Thursday, March 22, 2007

Beer Tasting: 't Smisje Calva Reserva


The Beer: 't Smisje Calva Reserva
Style: Belgian Quadrupel
Reviews: Beer Advocate Rate Beer
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Packaging & Date Stamping: 11.2 oz. brown bottle; no evident bottle stamping

From where & how stored: Gifted by good beer buddy, Dell

Pricing: $x.xx

Availability: Year-round

ABV, IBU, and Other Available Stats: 12% ABV
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Bryan's Notes
The Look:
- murky brown
- off white head that fades quickly

The Aroma:
- big malt, bit of alcohol, brown sugar (shugga?!)...very appealing aroma
- figgy, burnt chocolate

The Taste:
- figgy, burnt chocolate
- bit of earthy woodiness
- dried fruit
- nice bitterness tang in the ending

The Verdict: This was a nice drinking quad, albeit slightly on the thinner side of quads than I'm used to. It had nice flavor and was a deceptive 12% ABV.
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Adam's Notes
The Look:
- opened the bottle and let it sit while I was doing something
- bubbles came to the top of the bottle
- light murky tan

The Aroma:
- figgy yeasty nose
- not overly sweet

The Taste:
- liquid bread
- slightly sour sweet, but just barely sour
- more like sour dough
- alcohol is there, but, not distracting
- slight figgy taste, but, nothing overpowering

The Verdict: Liquid bread, do I need to say anything else? This reminds me how different one beer can be from another. Just when I thought I was in love with crazy stuff like Hop Slam, something like this comes along and reminds me there's more to life than hops balanced with malt. Oh...the agony. ;-)

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