Troubadour Obscura
The Musketeers Brouwerijcafé

Troubadour ObscuraTroubadour Obscura
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From:
The Musketeers Brouwerijcafé
 
Belgium
Style:
Foreign / Export Stout
Ranked #28
ABV:
8.2%
Score:
87
Ranked #16,075
Avg:
3.89 | pDev: 11.83%
Reviews:
248
Ratings:
448
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 08, 2024
Added:
Sep 21, 2003
Wants:
  16
Gots:
  28
Troubadour Obscura is a mild dark red-brown beer with a balanced Belgian twist. Immediately after the first sip of this beer, the difference with other Belgian dark beers becomes apparent. The solid taste of malt originates from the combination of four different malts used in the brewing of this beer. Discover all the different notes: chocolate, coffee, vanilla…
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by stephenlee:
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Rated by stephenlee from England

4.4/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Jan 15, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.68 by groleau from Canada (QC)

Mar 08, 2024
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Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

4.03/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
330 mL bottle from the LCBO served at cellar temperature. No bottling or BB date anywhere to be found, which in my experience is unusual for a Belgian beer.

Pours clear and effervescent, its beautiful ruby red-hued body topped with three fingers of foamy, light beige-coloured head that lasts for more than five minutes. A thick coat of lace remains, with lumpy gobs of resilient suds constituting a generous cap and collar - looks fantastic to me. It smells of overripe, mushy brown bananas, cherry, fig and caramel, with lesser suggestions of roasted malts/cocoa, raisin and spiciness; moderate ethanol fumes.

The flavour profile is comparable, reminding me of a Belgian dark/English brown ale mash-up. Overripe banana, caramelized sugars, fig and molasses, backed by hints of cocoa, raisin and peppery clove spice. Mild to moderate roastiness on the back end with an earthy, coffee ground-like bitterness, alongside fading flavours of dried dark fruit and Belgian yeast spiciness; the aftertaste is a little warming. Nearing full-bodied, with aggressive carbonation at first - I had to take my time with this glass, pouring it slowly and letting the bubbles exhaust themselves so that this brew's nuances could show themselves. Limited drinkability; a little hot for 8.2%, but I can dig it.

Final Grade: 4.03, an A-. Troubadour Obscura was only vaguely stout-like, which I suppose is typical of my (limited) experience with Belgian stouts - as far as I can tell, they're just Belgian dark ales with a non-traditional malt bill that imparts some of those cocoa/coffee/roasty flavours you'd expect from a real stout. While I enjoyed my glass, it was pretty underwhelming by Belgian standards, as there's nothing particularly exciting, memorable or unique worth mentioning here. Still a good strong ale, worth trying at least once, but definitely not a world beater, or much of a stout in the first place.
Dec 29, 2023
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Reviewed by Cramshawbar from Canada (ON)

2.85/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 2
Pours dark copper as kind of expected with the usual aggressive head strong Belgian beer is known for. The nose is also of familiar fig, malt, banana bread, caramel, etc. concoction.
But the taste is all over the place. Tart, somewhat sour, boozy, but also very bitter, with a tiny hint of a tripel.
I am not sure whether this one went bad, but I couldn't continue after a couple of sips.
One of my very few drain pours.
Nov 18, 2023
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Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

3.98/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
330 ml bottle served into a goblet. LCBO purchase.

Appearance - Chestnut brown with plenty of tan head. A good finger and a half of it with very good staying power. Modest lacing clings to the sides.

Smell - Dark fruits, brown sugar with a healthy bready underbelly.

Taste - Bready malts, some dark fruits, suggestions of molasses. Not bitter, but has an undercurrent of that. Roasted malts through and through. Trace of licorice.

Mouthfeel - Medium-full bodied. Not boozy but can feel the higher ABV in the back of the throat. Semi-dry finish.

Overall - Very solid Belgian dark ale, good flavors and leans more bready than a number of it's direct competitors.
Nov 17, 2023
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Reviewed by scott451 from Canada (ON)

3.89/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured a 330 ml bottle into a nonic. A big four finger bubbly light brown head on a hazy amber brown. Good head retention and lots of lacing.
Caramel malt smells.
Malt forward. Sweet toffee, caramel and licorice.
Medium body and carbonation.
Smooth and well balanced. well worth a try.
Nov 12, 2023
Photo of Budala
Reviewed by Budala

4.25/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This may sound odd but I would strongly recommend pouring this beer very aggressively to knock out some of the carbonation and serving it no colder than 13C/56F. This beer seemed a three (at best) overall when cold and fully carbonated but it really opens up into a nice very drinkable beer and the rich malty-ness and spice (nutmeg and allspice) to shine through. Personally I find 15-18 C (60+ F) to be optimal for this beer and getting it from 3+ volumes of CO2 down to 2 or less helps enormously - think UK cask beer. Doing this made me go from, "Shoot, wish I hadn't bought 3" to "Gotta pick up some more while it's around."
Oct 23, 2023
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Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.69/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
December 2017: 330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet Kvadrat. ABV is 8.2%. Dark brown colour, large beige head. Aroma of malts, brown kandij sugar, mild spices and exotic woodwork. Medium sweet flavour with brown malts, brown kandij sugar and caramel. Minimal hops.
Oct 11, 2023
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Reviewed by BillyNoonan from Ireland

4.24/5  rDev +9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Toasty malty goodness. Rich black oak colour. Big head, beautiful lacing that sticks around the rim. Coffee, chocolate and raisin cake. More effervescent than expected and that's quite a nice surprise. Genuinely lovely, if a little easy to drink. ABV dangerously well masked!
Jul 08, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by bigred89 from Maryland

May 07, 2023
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Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
750ml bottle into a globular glass. Could not find any year of release.

