Val Dieu Brune
ABV: 6.5%
Origin: Aubel, Liège, Wallonia
Website: valdieu.com
First published: 6 November 2000
Another review from the archive written for the pioneering Oxford Bottled Beer Database (OBBD). I’ve left it uncorrected — so please read it in that historical spirit. This beer is still available, though has had its ABV hiked to 8% since this was written.
One of the unusual micro-brewed specialities at 2000’s Catford Beer Festival, this beer comes from a small scale secular operation in a former monastic brewery at Aubel. It’s a very inviting strong bottle-conditioned abbey brown, with malty aromas, a chocolatey fruit palate with some phenolic complexity, and a brown sugar sweetness balanced by warming alcohol and restrained hops. The lengthy finish is also predominantly sweetish. It’s well made and distinctive, if not particularly distinguished and probably a bit oversweet for some tastes, but at this strength you’re hardly likely to guzzle it in quantity.
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