Martens Brewery's Grand 95

I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.
I will never buy beer in plastic bottles again.

This one was dead on arrival. Poured a cloudy brownish amber with no head and no apparent carbonation.

Smells like pure alcohol, but only for a second, after which it smells like almost nothing.

I'm sure it's gone bad, so this really isn't fair to judge it. But it tastes like bready peanuts, with a chemical residue in there somewhere.

I have to stop buying every single I see, especially Belgians.

Mikkelle's 2009 Santa's Little Helper

Found this left over Christmas beer in the back of the beer cellar. Yes, I know it's a kitchen cabinet, STFU.

Pours a deep brown, completely opaque. Great small celled tan head that is as big as you want it to be. At this point I read the label and found that it's most likely a Belgian Strong Ale instead of a winter warmer, brewed with spices and cocoa. Odd combination, but it looks great.

Smells a great deal like Chimay Blue. Deep, dark, bread. No real spices in the smell, and no cocoa. Just the deep Belgian strong smell. No alcohol yet, despite the 10.9% ABV.

Nice. Great complex taste, very much like Chimay, which is still my gold standard for Belgians. I don't taste the cocoa, but I can feel it. It gives it a smooth feel that is much like a chocolate stout. The spices are very mild, and more than anything it tastes like a solid Belgian strong ale.

Very good beer. Very little alcohol bite despite the big ABV, and nice and solid all the way around.