t Smisje Calva Reserva

Brewed with Barley malt, wheat malt, vienna malt, and caramalt; Hallertauer, and Kent Goldings hops; Dark candy sugar, and White candy sugar; and Coriander, and Grain de Paradise. Finally it is aged in E.Dupont calvados cask 6 months.

Primary Fermentation: 2 Weeks

Secondary Fermentation in Bottle: Champagne yeast, port yeast and ale yeast

3.5

320 reviews

Mater, Belgium

Community reviews

3.4 Bottle picked up at Mr. B’s, Denver. The pour’s hazy deep amber with a small head. The aroma’s roasted apples, grain, pears, brown sugar. The taste is more pears. A touch of peat bog. Pepper. Raspberry tart and brown bread. Medium body, fine carbonation. Overall, solid.

3.7 Bottle shared at Bruce’s, London - big thanks to the honorable Jack. Pours murky golden-brown with a frothy, tam head. Some tangy fruits in the nose, bread, caramel. Medium sweet flavor, lots of leathery fruits, dry and toasty caramel, bread. Full bodied with fine, spritzy carbonation. Warm finish, some boozy kick, caramel, toast, light earthy bitterness, some citrus, more leathery fruits. Decent beer.

3.8 bottle at home ... thanks to jackl ... light hazy copper ... thin lacing ... soft candi sugr nose ... light cinamon nose.... little fizz ... soft roast malts ... soft sweet mustard tones ??? ... light roast dark sugers ... reminds me of Zeeuwse bolus ... soft barrel ... rich smooth and sweet ... hints of lemon and cinnamon ...

4.7 Bottle from K & L wines. Underrated. Awesome strong beers by this brewer. Color great cloudy brownish orange. Alcohol up front on the tongue and burns the back of the throat slightly going down. Flavor is interesting aged apricot and plum on sweet old dusty wood. A little sour personality. Old ale. Your nose in it all day.A special beer that reminds you of special moments. Mmmmmmn.

4.0 Bottled, red amber color with strong off white foam, aroma of sour apple and malt vinegar, great flavor of caramel apples , red wine vinegar, malty sweet sour finish , excellent

3.0 HOME 20130401 (33 cl bottle, duvel type; so another type bottle and other label than pictured): Starts with gushing and a lot of beige-coloured foam. An amber coloured, clear beer. Aroma: sweet & caramel, malt, slight chocolate, some coriander, bread, yeast, slightly sourness/oxidation (looks like older beer), raisins. The taste is sweet (caramel, brown candy sugar) with an upcoming malty bitterness. Fruity (apple, dark fruit, berries). Some coriander and some other spices. Also some oxidation in the taste which give the fruity taste of port. The aftertaste is still sweet (sticky) and some malt bitterness. Overall is this a reasonable beer with a lot of aroma and taste, but is already a little to old.

3.0 No bottling date, label is different than the picture though. Appearance: Murky sweet tea colored body with a thin creamy tan coating. Aroma: The aroma is complex with sweet apple, alcohol, and brown sugar. Brown sugar is most notable after sitting for a minute. Taste: Apples are on the intro, rather sweet, but as the beer approaches the mid taste the flavor gets hot with booze and a strong brown sugar presence. This is a bit much to finish even a glass of, let alone the 11.2 ounce bottle. Palate: Thick with lively carbonation. Overall: I can’t imagine drinking the full 11.2 ounces this. This is strong of booze and brown sugar and it tastes very fresh. I am having a hard time sipping on this.

3.6 Pours a caramel brown color with a fizzy cream colored head. Aroma of cherry, plum, caramel, and candii sugar. Very sweet flavor with candii sugar, caramel, plum, and hint of alcohol. Nice beer, but a tad too sweet.

3.3 330 ml. bottle. Pours reddish brown with a nice biege head. Aroma of dark fruits, malt, and caramel. Taste is caramel, plums, cherries, malt, spice, and alcohol. Lots going on here. Just not sure of what is going on.

3.3 Cloudy dark amber with a fast disappearing head and no lace. The taste is, first and foremost, strong alcohol, all 11% abv. There is malt and there are prunes and candied fruits as well with a wisp of smoke near the finish. It is almost too potent to enjoy, except maybe with a good cigar. I did notice that larger mouthsful were far more palatable than sips. Potent stuff.

