Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Buffalo Stout (Version 2)

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

The name is the same and so is the brewery. But for some mysterious reason, this beer clocks in 50% stronger than its little brother. Odd that there's no distinction on the label...

Pours pitch black with a voluminous light brown head. So big that I was afraid I had an infected bottle. But the head fades to a a thin wisp in several minutes. Aroma contains sweet dark malt and milk chocolate notes with a touch of fresh coffee.

Taste is the same, a bit more bitter chocolate than milk though and persistent hints of espresso. Nicely balanced. Full bodied, no real hint of alcohol given its strength. Nice bitter chocolate in the finish and aftertaste with some sweetness to offset the bite.

Very tasty. Nicely balanced and well-crafted.

How do the beers of this series stack up? My rankings:

1. Buffalo Stout (Version 2) - See above. No flaws to speak of, very well rounded.

2. Hercule Stout - Dark fruit and bitter chocolate dance in a velvet smooth strong stout.

3. Buffalo Stout (Version 1) - Well-crafted and balanced, like its big brother. Nearly came in second.

4. t'Smijse Catherine the Great - The color is offputting but it makes up for it with a crazy combination of roastiness, bitter chocolate and ripe pears.

5. Podge Stout - Way more fruity and sweet than roasty but tasty nonetheless.

6. Wilson Stout - Not bad but too much alcohol showing for its strength, flavors never really mesh

7. Leroy Stout - Run don't walk...away

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Leroy Stout

Brewery: Brouwerij Leroy
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 5.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

Pours pitch black with a frothy tan head and some minimal lacing. Smells of dark fruit and light caramel aromas.

If I had a blind tasting of this beer, I would never pick it out as a stout. It tastes like a sweet brown ale. Tons of caramel flavor, no hint of roastiness or sweetness you would expect for black patent...but sickly sweet and overwhelming caramel flavors that don't mesh with a distinct fruitiness in this ale. Very carbonated, distractingly so. Unpleasant astringent finish and a lingering cloying sweetness in the aftertaste.

It's not good. At all.

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: 't Smisje Catherine The Great

Brewery: Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

The label of this beer declares that this is an imperial stout. De Regenboog has yet to disappoint so I am looking forward to this one.

Surprisingly, this stout pours out a murky brown instead of a pitch black. Highlights of mahogany with a frothy tan head. Smells fruity, of Granny Smith apples and ripe pears. Quite yeasty and hint of alcohol.

Lots of lovely roasty flavors, espresso, bitter chocolate and mocha. Oaky too, vanilla, toffee and hints of dark fruit. Full bodied and sweetish, not sticky. Roasty and bitter in the finish, the coffee flavors coming through again.

If you closed your eyes, this would be a classic roasty imperial stout. It's very good, just that odd appearance that throws you.


Brouerij De Regenboog

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stouts: Wilson Mild Stout

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 5.2%
Date Poured: March 2009

This one bills itself as a mild stout so I am expecting an English character here. At 5.2%, this is the most sessionable stout I've tried thus far.

This one pours as black as night (of course) with a creamy brown head that leaves sheeting lace. Smells of fruity dark malt, very sweet, yeasty and estery.

First impressions are that it is kind of thin in the mouth and some prominent metallic flavors. Underneath, the raisin and blackcurrant flavors start to come through. Yeasty, a lot of yeast character for a stout...even for a Belgian one. Pretty sweet, some detectable alcohol in there and lightly oaky. Odd because the mouth is thin but there are sweet and sticky textures in the finish with just a bit of dark chocolate in the finish.

Interesting beer but too much alcohol presence for a beer of this strength. A bit haphazard with the flavors too.


Brouwerij Van Steenberge

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Hercule Stout

Brewery: Brasserie Ellezelloise
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 8.4%
Date Poured: Feb 2009

Dense creamy tan head tops a pitch black body. Lots of dark fruit in the nose, very sweet, no hint of roastiness but there is a hint of alcohol

Wow. Smooth as velvet in the mouth, no hint of the alcohol whatsoever, just a pleasant warming effect in the finish. Sweet and fruity (ripe plums and raisin) with just a hint of roastiness in the finish. Bitter chocolate pops up in the finish too. Creamy, chocolaty flavors in the aftertaste.

Lighter in the mouth than you would expect for a big strong stout but that just makes it that much more drinkable. Different but delicious.





Brasserie Ellezelloise

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stouts: Buffalo (Version 1)

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 6.5%
Date Poured: March 2009

One of the focuses of my trip to Belgium was to seek out some examples of Belgian stout. So here's a mini-series of tasting notes on a few of the bottles I brought home. First up, a version of Buffalo from Brouwerij Van Den Bossche.

It pours pitch black with a dense and creamy tan head.

Smells of fruity dark malt, sweet and with a hint of some metallic aromas.

Sweet in the mouth with just a hint of roastiness. Lovely balance that I wasn't expecting. Mocha and hint of dark chocolate. Underpinnings of ripe dark fruit. Medium-bodied with a sweet finish and a uncharacteristically clean finish.

Very flavorful but smooth and drinkable. A good start!


Brouwerij Van Den Bossche

Tasting Notes: Alvinne Podge Belgian Imperial Stout

Brewery: Picobrouwerij Alvinne

Style: Belgian Imperial Stout (?)

ABV: 10.5%

Date Poured: October 2008

Alvinne is a brewery located in West Flanders and has been brewing in earnest since 2004. In addition to more traditional imperial stout ingredients, it is supposed to be brewed with candy sugar and a strain of Irish ale yeast.

Pours a murky dark brown with a thin brown head. Smells fruity. Like ripe dark fruit. Smells quite boozy with some vanilla and sweet dark malt too. Also lightly spicy.

Lots of dark fruit again, overpowering, with some dark chocolate and sweet roasty malt. This one is much more sweet than roasty. Some alcohol warming as it goes down. Sweet finish. Medium to full bodied. A sipper for sure.

Quite unusual but it's not half bad. Certainly different from your average imperial stout.


Picobrouwerij Alvinne