Loterbol Bruin
Café-Brouwerij Loterbol

Loterbol BruinLoterbol Bruin
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From:
Café-Brouwerij Loterbol
 
Belgium
Style:
Belgian Dark Strong Ale
ABV:
8%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.97 | pDev: 14.36%
Reviews:
67
Ratings:
78
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 19, 2015
Added:
Dec 24, 2003
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Photo of papat444
Rated by papat444 from Canada (QC)

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Flashback #254
Aug 19, 2015
Photo of pat61
Reviewed by pat61 from Minnesota

4.27/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Some mild tart on the also some fruit – tending towards raisin. It pours opaque chestnut brown with an off-white ½” foam cap. Dark dried fruit on the palate - primarily some raisins with a balance of sweetness and light tartness in the background. Not much in the way of bitterness. Some alcohol, some caramel a hint of chocolate and a suspicion of sherry or port. Medium to a little less than medium for carbonation. Body medium to full.
Mar 18, 2015
 
Rated: 4.1 by UniversitateaDeBere from Romania

Jan 30, 2015
Photo of Slatetank
Reviewed by Slatetank from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -6.8%
I enjoyed this at Delices et Caprices in Brussels - poured chilled from the bottle in a glass.

The color is hazed dark amber with thick foam of white with sporadic lace stickage and good retention with fine bead. The smell has a hint of floral with nutty and lightly yeasty esters with wheat malt aroma w/ subtle alcohol and mild earthiness in the yeast which dominates. The feel is pretty light in body wiht mild sweetness and gentle toasted texture with medium high carbonation with slight alcohol impact with earthy dry finish.

The taste has a moderately earthy grainy flavor with toasted husky and mild biscuit-like taste with medium high alcohol in the taste and gentle herbal accent with mild grainy flavor continuing and hint of honey-like sweetness from the malt and light yeast spice with subtle alcohol until the finish which is mostly dry. This is a very good belgian but probably my least favorite of the evening -pretty strong yet worth a try.
Sep 04, 2014
 
Rated: 3.45 by mattfancett from England

Aug 30, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by XmnwildX12 from Minnesota

Dec 13, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by ajzy from Wisconsin

Dec 07, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by bsuedekum from Missouri

Mar 30, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by impending from California

Jan 12, 2013
 
Rated: 1 by TectonicFun from Illinois

Oct 21, 2012
Photo of Flounder57
Reviewed by Flounder57 from Massachusetts

4.11/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750 ml bottle was poured into a tulip glass. Best before December of 2008, but seems like most other reviewers don't mind reviewing the beer even though it is past it's end date. Her we go folks.

Appearance: This beer poured a crazy ass puffy head that took several additional pours to get a decent amount of beer in the glass. It is a dark crimson color with some clarity when held up to the light and plenty of bubbles rising up through the center of the glass. Awesome to see a beer hold up well after so many years.

Smell: super caramel malts, dark fruit aromas, but really not picking up much after that.

Taste: caramel malts, cherries, dark fruits like plums and raisins, interestingly I get a touch flavor too, and a very tasty brew.

Mouthfeel: full bodied, medium carbonation, smooth, some creaminess, a little dry, and easy to drink.

Overall: For a beer that was best before December 2008, this bad boy held up well with time. I guess it aged well in the store and now it will age well in my tummy too. MMM, MMM delicious.
Aug 10, 2012
Photo of Absumaster
Reviewed by Absumaster from Netherlands

4.17/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A 750 mL bottle, just for my self.. This bottle pours a brown, red hued beer with a big head that falls apart into soapy bubbles.

Smell is perfumy with hints of all kinds of fruits, sweet cherries, strawberries, figs, dates and tobacco, maybe a hint of bees wax. Through this a little sulfur shines through. A wonderful sniffer beer.

Taste is soft. There are tastes of caramel malt, cacao, chocolate, a whiff of alcohol and maybe a little solvent. The yeast adds a lot of flavors, which are very interesting. The moutfeel is smooth, but after swallowing the beer leaves a nice warming feeling. Just a little prickly from the carbonation and alcohol.
Jul 13, 2012
 
Rated: 4.75 by Morningstorm from Netherlands

Mar 25, 2012
 
Rated: 2.5 by Stoutsman from Kansas

Jan 14, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Nov 25, 2011
Photo of flagmantho
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington

4.15/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Poured from 330mL bottle into a tulip.

Appearance: rich dark brown hue with a ruby tinge when held up to the light. Head is three thick fingers of frothy light-tan foam. Very nice.

Smell: sweet and fruity aroma. I'm getting pears, plums and something akin to a tart strawberry. Very interesting; I like it.

Taste: rich malt flavor with a lot of depth. Sweet malt base malt starts it off and finishes with a very smooth chocolate character; the fruitiness remains throughout much like in the aroma. There is a little bit of tartness and perhaps some over-attenuation, but basically it's a very, very tasty beer.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a huge carbonation and concomitant creaminess. The effect is magnificent.

