Charbon smells and pours fine, meaning nothing stood out as notable at the start. This beer tastes belgian, like a smoked belgian, with a funny vanilla in it, and do I detect juniper? And now that I have reviewed the label more closely, I see vanilla is in there as a main component. Also, I see the word Charbon, and without running a Google Translate on it, I assume it means charcoal, or charbroiled, and whatever it might mean doesn’t really matter at this point because the idea is already in my head and sure enough bitter charred tastes are now rising to the top of my palate. You know, this beer reminds me of St0ne smoked vanilla porter, which I don’t really like, (although it plays well in crowds). And I have no interest in comparing the two in a side by side tasting. So anyway, I don’t like it. Final overall score = 3 smokestacks out of a total 7 smokestacks.
And one more thing, Charbon won an award in 2012, but not from us. Congrats.
| Brewer | De Dochter van de Korenaar |
| Beer Name | Charbon smoked vanilla-stout |
| Brewer’s Description | A classic dry stout of 7% vol alcohol, brewed with smoked wheat malt and flavored with fresh vanilla. Charbon is a beer with contradictions: the roasted flavors work together with the smoke flavor from oak-smoked wheat malt to give a good dose of pit with the beer. On the other hand the customized extract of fresh vanilla gives us a mild soft and subtle touch in the beer. The combination provides a thrilling Stout on which the antithetical taste nevertheless ensures a harmonious and balanced whole. |
| Food Pairings | Creamy soft cheeses |
| Brewery Location | Baarle-Hertog, Belgium |
| Alcohol content by volume | 7% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | 46 |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 6.6 (120 EBC) |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 3 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 3 |
| Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil) | 4 |
| Overall Happiness: 1 – 7 (sad – happy) | 3 |
De Dochter needs to spend a week focused on revising their website and general web presence. I see potential here:
http://www.dedochtervandekorenaar.be/?lang=en#vastebierenCntr
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