Ommegang Art of Darkness

This is a limited edition beer from Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York.  It is part of the Duvel family of ales.  This beer is 8.9% ABV and uses barley and wheat malts, and flaked oats.

The beer pours black in color with a large, billowing head of very light brown foam.  The aroma is roasted malt, brassy, yeasty, with some banana and clove.  The taste is dark roasted malt, the sweetness from the malt merges into the fruitiness of the yeast, and the fruit merges into the tanginess, which merges into the grassiness of the hops, which merges into the dryness and bitterness of the oakiness.  This beer is quite flavorful, yet very subtle, as it is exquisitely well balanced.  It is well and finely carbonated and tingles in the mouth.  Nicely done.