Another birthday treat - New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale

You have heard me complain about the limited selection of regional beers in Lafayette. Don't get me wrong, we have little trouble getting beers from the Louisiana craft breweries such as Abita, NOLA Brewery, Bayou Teche or even Tin Roof. My complaint is more the lack of availability of other regional craft brewery selections like Dogfish Head or the beer that started me on this quest from the Yards Brewery in Philadelphia. In order to get out of state regional beers, the closest large market is Houston, TX, which is about 3.5 hours away by car.

Being in the energy industry, myself or my colleagues are often called upon to visit this Mecca for oil and gas and therefore take advantage of the beer selection there to bring some of these hard to find ones back. Such was the case recently when one of my colleagues brought me a six pack of half Dogfish Head India Brown Ale (the Collar's first beer of the month) and half New Belgium 1554 Enlightened Black Ale, which I will profile. This treat made for a great birthday present, thanks Jonathan.

Appearance: As you can tell from the picture, the beer looks like I poured some cola into the Chimay goblet. Carbonation very much present at the start, but no head or lacing to speak of.

Smell: Picked up a musty aroma. Smelled typical of a Belgian style beer, like a Chimay.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Up front picked up roasted malt and coffee flavors. As it warmed, the chocolate flavor became more pronounced, as did a fruit sweetness on the finish. Mouthfeel was on the heavy side and some of the carbonation was detectable.

Overall: This beer had some good qualities of Belgian style beers, like the malty flavors, but was not overpowering and sort of on the mild side. It also comes in lighter on the ABV at only 5.6% it is much lower octane than the Duvels of the world. A nice flavor, but not overwhelming, a solid effort. but not remarkable. For more info on this beer, please see 1554

Cheers!