Valeir Donker
Brouwerij Contreras

Copenhagen 9/7 2018. 33 cl little chubby bottle from Den Belgiske Ølbutik, Jyllingevej, Vanløse. Stylistic Crusader on the label.

Pours unclear dark brown with a red hue. A lot of yeast drifting around adding to the murkiness. Small off-white head. Settles as a fine 0,2 cm thick layer fluffy foam covering the surface of the beer. Substantial lacing.

Aroma is strong and sweet. Sweet malts. Very light roast. Strong dark sugar. Wood. Humid basement. Modest sour notes tickling my nose. The sourish bitterness get more pronounced as the beer warms up.

Medium strong carbonation. Medium thick, creamy, soft texture.

Flavor is medium sweet followed by a surprisingly strong bitterness. Aftertaste is a little thin. Medium bitter with subdued sweetness.

The aroma is like a whiff of Heaven but the taste is a little disappointing. But a solid Belgian.

Look: It pours brown with a tan head. Head retention is moderate and it is lacking the typical Belgian lace.

Smell: It has a chocolate aroma up front with a bit of sugary sweetness. There are low levels of dark fruit, but not distinguishable. There is also a caramel smell that is strong and intermixed with the other aromas. The is a very low level of roast.

Taste: It is a bit sweet with chocolate and caramel flavors. There are hints of dark fruit with low levels of roast.

Feel: It has a medium body with a somewhat sweet finish.

Overall, it reminds me of a sweet porter in a way with the flavors and sweetness.

L- Deep chestnut brown, pours clear (though minor sediment left in bottle). 3Cm tan pillowy head (holds well).
S- Roasty-toasty grains.
T- ... follows the Smell^ and into a hoppy-dry finish, overall it has quite a deep flavour for a 6.5%.
F- The roasty-toasty aspect and hoppy-dryness balance well.
O- It's enjoyable, pretty intensely flavoured but well balanced overall.
330ml bottle BBE@:11/01/2021

 

I was unimpressed until it warmed up to room temperature.

L: dark brown color,cloudy , thing top of head tha disolves quickly. not much lacings here.the color is beautifull tough

S: roasted malts, caramel ,burned sugar, some hints of dark fruits like plums and figues

T&F: Starts sweet with dark fruits , in the middle and finish i think the roasted malt takes over , i also sense spices. The beer gets more to sour and bitter in the ending, with the malt dominating in the aftertaste, the aftertaste last a good while. The thing i not so satisfied with is the watery flavour i get of this beer.and the taste all together I did not favor to much

O: A good belgian beer ,but nothing more, i have been more satisfied with the other types of valeir i have tasted. Else the beer was enjoyable, but i would like a lot more flavours

From the bottle, it pours a hazy slightly reddish brown with an off-white head. Yeast and fruit in the nose. The mouth is enticed by the yeast and the malt. Easy to drink and enjoyable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a dirty brown hue with a subtle one finger head that stays and leaves nice clingy lacing everywhere,the smell is chestnuts,dried fruits,candi sugar and a touch of milk chocolate,the mouthfeel is medium bodied and well carbonated over moderate and the tastes are milk chocolate,dried fruits,candi sugar and finished with a roasty nuttiness and overall a pleasant surprise not fantastic but easy to drink.

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle had an expiration date of 10-Dec-2013 on it.

Pours a brownish straw color with two fingers of head that retain for a very long time. The nose is a combination of yeast and sour fruits. There is also some fruitiness in the taste along with a nice semi-dry finish.

This is a good Belgian ale, but I'd probably call it a pale ale instead of a dark ale.