Looks fantastic in the reverse snowman glass I chose for this drink. Dark chocolate brown body with a massive tan head. This leaves a sheet of lacing throughout the drink.

Aroma is hard to get through the head. Good and malty, with a hint of dried dark skin fruit.

On tasting, a delicious drink. Very malty, dark skin fruit, a little chocolate, with a faint roast right at the end.

Mouth full, finish bittersweet with that light roast touch.

Overall, I see there is some dispute on the style here. The brewer has "Mild Stout" on the bottle. Good enough for me, and an accurate description. Tasty drink whatever you call it. Better than its average here.
Feb 27, 2022
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Rated by Dentist666 from Russian Federation

3.67/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
The beer is actually belgian dark strong ale. No evidence of stout here.
May 05, 2021
 
Rated: 4.25 by steverx8 from England

Oct 18, 2020
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Reviewed by The_Bujon from Ireland

4.34/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pours a very hazy dirty brown, topped by a decent head, not the prettiest, but I find it strangely appealing. Lacing is excellent.

Aroma is excellent, lots of plumb, smokey spiced malts and figs.

Taste is on the sweet side, those spiced fruits and smokiness comes through, a real winner.

Smooth finish, refreshing on the palette. One word........"Quaffable"

Overall this is an extremely good beer, bordering on world class, and certainly worth more than its current average score of 3.9
Jul 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.21 by arzt from Germany

Jun 25, 2020
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Reviewed by Snowcrash000 from Germany

3.9/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Pours a clear, deep mahogany coloration with a ruby tint when held up to the light and a huge, creamy, lasting head leaving thick wisps of lace as it slowly fades. Smells of caramel malt, candi sugar and lighter chocolate and coffee aromas, as well as just a hint of estery spice. Taste is a good balance of slightly roasted, bready, caramel malt, candi sugar, dark, estery fruit with notes of raisin, plum and a hint of banana, lighter estery spice with notes of clove and a hint of vanilla and just a hint of chocolate, coffee and herbal hops. Finishes bittersweet, with a very light bitterness and some candi sugar, dark fruit and estery spice lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a medium/rich body and medium carbonation.

This really feels more like a Belgian Strong Dark Ale than a Stout, although perhaps it is intended as a mix of the two and certainly makes for intriguing brew. Personally, I find the strong, sweet candi sugar note just a little overpowering, but there still is a rather nice complexity and good overall balance to this with the lightly roasted malt, estery spice, coffee and herbal hops providing some counterbalance among the also sweeter dark fruit and chocolate notes, while there is also a light bitterness in the finish. Overall still rather enjoyable, although I'm not a huge fan of the style.
Jun 14, 2020
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Reviewed by JonnoWillsteed from England

3.54/5  rDev -9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
L- Deep red/brown. Somewhat cloudy with more sediment left in bottle. Pours with 1Cm fine-bubble tan head.
S- It has some pungency but hard to ID specific elements. I sense a mild fruit and liquor-ish notes.
T- Quite deeply roasty-toasty, the pungency of that seems to build. Deep malts too with just a hint over towards sweetness. (Re: the latter, I never favour sweet notes so this is a beer I'd need to serve pretty well chilled, and then not linger with drinking).
F- Deep, pungent, slow-sipping. The style (to me) is a deep-winter warmer.
O- It's big and bold, I'd drink it again, but it's not fully wowing me. For it's depth of flavour and higher ABV%, which usually creates a great foundation to build character/identity on I'm struggling to find anything I'd recognise as this beer is a future blind tasting. It's maltier and materially less toasty than most higher ABV% black beers I've enjoyed recently. In fact until I rechecked the Description above^ again, about half-way into writing this I'd lapsed into assuming this was a Bruin style beer.
330ml bottle BB: 13/03/2022. Bought from BelgiumInABox, Antwerp/BE for home delivery to me in London/UK.
May 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by Gooljd from England

Mar 27, 2020
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Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.82/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
a really cool belgian stout here, a style i love, and we dont see nearly enough of in existence. its cool to have a stout be fermentation forward, especially when its not sour or wild, and thats exactly what we have here, a big rich dark stout with an almost saison yeast profile to it, rustic and old worldy, some belgian esters in the mix, and the fusion with the dark grain is awesome. things like licorice and tobacco jump right out of this, a little molasses or black treacle sweetness and bitterness at the same time, a deep roasted campfire-esque element, and then some high tone notes like banana, white pepper, and port wine. i also get espresso, chicory, and black pepper, and dried fruits. its quite complex, and increasingly so as it warms up. the alcohol is present the whole time, but its not hot, just sort of warm and slowing the drink down a little bit, allows me to fully appreciate each sip. the body here is bigger, but the carbonation is awesome, and this drinks light for what it is, even with the strength and the sweet both at work in the finish. very cool beer overall, and a fun recent find, you dont see these beers around as much anymore, so i was stoked to score one. really enjoyed this as an after dinner sipper on a full belly!
Jul 22, 2019
Troubadour Obscura from The Musketeers Brouwerijcafé
Beer rating: 87 out of 100 with 448 ratings