3 French Hens
The Bruery

Copenhagen 24/1 2026. 37,5 cl heavy glass bottle from DrikBeer web-shop. Light green label in The Bruery's usual design.

Pours clear dark mahogany with a red hue. Mid-sized off-white head. A bit bubbly. Settles as a thin, patchy layer of foam unable of covering the surface of the beer. Moderate lacing.

Aroma is intense with a sweet malty and a bit sugary odor mingling with potent alcohol. Brown sugar, caramel and toffee. Dark alcohol looming underneath. Hints of plums and raisins. Whiff of sour grains.

Light carbonation. Rather thick, oily and viscous texture. Fat but lightly tingling.

Flavor is fairly intense with a strong sweetness followed by a medium strong bitterness. Aftertaste is sourishly bitter with a notable sweet undertone. Lingers for a while. Finish is semi-dry with a touch of alcohol.

A potent take on a Belgian Dark Ale,

 

 

 

Am I drinking the same bev I’m reading about here? While this one is dark, there is much more light making its way through than I expected. Translucent cherry along the edges. The nose is the most fragrant of the box, so far. The caramel and dark fruits hand-waving at arm’s length. The mouth is really nice…on the full side of medium and creamy from the effervescence. The flavor mirrored from the nose. The salted caramel lingers nicely. Spotty lacing. The 10% ABV is completely hidden. My favorite so far…12 days!!

 

 

 

Original bottle from the cellar
Pours a decent foamy head, fair retention, little lacing, dark but clear brown to chestnut color

Nose sweet candi sugar, toffee, a bit of cocoa and spices, mild oak, fruity notes

Taste some sweet malt, a little bbq sauce, fruit like fig, more spices, a touch of buttery oak, molasses semi sticky finish

Mouth is fuller bod, med to lower carb, a bit syrupy, just a touch of alcohol warmth

Aged ok, not as well as others

3 French Hens pours a dark brown with a medium-sized, massively lacing head. The aroma is sweet, with notes of oak, dried fig, and plums. Lovely flavor, with a hint of oak, but lots of dark, dry figs and plums, along with a hint of cinnamon. Good feel. Overall, sweeter and more flavorful, with a distinctly Christmas-like aroma.

Dark, brown color with a big, off-white head. Caramel malt, dark fruits, raisins, Belgian yeasts, and some wood in the aroma. Malty, Belgiany taste. Well balanced and not too sweet.

 

 

2024 release, Bottled 11/5/24 and poured into a Bruery tulip.

Deep dark brown, almost totally opaque. Nice two finger head.

Nose is dark fruit, Belgian, almost farmhousey.

Taste is raisin, dried plum, lots of stone fruit. Oak is also present, which adds a touch of vanilla.

Surprised this is 10%, not overly sweet, is pretty dry.

Really quite tasty, I enjoyed this!

From a bottle into a balloon glass. Pours a deep red-black with a short cap of foam and pronounced carbonation. The nose is bitter, belgian, and oak. I don't smell any booze, only oak. The flavor is oaky and cola-esque. Medium bodied and dry.

neat beer, one i thought id never try, missed it, but they remade them and this is the 2024 vintage, really good, but in the context of the more interesting and robust others in this series, i think its easy to sort of lose in the shuffle, unspiced i think, partially in french oak, and its a fine example of the style, but also just less exotic, despite its high refinement. a short off white head on top of a rich deep amber colored brew, some good carbonation activity, vanilla in the nose from the oak, some tannins too, long boiled grain richness, dark candy sugar, maple and toffee, nuances of raisin and tanned leather, some warming alcohol and quite a lot of sugar to it, familiar, understated on the yeast i think, makes sense for christmas, love belgian dark types this time of year, spices or not. brown sugar up front, then subtle red apple and mulled cider character, rich abbey type malts, raw honey, light vanilla, not overly woody, i think this is nicely restrained, long to finish, lots of residual sweetness, hints of clove and anise from the ferment, dates, dry cocoa. very nice beer, i probably need to have this on its own not in the context of others from the series on the same table to fully appreciate it, but an enjoyable and awfully well crafted beer in a style space so few american breweries can execute in at this level. yum.

750ml bottle thanks to Jeremy. Clear, deep brown body, small foamy head. Fruity aroma, belgian yeast and savory notes. Taste brings some cola, sweet malts with some winter spice. Dry and woody.

Review is for the 2022 version. Pours a murky dark brown, fizzy, cola-colored 2" head that settles out quickly to a thin ring, no cap. After settling, begins to clear up somewhat. Light streaky lacing. Nose is a ton of overripe pears, brown bread, baking spice. Candi sugar, booze, alpine amaro, banana. Taste is very sweet up front, estery, canned pears; light malt and barley roast; treacle and sugar syrup; warming baking and yeast spice. Feel is on the thick and syrupy side with small carbonation. Overall, I found this too sweet and cloying and without much depth, but perhaps it'll be better in 8 more years or so.

A: Poured into a snifter to a deep brown beer which is topped by a dense and slightly rocky finger of light tan head which fades quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of caramel, raisins, dark fruits, and hints of spicy yeast
T: Taste is caramel and dark fruits with some raisin notes, and some hints of spicy yeast. A little bready malt as well. On the finish there's more dark fruits, caramel, and lingering spice.
M: This beer has a body which is on the heavier side of medium with a slightly creamy feel. Carbonation is soft but it is adequate for the style while the beer has a fairly neutral finish.
O: Overall this is a perfectly acceptable Belgian Strong Dark. Nice flavors and decent complexity though maybe a touch on the simple side. Balance is good and the flavors are well integrated.

750ml bottle. Poured out a dark, dark brown color with a small, fizzy, khaki-colored head of foam. It left minimal lacing. It smelled of dried dark fruits, like plum and fig. Spices and bready notes, too. Sweet maltiness with plum, fig and earthy spcies.