De Hemel Nieuw Ligt Grand Cru

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Redish pink clear color with no foam head. Small bubbly ring in corner. Aroma is a mix of many fruits, very sweet and alcohol. Taste is likewise, lots of sweet fruits, prune, no bitter tones present. More a wine then a beer to me. Long aftertaste, again fruity, some bitterness and alcohol. (Velp 201209)

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

2005 bottle: drank on June 16th 2009 6:41pm.. . Pours a dark plum colour with a decent head, which dies down to just a small tan bubbly head ring .. . aromas first off range from dark fruit, rum, cherry brandy, tobacco, syrup, alcohol, cough syrup;.. . . Flavours include rum, plum, violets, molasses, brown sugar, sherry, aged goodness, some dust, chocolate, and slight oxidation .. . Very smooth for its age and heat, nice complexity ... . and why its called, the Master bedroom ... . leaves a very nice aftertaste .. . packs a very sneaky potent punch, a creeper if you will .. . Pretty nice stuff, but i would love to try a fresh version if it comes out again.. . what are we doing here? shouldn't you be talking to the parents of the dumb kids??

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

Bottle (from Cracked Kettle, Amsterdam). Deep coppery amber colour with small beige creamy head. Aroma is spicy, fruity, some alcohol and sweet malts. Flavour is leathery, alcoholic, spicy and quite fruity. The fruityness along with leatheryness stays for quite some while in the aftertaste and the alcohol gives a nice warming touch. After this wears out the spicyness gets really strong. A rather complex and nice brew.

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

2005 Vintage, Sampled August 2007
Starts out with a frothy, not quite one-finger thick, tan colored head that quickly disappears. The beer is a brilliantly clear, concentrated-cranberry red color. The aroma too is quite concentrated and rich with notes of sweet, concentrated fruit (cherries, berries and figs being prominent), and some prominent spice notes. The spicing is quite noticeable here, but not so well that I, in my limited experience, can pick out which one where used. There is an aromatic, earthy spiciness here that I know I should recognize, but can't quite put my finger on; perhaps it is a mix of coriander, cardamom (though only a hint of this), mace and allspice. There is also a candied orange peel like aroma here. The dominant character of the aroma is much like a fruit cordial, including notes of warming alcohol.

Fairly full bodied, but it is surprisingly light for a beer of this strength. It is also not nearly as sweet as I was expecting; it does have a light sweetness, which helps to accent a cherry / berry like fruitiness. There is a soft, warming alcohol note here in the flavor, which does make one think of a fruity, spiced liquor. I almost think this might be tasty as a warmed drink on a cold winters evening. Spice notes of nutmeg, allspice, perhaps Fenugreek.

This really is surprisingly dry for such a strong beer; it almost has a tartness to it that seems contributed by alcohol (if that makes sense at all) and fruit notes. This is certainly an interesting beer and I have a feeling that it will be much better tasting and complex in another five years if not more.

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

2003 Vintage. Poured a reddish amber color with a nice little initial head that subsided to a ring that laced quite well. Aroma was spicey with some candi sugar sweetness detectable and light fruits. Flavor was rather complex, an upfront zingy citrus candi sugar sweetness, followed by a caramel maltiness that is peppery and full of other spices (cinnamon and nutmeg?). As it warms, some light fruits come out. Finishes with a hoppy like dryness. Mouthfeel is sticky / syrup-like and lightly carbonated. A decent brew, but well over-priced. Somewhat of a cross between a barleywine and a Belgian Strong Ale.