4.2 Thanks Tim at the 1st Official Ledebronckx Barrel Aged Academie Grand Elite Tasting Pours hazy orangish brown with a big loose fizzy head that falls to a thin blanket. The smell is cherry, booze, calvados, butterscotch and a touch of wood. The taste is sweet, butterscotch, calvados, fruit - really tasty stuff. The body is medium with very active carbonation. Overall excellent stuff!

3.6 2013.01.28 - t Smisje Calva Reserva - 11.2oz bottle in goblet glass. Bottle cap appears to be marked "Calva BB". Pours a dark raisin color caramel, cloudy. A pretty light caramel vigorous head of about an inch settles slowly and leaves a foamy 1/2 cm head and foamy adhesion to glass. Aroma is a bit of bready yeast typical many Belgians but in much more balance with malty sweetness. Mouthfeel is medium, mostly light but a little creamy. Medium carbonation. Taste is interesting. A bit of smokiness seems present which leads me to believe my similar observation yesterday about Regenboog Guido was correct and not just due to age/vintage (unless this bottle is similarly past its prime). To me it seems similar to Guido - sweetness which is followed by smokiness on the back end, minus the honey. Maybe this smokiness is peat or something, or maybe in this case it’s the barrels. I don’t really know. I don’t really get much booziness, but as it warms up it becomes a little more noticeable on the back end, which leads me to believe the smokiness is character from the barrels but comes off as smoky when colder. The more it warms, the more the smokiness seems to be boozy warmth. In any case, this is pretty tasty. Aroma 7/10, Appearance 3/5, Taste 7/10, Palate 3/5, Overall 16/20

3.3 330 ml. bottle. Pours a thick well retained, dark ivory head, with some lacing, over a hazy, particle laden,dark amber (SRM 15) body.......nose is rich plum, raisin, treacle, light citrus....taste is plum, raisin, molasses, coriander, finishing with a light, slightly peppery, mild sweetness with spice bitterness.....mouth feel light of medium, slightly sticky, alcohol warmth present, carbonation low. This is a sweet, fruity, beer in both aromas and flavors. The sweetness from the two types of candy sugar dominates the other features of the beer, making it unbalanced, and not as good as it could be. BJCP 7/2/13/4/7

3.4 pours dark reddish brown with finger of fizzy froth. Aroma is earthy, vegetal, and sweet, with notes of sweet clay, candied plum, burnt sugar, bubblegum, caramel. Medium to full bodied, but not syrupy or as heavy as expected. Flavor is sweet molasses, caramel, plum, date, white grape, with butterscotch lingering on the finish.

4.2 23/XII/12 - 33cl bottle @ 1st Official Ledebronckx Barrel Aged Academie Grand Elite Tasting (OLBAAGET) - BB: n/a (2012-1393) Thanks to Johan for the bottle!! Pretty clear deep red beer, huge aery beige head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: sourish, grapes, red wine, alcohol, apple skin, bit woody. MF: lots of carbon, medium to full body. Taste: lots of dried fruits, honey, orange peel, caramel, raisins, apple skin, little bitter. Aftertaste: bitter, caramel, honey, sugar.

3.6 11.2oz bottle. Pours a murky brown color with ruby highlights and a thick, creamy tan head. The aroma is malty, brown sugar, rum soaked raisins and dates. A bit of alcohol is also present. Taste starts with a blend of burnt caramel, oak and fruit that is transformed, mid-palate by candied sugar, raisins and oaky tannins. Medium bodied with very modest carbonation and lots of warming on the finish.

