De Ranke: Noir De Dottingries (Belgium: Belgian Strong Ale: 8.5% ABV)
Visual: Very dark brown to black. Thin brown cover of a head.
Nose: Brown sugar. Black liquorice. Fig rolls. Sultanas.
Body: Plums. Burnt brown sugar. Caramel. Charring. Figs. Black liquorice. Smooth. Bitter cocoa. Slight ash.
Finish: Charring to charcoal. Burnt sugar. Bitterness. Black liquorice. Alcohol air.
Conclusion: Ok, when I say I find a lot of the USA Belgian style ales a bit too smooth, this Belgian beer feels like it takes just the tiniest touch of that extra smoothness and balances it with a lot of delicious and intriguing rough edges that are much more at home with the more traditional Belgian take.
The actual mouthfeel is quite smooth, with present alcohol but definitely smoothed from what you would expect from over 8% abv. In the body anyway, instead the alcohol lingers as a slight, and not unwelcome, alcohol air in the finish.
There is a familiar and welcome set of sweet dark fruit notes, lots of lovely plums and figs showing but with also charring elements that represent those rough edges and even a rare excellent use of liquorice notes that ground it while making the sweeter notes pop. All around that are burnt sugar notes that are sweet but also that burnt feel pushes it down so it never feels too sweet.
This is polished, but knows when to let the polish slip and how to work the rough edges that come through when it does, balancing on the edge of both so it manages to feel both refined and rough at the same time.
Another impressive De Ranke beer.
Background: Independent Spirit got in a six pack box set of De Ranke beers, which I of course had to get, and if I was getting, well it would be rude to not do notes on at least of them. Which is what we now have here. Been enjoying De Ranke most times I find them so had good hopes for this. Not much else to add – put on Fear Factory: Demanufacture as backing music as it seemed heavier music would go well with a dark heavy beer, and I was seeing them live soon so seemed a good match.
