Cuvee Mystique

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

I served this one with an octopus stew. This Belgium ale poured a deep brown. Big light brown frothy head imparts creaminess to the mouthfeel. The head has moderate hang time. It settles into a robust lacing. The aroma is sweet, caramel and fruit. The body is full, nearly syrupy. The flavoring is a big sweetness with spices and alcohol mixed in. Not bad....NOT BAD AT ALL!

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

Bottle: Poured a slightly cloudy deep brown color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of cookie dough malt with some light spicy yeast and some refreshing fruity ester. Taste is not as complex as expected but still very enjoyable with great notes of cookie dough malt with some refreshing fruity ester and a light spicy yeast. Body is a bit thin with good carbonation and no alcohol was apparent. I though it was a very enjoyable beer but still somewhat far from the behemoth that dominated the style.

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

Pours with a three-finger thick, brownish tinged, dark tan colored head that leaves some lacing as the creamy / frothy head slowly recedes. The beer is quite dark as it sits in my glass, opaque and concentrated, burnt amber in color. The beer shows a brilliantly clear, very dark, bright cranberry hue when held up to the light. Rich and fruity smelling; forward notes of raisins, prunes, a touch of dried-candied apricot as well as even a touch of tart, concentrated plum aromatics are all easily noticeable in the nose. A touch of dusty, dark malt character adds notes of toasted whole grain bread and crushed brown sugar crusted soda crackers. Hints of musty, earthy notes are here as well, though these might be from some faint cork influence. I really like the aroma of this beer, sure it is perhaps a bit simplistic in its focus on concentrated malt and fruity yeast accents, but even the touch of funk adds to what is really a satiating olfactory experience.

Sweet, yet not overly so; in fact it is not quite as sweet as I was expecting based on the nose. The beer is actually a bit lighter than I expected as well; it does have a medium fullness to it and even clings to the palate just a bit (especially the fruit notes), but I was expecting something a bit more chewy, maybe even cloying based upon the aroma. Quite fruit focused with flavors of concentrated plum, raisin and figs. The finish has quite a bit of dark, even roast character to it with flavors of well toasted bread, lightly roasted coffee and a slight burnt bitterness. Somewhat spicy with clove like phenolics as well as notes reminiscent of a dark, rich, holiday spice cake. The malt also contributes hints of molasses, . The alcohol is not overly noticed, but it does contribute to flavors reminiscent of Brandy & dark Rum when combined with the fruit forward flavors here.

As the beer warms up the flavor gets a bit smoother, picks up a touch more tartness and becomes much more integrated. I like the heft of this brew, it is not so heavy and is fairly drinkable for a beer of this strength. It is perhaps lacking a depth of flavor that I like in the best examples of a Abt, but it is still quite tasty. I also like the toasty malty finish that this beer has, it helps to temper the fruit and sweet malt notes a bit with it's drying, savory ending.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 3

Wow if you judge this as a beer it was okay, if you judge this as a quad it was awful. Poured a red brown color with an okay head. The aroma was smokey, in my quad smokey come on. Also smell of dark fruits. Flavor missed the boat. Smokey flavor was well. Just like eagle said this is down there with averys quad, not as bead but close.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

Poured a mahoganey red-brown color with a nice and generous initial head. The aroma was smokey, some dark fruits underneath. The flavor was way over smoked, would have had no idea this was a pretender quad with that flavor profile: yes, light chocolate and dark fruits underneath, but nothing like a great quad. Mouthfeel was moderate, nothing great. Not so good. Whiff. Down there with Avery's The Rev as just a bad quad.

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

Bought at my local Fred Meyer. Comes in a 750 ml with a plain blue label. Very attractive looking ale indeed dark mahogany brown with a swirling of bubbles below a large thick tan head. The head does go down but bleaves nice lacing. Goodish aroma of spices and chocolate, earthy and hints of dark dried fruits , figs. very nice taste profile, its dark and sweet ,then a dash of spice and a lighting over ripe fruitiness , followed by a long bitter after taste.alcohol becomes more pronounced as the beer slips down the throat and it warms the belly. Nice on the palate, far from totally complex but not boring in the least. I liked this ale, very "belgian" but very accesible..good beer for the price.