Scaldis Prestige De Nuits
Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl

From a corked, caged 750 ml. bottle that has a 2014 vintage date on the label. Sampled May 27. 2023. It comes with a nice, albeit tiny font, booklet attached.

The pour is a handsome red-hued brown color with a quick tan head that fizzles away fast. I might have liked more retention but that's just me.

I immediately get the oak aging and slight booze character in the aroma. Upon reflection, I pick up Graham cracker, oak, wood, breaded malt, and grape, apple or fruit-like sensations too.

The mouthfeel is medium to full, smooth, and vinous.

The taste is at first sweet, oaky, and fruity. But I sense a slight tart quality to this one too. Not a pucker-up sourness but it has this astringency that is slightly numbing. No bitterness but definitely a fruity quality. Warming. The 13% booze can be ascertained in the flavor more than the aroma. It is a sipper.

My word, what is the word? This one is pretty darn good. Not like riding Ghost Rider at Knott’s Berry Farm at 13 and then sucking face with the school hottie, but it’s about as good as smashing a funnel cake at the country fair.

Ok, I’m out of here.

 

 

750 ml stylish "champagne" bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Amber to brown colour, large cream-coloured head. Nice vinous aroma, notes of oak and "fruits of the forest", hints of farmhouse. Vinous, oaky and well balanced flavour with moderate but sufficient hops. Extremely drinkable for its strength.

 

 

poured from a 1pt. 9.4 fl. oz. 2014 caged and corked brown bottle

Scaldis Prestige de Nuits body is a cloudy dark amber and atop sat a small 1/2-finger off-white head that dissipated quickly to a thin collar. No lacing to speak of. The nose first picked up a sweet aroma [light] chocolate malt, then caramel and some spices. The taste is much the same as the nose with toffee and a slight red wine character. Mouth feel is high-medium to full bodied. A little sticky on the lips with a semi-dry finish.

Overall, at 13% abv it is a sipper, however it hides its strength well - an enjoyable ale.

De Cervezasespeciales. En copa Grimbergen. Jugando a Spiderman. Comprada en 2017. Géiser al abrirla. Predominancia de acidez avinada que no resulta excesiva pero que tapa el resto de matices y hace que resulte una experiencia algo anodina. Alcohol bien oculto para 13 grados y belga. Se sube poco a la cabeza

 

 

 

Brasserie Dubuisson Frères sprl "Scaldis Prestige"
750 ml brown glass bottle, corked & caged, "Cuvée Spéciale 2011"
$34.99 @ Roger Wilco, Pennsauken, NJ

Notes via stream of consciousness: When I think of Scaldis I think of Bush, is that correct? Let me look it up... yes, indeed, they're from the same brewery. Oddly, despite having had Bush many times before I've never reviewed it. Oh well, but what about the Scaldis, because this is Scaldis Prestige...? Ahh, I scored it a 4.15 out of 5, which is currently a positive deviation on BeerAdvocate of 6.14%. Wait a second, this is the same as the Bush Ambrée? I was originally thinking of the Bush Blonde but now it all makes sense - I'm in the United States right now, and here we cannot have Bush because of a lawsuit with Anheuser-Busch so I've only been drinking Bush overseas. OK, got it. So I'm guessing that this is essentially Bush Ambrée with a touch more gravity, or more likely, a little bit more fermentation due to an extended period in oak barrels. I wish I'd realized that earlier because I would have bought a bottle of Scaldis to try side by side with it. Whatever. So, it's poured a very hazy deep amber but not quite copper colored body beneath a short head of off-white. The aroma is sweetish, malty, grainy, caramelish, fruity, gently phenolic from Belgian yeast, subtly oaky, and perhaps a touch alcoholic. I'm not finding any hop notes but I wouldn't really expect to. It's a full and interesting aroma, and in the Belgian tradition the additional note from the oak is kept less than prominent - the beer itself is the main point. On to the flavor... well, I think I could just repeat everything that I just said about the aroma. It's sweetish, malty, grainy, caramelish, fruity like apples and pears and plums and dark raisins, slightly vinous, gently phenolic from the Belgian yeast (maybe more than just gently), and - here's the twist - fairly oaky. The alcohol has a presence, but it's a veiled presence, and at 13% abv I'd call it quite refined. It doesn't step out front but you know it's there, and that's perfect. The bitterness is medium, but it finishes dry with at least a little help from the alcohol. Some minimal malt lingers gently and then fades giving way to notes of fig, plum, sweet black grapes, black currant, a mild bitterness, and a spritz of alcohol. In the mouth it's medium leaning towards fuller bodied but cut back by the alcohol, and gently crisp but enhanced by a little sting from the alcohol once you get a few sips into it. What are the drawbacks? Limited head retention and lacing. Maybe, but no, not really. I understand that higher alcohol cuts head retention and lacing but for a beer of this size with so much residual sugar it should be better, right? Wrong. It's also aged in oak which means a lot of transfers which means a lot of foaming properties are lost so... I have to give them a break. I still have to review it as I see it, but I am giving it some flexibility on that. Beyond that I see no flaws. It's pretty perfect as it is. The question then goes to cost, and I never bring this while reviewing beers because the cost has nothing to do with the quality and flavor of the beer, but seeing as how this is so expensive I thought I'd mention it. It is a little pricey, at least in comparison to similar high-quality beers. Is that touch of oak worth it to you? I can't say. I like it but I could also live without it. As a one-off expensive beer I'm glad I tried it as I really enjoyed it, and you only get to go around once, right?

Review #6,651

 

 

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass; 2014 vintage bottling, best before 3/11/2017. Pours moderately hazy/cloudy deep reddish orange/copper color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of huge raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, currant, raspberry, blackberry, apricot, red apple, red grape, peppercorn, red/white wine, cinnamon, clove, nuttiness, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, molasses, brown bread, and biscuit; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, licorice, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/spicy yeast, wine barrels, and dark/bready malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge raisin, plum, prune, cherry, fig, date, currant, raspberry, blackberry, apricot, red apple, red grape, peppercorn, red/white wine, cinnamon, clove, nuttiness, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, molasses, brown bread, and biscuit; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, licorice, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate peppery yeast/oak spiciness and light wine tang/tartness on the finish. Lingering notes of dark fruits, currant, cherry, berry, apricot, red apple, red grape, peppercorn, red/white wine, cinnamon, clove, nuttiness, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, toffee, molasses, brown bread, biscuit, vanilla, licorice, herbal, grass, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, wine barrels, and dark/bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/spiciness and wine tang/tartness balance; with zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from yeast/oak spiciness, wine tang/tartness, and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and fairly full body; with a very smooth, creamy/bready/sticky/tannic, and lightly slick/syrupy/acidic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden; a lightly increasing warmth of 13%, with minimal booziness lingering after the finish. Overall this is an incredible barrel aged Belgian strong dark ale! All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/spicy yeast, wine barrels, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the huge ABV. Perfect balance of yeast, malt, and Bourgogne barrel complexity. Never overly sweet/heavy feeling for the big ABV. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example. Definitely worth the price to try once.