Special ’14
Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal

did they really need to blend all these crazy barrel project beers together? i dont even think they are all the same base, some lighter and some darker belgian strong ales if i remember right, and i havent had them all, but man, this cuvee of sorts is a bit much no? how could even the most highly in tune palate ever pick them all out, and how could some of these strange wines and spirits ever really work together? well, they sort of do, in a mucky soupy sense, but while they lose their original identities for sure, the beer definitely gains something. the only ones can pick out in the nose or taste are the grappa first, (once you drink grappa, you can pick it out anywhere), and the scotches, peaty and smoked and hard to hide in the blend, but those two work well together, and for all other others in here, its not a disgusting mire. lots of body, still an appreciable belgian yeast character of course, lots of booze, a bit of tannic red wine i think, raisin, plum, oak, body, and a little more of the dark grain than the lighter base beer, if in fact there are different base threads here. brown sugar, maybe port wine, when it warms even a little the alcohol takes over. i am not in love with this as one huge blend, but it does make me regret not picking up more of the base beers when they were around in those pricey boxes a few years back... its cool they even did this!

 

 

 

 

 

I had this on tap at Birch and Barley in D.C.

This is the blend of 13 distinct barrel aged beers including Port/Madiera/Cognac/Ardberg/Sautern/Grappa/Sherry/Brandy/Muscat/Port Charlotte/Octomore/Bruichladdich

The color is dark red with hazed appearance and thick tan head with large bead and streamers of lace stick. The smell is intensely woody and slightly sour with berry/stone fruit and tart smell of cherry with light spice and fragrant yeast funk wiht toasted grain and nutty accent. The feel is decent with tangy, creamy and moderately sweet texture with warming of alcohol and moderately low carbonation with strong dry finish.

The taste is very good with dried fruit and prune-like entry with spice and cherry flavors with mild toaste verging on smoke w/ subtle sweet and liquer-like complexity with malt holding a good foundation for the yeast to play off of with cohesive quality of the ingredients and plum-like tanginess with slight bitter herbal element but woody and lighly alcohol flavored in the finish. Overall this is a very complex blend that fluctuates between great and confusing- some wierd blends of barrel with slight sour flavors yet in the end I will side with the great since it could have been a muddled mess, but was very enjoyable.