Winter 2010/11.
My review on RateBeer:
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 14/20
AHTOH (45) - San Diego, USA - FEB 23, 2011
750 mL bottle. Bottled on 10/30/09. Drank 2/22/11. Poured into Duvel tulip.
APPEARANCE: Pours a very dark brown color that is opaque. When held to light, is deep caramel brown with slight hues of ruby, as well as pink and amber. Thick tan head is 2-3 fingers and has long duration. Head eventually settles in a pillowy fashion.
AROMA: Sour – like an oud bruin – is the most prominent aroma. Chocolate (like powdered light milk chocolate) and caramel. Subtle notes of spices – allspice and nutmeg appear most discernible. Faint hint of chili on nose.
TASTE: Tart and acidic – similar to an oud bruin. Front of palate is acidic. Mid palate is some light malt sweetness with notes of chocolate and light caramel. Spices on mid palate as well. Back of palate has a nice amount of chocolate come through (behind the tart/acidic character). Finish has pleasant touch of heat from the chili – discernible, though hardly overbearing.
MOUTH FEEL: Lighter body than expected. Somewhat crisp. Lively carbonation.
OVERALL: Oud Bruin (Flanders brown [a sour]) with Mexican hot chocolate notes. Given its classification as Spice/Herb/Vegetable instead of a stout (eg, Ommegang Chocolate Indulgence is grouped as a stout), was unsure what to expect. Hardly expected something this tart. At first thought it was infected. Still unsure if Telegraph was going for a sour with this. Wanted to like this, though must admit: better in theory than in practice. Aroma much more pleasant than taste. Although oud bruin has its time and place, this would have been much better if it had a different style as a base. Furthermore, it seems the sour character mixed with notes of Mexican hot chocolate hardly work well together.
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