium thick head with a good amount of lacing. It’s slightly sweet and malty with an underlying sour note, a touch of fruit and some yeasty notes. Medium bodied and slightly dry.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

Bottle courtesy of IMtheOptimator: Poured a medium amber color ale with a small foamy head with limited retention or lacing. Aroma of oak and tart is pretty enticing. Taste is a mix between some sweet malt, oak and some vinous character. Body was about medium full with some very low carbonation. I could not detect any alcohol which is quite a feat at 14% but could feel the effect afterward. Interesting combination between the malt presence of a Biere de Garde and a Flander Red oak presence.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

2004 vintage. Hazy brown colour, minor white head. Strong alcohol, fruit and plum in the aroma. Flavour is alcoholic and plummy with hints of pepper and some other spices. Interesting beer, which has clear strong hints of alcohol, but not disturbing at all.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2004 vintage (brewed between january and march), oak-aged in grappa barrels; bottled in october 2005; limited to 1’000 bottles - it pours a hazy dark bordeaux colour; don’t look for the foam here, you have no chances to see any; it shows a complex aroma where the fruits appear first (prune and cherry), some honey and licorice too; vinous; low carbonation, very thick and sticky, robust initial sweetness sonn met by a powerful bitterness; solid malt body; long woody finish with notes of licorice and alcohol - the low carbonation impacts on its structure and prevents it to be a really great beer ... but a pleasant experience it still is !

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

This Belgian Strong Ale pours a deep amber color from a 750ml bottle. Medium sized white foamy head. Aroma is very complex, malt, oak, berries, grapes and raisins mixed with brown sugar, red wine and a touch of alcohol. A medium bodied Belgian Strong Ale. A very complex tasting beer, there is a lot of weird and wonderful stuff going on here. Malts are fruity and sweet. With lots of oaks, port wine, blackberry, raisins, brown sugar, vanilla, chocolate and smoke flavors all combining for a very varied and complex flavor. Despite all that taste explosions, a very smooth tasting beer. Hides the 10% alcohol very well. Although it might be just a bit too much, it is still interesting to see how well 8 different barrel aged beers can be blended together. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet and a touch tart.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

Poured a hazy brown color with a small, amber head that left light lacing on the glass. Aroma of vanilla, port, dried fruits, grapes, cherries, and oak. Taste of more cherries, some vanilla and caramel, with chocolate, oak, strawberry, and light alcohol as well.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Cloudy brown with a low firm white foam. Interesting aroma of oak, white pepper and red fruit with a balsamic undertone. Oaky flavour of red wine, juniper, currant leaves and spices. Dry and slightly tart, peppery aftertaste. Interesting beer.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Hmmmm this one was good but very very different.Poured a dark dark brown, with small head. Aroma was like wine graps and very oaky. The flavor was so much oak and some wine that i am not sure any beer flavors came out to play at all. Smell and mouthfeel were very flemish sourish.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle 00276. Quite a treat, glad to have experienced it, but at some point, you wonder why they don't just start mixing beer and wine straight up. Eight different barrels of aging since 2004? This is the extreme of the beer industry trend in barrel aging beer, akin to the hop crazy IPA's and dIPA's of the US a few years ago. In any event, this one poured a burgundy to brown color with an intial thin head covering that turned to just a ring or so. Lacing actually made a showing. The aroma was very much of wine grapes with some wood. The flavor was so full of wine and oak, it was hard to find the beer underneath, honestly. Mouthfeel comparable to a Flemish sour, flavor that was vinous, acidic, and somewhat sour.