Overall: this is a highly satisfying dark Belgian ale. I would love to be able to quaff this right from the source.
Nov 23, 2011
Photo of mrfrancis
Reviewed by mrfrancis from Kentucky

2.68/5  rDev -32.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
A: Pours a dark brownish amber with a thick khaki head. It looks appealing, especially when held up to the light.

S: The expected aromas of dark candy sugar, toffee, dark chocolate, coffee, and heavy cream are present. Notes of resinous hops peek through
upon further investigation.

T: Starts off sweet and rich with notes of dark chocolate, coffee, toffee, vanilla bean, candy sugar, and heavy cream. The taste becomes noticeably more bitter just before the fade with spicy, resinous hops, warming alcohol, and an odd, unwelcome burnt flavor creating a distracting and discordant contrast with the earlier sweet sensations.

M: Medium-to-full bodied with a thick, somewhat sticky feel to it. Definitely not a mouthfeel to write home about in my opinion.

O: This beer starts off strong, but falls apart on the finish. It's simply too heavy-handed and overbearing, and the way in which it flits between sweet and bitter is distracting. Perhaps I got a bad bottle...
Oct 04, 2011
Photo of allforbetterbeer
Reviewed by allforbetterbeer from Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a Swiss wine snifter at cellar temp.

The body of this beer is crystal clear and deep, dark crimson. The head is eager and light tan, and looks soft and pillowy.

The nose displays a definite vinous character, but with a dryer malt-base as opposed to grape. I don't detect hops, but I do smell a bit of dry dark sugar and a hint of sour apple.

The flavor is very interesting and layered. I was expecting something on the sweeter heavy side but instead this isn't a malt bomb or caramel sipper. I would guess that a substantial amount of highly fermentable dark sugar was added to this beer, and that accounts for the drier character and almost wine-like vinous notes. I have tasted something like this in long-aged English barelywines of a much higher ABV. There is some malt present here, mostly pale but some from the chocolate-roast range adding a slightly chocolaty/cocca/caramel bitterness. Old dusty dried figs are detected (as odd as this sounds this is an awesome flavor). Additional notes of leather, age old hops, and a kiss of musty wood grace this nuanced flavor.

The mouthfeel is medium in body and well carbonated, but not harshly so.

Conclusion: I bought this hoping it would be a flanders style brown (the label says bruin, which I thought might indicate "Oud Bruin"). When I looked it up and found that it was a Belgian Strong Dark Ale I was disappointed, and figured it would be another semi-interesting offering in this popular style. I am very impressed however, as this is a step above the usual. The flavor is complex and layered, and needs sipping through additional bottles to comprehend fully.
Sep 08, 2011
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
33cl bottle, best before May 2010. Poured into a goblet, this brew appears a murky brown color with 2 fingers of creamy khaki head. The cap holds with solid retention that slowly fades leaving patches of lacework on the glass.

The smell of this brew includes sweet Belgian candy sugar, brown sugar, raisins, plums, chocolate, light spiced aspect, citrus and tangy alcohol. Faint herbal hops keep the sweet smelling aspect of this brew in check.

The taste is sweet Belgian candy sugar initially mixed with some toffee and caramel malt. A solid presence of 8% alcohol is felt with herbal hops to balance. Faint chocolate malt with a light musty aspect. Spicy Belgian yeast throughout yet dry on the finish with a crisp light candy flavoring. Nice balance of candy sweetness to herbal hop bitterness.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest level of carbonation. Big alcohol warmth yet balanced very well. A fine example of the style. The best before date seemingly means nothing here, it could have been aged for several more years I feel without I'll effect.
Aug 19, 2011
Photo of Rayek
Reviewed by Rayek from Colorado

4.19/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a Tulip.

A: Murky chestnut brown, with a fair amount of yeast despite a gentle pour. A huge cream cap slowly, but surely settles to a patchwork quilt of foam. Leaves intermittent chunks of lace.

S: Vinous and slightly spicy. Dark fruits in the form of raspberry, raisin, prune and a lot of strawberry are out first. Some pepper and clove sit behind. Alcohol brings a light tingle to the nostrils.

T: The dark fruits from the nose sweep quickly into the initial flavor. A pepper and clove spiciness comes on quickly and provides a greater bite than the nose would indicate. Alcohol adds a light warmth going down. A mild sourness hits at the very end.

M: The medium body is slightly doughy and has soft, yet vigorous carbonation.

D: This is a nice Belgian Strong Dark that drinks lighter than it is. I was through my bottle quite quickly for a beer this strong. An excellent overall pickup. Definitely a beer to serve on the warm side, as mine got better and better as it lost its cool.
Nov 28, 2010
Loterbol Bruin from Café-Brouwerij Loterbol
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 78 ratings