Sterkens St. Sebastiaan Dark

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

A new discovery that I had to cross the state line for to obtain. St. Sebastiaan Dark has a root beer like quality to it in both the appearance and the taste. The lightly tanned head has good staying power from the bottle pour, and eventually thins out into the dark brown liquid. The mouthfeel is kind of watery and not as ballsy as I would expect from a Belgian dark strong ale. But notes of, again, root beer,mild hops, caramel and dark malt are most noticeable. Too bad I have to drive to Ohio to get one.

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

Has a strong, malty aroma with a spicy undertone and a hint of apple. It pours a semi-transparent mahogany with a thin and not too persistent light tan head. Flavor is malty with an undertone of apple and a hint of caramel. Texture is smooth yet subtly fizzy, and it leaves a fairly persistent soft tingle and just a whisper of sweetness.

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

Another keeper of a ceramic bottle. A deep reddish brown colored ale. Big gothy textured, tannish head rises above. Settles fairly quickly, though, leaving a gentle ringlet and cap. Sweet, malty nose. The body is medium to full. Creaminess is quick evident. The flavors are of caramel, sweet, malty with a sour hint of the yeast in the afterburners. Not as good as the Golden, but I’ll not share it either.

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

The bottle I had, had a blue label. The beer pours a dark brown with a tan head, about 1" thick, and visible yeast particle floating about. The aroma is dark malt, weak plum and raisin tones, and caramel. The flavour is smooth and malty, with a little bit of sweetness.

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

Decent aromas of fruits, yeast, and nuts. Deep brown/ black body, off white/ light tan head that left quickly. Flavors were a bit on the thin side with some dark fruits, very little spice and not much else. Overall it was decent enough but not great.

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

Best By Date February 2011; Sampled August 2008
Nutty, almost oxidized aromas greet my nose as I pour this into my 25cl tulip glass. The beer pours with an easily, three-finger thick, light tan colored head that sticks well to the sides of my glass. The beer is a dark, deep, concentrated red color (not black at all, but quite dark) that shows a brilliantly clear, ruby hue when held up to the light. Pronounced fruity notes of raisins and prunes add substantially to the aroma and are quite intertwined with the aforementioned nutty note. Those are the major aromatic notes, but if you really dig around there is also a musty, almost mold, malt note towards the finish.

Quite sweet tasting and with the pronounced fruity esters this actually gets a bit cloying towards the finish despite not being overly thick. Actually somewhat light bodied (especially given the sweetness), though it is a bit viscous and certainly has some heft to it that has it sticking to the palate. Fruit flavors of prune soda, concentrated raisins and a touch of fig combine with a light, toasted nut note (hazel nut perhaps?) and even a touch of Sherry. Speaking of soda, this definitely has a cola / Dr. Pepper sort of note to it, especially in the finish where the beer gets a bt cloying.

Much to sweet and cloying, which makes this brew one-dimensional in both flavor and aroma. This has a surprisingly long best by date and it makes me wonder if some heavy oxidation might dry this beer out and actually help the flavor. Unfortunately this beer is not worth that experiment, when I have way too much other beer in the stash, but someone should try it. Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

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

This Belgian Ale pours a deep brown color from a 50cl ceramic flip top bottle. Medium to large sized white foamy head, with good retention. The aroma is fruity and yeasty, with a touch of caramel malts. A medium bodied Belgian Ale. The malts are caramel and fruity, but not that sweet. Kind of subtle and subdued fruit flavors. The hops are slightly spicy and earthy. Nice balance. A very drinkable Belgian ale, kind of atypical as there is not a lot of sweetness. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

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

Bottled. Deep brown colour with mediumsized brown head. Leaves some slight lace. Aroma is hops, mild caramel malts, mild nectary sweetness and some yeast. Flavour is mild caramel malts, yeast and quite much wooden notes. Wellbalanced brew, that hides the 6.9% completely.

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

Beer poured dark brown with moderate head and lacing. Strong spicey aroma. The flavor had some nice thick molasses and maybe even a touch of chocolate underneath a fruity belgian maltiness. But there were just way too harsh spices in this one. It got a little better as it warmed, but not something I'd really go back to.

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

i was completely expecting this to be horribly off and bad...purchased in nawlins from a shitty little store in some alley that sold me bad beer before...so when me the idiot walks in again i search and find nothing expect a crappy oatmeal stout and this 750 bottle on clearance...well, the cheapskate in me picks it up and i buy it....WOW...it had not gone off, it actually tasted nice!!! some fruity and citric notes...great pooling of the head..low lacing but present...not half bad!! You can tell the similarities in taste and smell from the yeast this brewer uses, was in the original glass bottle... LOT:060305