3.4 11.2 oz. bottle. Floral, aromatic aroma features apple, apple crisp, caramel, cinnamon, toffee, candy, and vanilla scents. Pours a hazy, cloudy caramel/copper color. Effervescent in the early, more clear portion of the pour. Suspended particulate in the latter part of the pour. Looks like muddy water. Huge amount of long-lasting, uneven, thick, light taupe head. Excessive amount of head. Produces pretty good lacing. Rich, spicy, boozy flavor features bitter caramel, toffee, plum, and apple tartness. Medium to full body. Lightly lively and frothy in the palate. There are good elements to this beer, but it is too much and muddled overall. 8/3/7/3/13=>3.4

2.1 Looked and tasted like a melted penny with hints of adjunct and malt. Hard to finish. Not good.YIKES.

3.6 Bottle, 11/13/2012. Pours murky brown, light edges, very thin head quickly dies out. Aroma is molasses and burnt sugar, candied apple, chocolate caramel and plum, slight oxidation, calvados character. Taste is burnt caramel and sweet fruity malts, pannepot-like spices and bitterness, licorice, touch of vinegar and oak in the finish. Thick palate, but relatively flat. Not bad, but not top shelf either.

3.4 Bottle. Deep tan color.thick heavy syrupy malty and spicy. Nice complex beer to have on a cold night

3.6 Pours a murky amber brown with little head. Very sweet with prominent molasses taste. Hides its abv til the end when alcohol taste comes to the fore.

3.1 Pours a deep rusty brown color with a finger or so of off white foam that settles fairly quickly. Aromas are burnt sugar,apple, fig, and touch of nutty pecan. On the palate this is a sugar bomb... over the top caramel burnt sugar and a lot of sticky sweet notes and wood barrel flavors. Definitely would suggest splitting this beer with a couple people... its tasty but in small small doses in my opinion. Id like to see a little less sticky and cloyingly sweet.

3.9 Bottle. Murky reddish amber pour with a creamy foamy head. Aroma and taste of figs, caramel, touch of sour cherry, and champagne-like effervescence. Great stuff.

4.0 Bottle at Monks. Cloudy dark brown with an off-white head. Very runny lace. Huge interesting malt flavors. Burnt caramel. Raisins. Pecan pie. Molasses. Shoo-fly pie. Prunes. Apricot ears. Chocolate caramels. Vegemite. Calvados cask flavors have turned to fragrant rotten caramel apples. Medium thick palate. Dark malt syrupy goodness.

3.8 Bottle at home from Tanakaya. Dark amber red brown colour. Small golden head. Aroma lots of booze, Xmas cake, stewed boozy fruit. Very cakey. Bit of spice cinnamon, slight appley hint from the calvados but mainly full on booze and some malt there too. Taste full on. Full bodied. Warming. Very fruity. Booze hidden to a certain extent. Tastes like a Belgian Xmas beer. Fairly smooth and rounded. End has just a hint of brutishness. Surprisingly drinkable although more than one might be a challenge. End is sweet and a little spicy. Maybe a bit full on, but quite nice.

3.1 Wow - calvabomb! Basically just calvados and some spice on the nose. Taste is again enveloped by calvados - some chocolate, bread,, candi sugar. A bit flat, but fizzy?! A bit underdone, perhaps too many yeast strains trying to work together - just doesn’t really gel - lots of different flavours with fairly flat projection.

3.9 Pours unclear somewhat murky amber and bubbly with a huge foamy beige heading after a slight gush from the yeast. The aroma is malty somewhat sweet with the cellar and barrel notes prevalent from a few years of age. The flavor brings aged Belgian yeast notes and some winey notes in the background on a full body.

4.1 Aroma of brown sugar, maple syrup, with a hint of tart. Pours murky brown with a relentlessly huge foam. Taste is nice and woody with notes of tart fruits and sugary maple. Delicious.

3.7 Bottle 330ml. Clear medium to dark amber colour with a average to large, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, caramel, dusty, oxidide notes, old malt, calvados, licorice - candy sweet, light wood. Flavour is moderate to heavy sweet and light bitter with a long duration, malty, light alcohol. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20120316]

3.4 Bottle. Gusher but managed to save most of it. A reddish-brown body is topped by a medium sized tan head that quickly disappears. Aroma is initially pineapple juice, later becoming sweet malt, wood, spice and some oxidation and alcohol. Taste is sweet with some light bitter notes. Flavors are sugars, spice, apple cider, faint bitterness around the edges and more papery oxidization. Medium mouthfeel with some strong carbonation. Finishes with lingering apple sweetness.