De Molen Bommen & Granaten

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

Cloudy ruby color with small off-white foam head. Aroma is hoppy with complete fruit basket present. Taste is quite bitter with fruity tones, long bitter aftertaste. (Velp 201211)

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

Strong, syrupy aroma is rather sweet, not really like beer at all, with notes of molasses and honey. It pours a clear, dark cola brown with a skimpy head that doesn't hang around long. Flavor is quite sweet, more like wine than beer - and watch out for that alcohol bite! Well, look at the ABV and then wonder why it bites like an angry pit bull. Texture is rather like a hard liquor, mainly raw alcohol bite with some sweet and fruity and molasses hints. I prefer a beer that smells, tastes and feels like beer. However, different strokes for different folks.

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

330ml red-wax bottle -

Man, this is really, really sweet. Lots of sweet orange juice in flavor, apple juice, slightly vinous with an odd bready quality to it. Alcohol kinda creeps in when reaching room temp. Aroma has some muted orange juice aromas, hot caramel dip, and light alcohol. Great mouthfeel with some smooth, velvety body. It pours out completely still, no head, no carbonation yet looks like a brandy or cognac when pouring. I really like it.

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

750 ml corked, wired and waxed bottle, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Bottle No. 28 out of a batch of 429 bottles. Brewed 7. Oct. 2009. ABV is 15.2%. OG 1150, FG 1041. Nugget and Saaz hops, 53.9 EBU. Pours reddish brown without any visible carbonation and no head. Intense and attractive aroma with vinous and oaky notes, also notes of dark dried fruits, curacao liqueur and tangerine. The flavour has an overwhelming sugary and malty sweetness, with some fruity and vinous notes. The absence of carbonation makes the mouthfeel oily and cloying, and the alcohol is noticeable. The relatively high EBU kind of disappears behind all the sweetness. Declared fit for 25 years of cool and dark cellaring - sounds like a really good idea, if you are of the patient kind, and have faith in your own life expectancy.

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

Bottled. Amber colour, not too much head. Aroma is hops, grass, alcohol, yeast, lingonberry and quite much raisins. Flavour is alcohol, fruits, hops lingonberry and some mild yeast as well as grass. Strong stinging sweetness in the finish.

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

Pours out in a cloudy orange colour with a small dissapearing white foam. Dense and malty sweet aroma of orange-liquor, yeast, spices, crackers and alcohol. Full-bodied with notes of sweet oranges, brown sugar, alcohol and almonds. Smooth mouthfeel. Long warming finish of alcohol and orange-liquor. Rather young and sweet, my other bottle will probably rest in the cellar for a decade or so.