Troubadour Obscura is a mild dark red-brown beer with a balanced Belgian twist. Immediately after the first sip of this beer, the difference with other Belgian dark beers becomes apparent. The solid taste of malt originates from the combination of four different malts used in the brewing of this beer. Discover all the different notes: chocolate, coffee, vanilla… Troubadour Obscura is the perfect match to complete a dinner on a winters eve.
I am getting the vanilla for sure. Not so much coffee but then I don't like a strong coffee taste. Some chocolate bitterness, yep. Bit of acidity on the palate. It's complex but it is very nice.
Another piece on the website says:
The first thing that comes to people’s mind when they hear the word ‘stout’ is a very heavy tasting dark beer that does not go well with eating. With Troubadour Obscura, we wanted to offer an alternative to the sweeter abbey beers by combining flavours of an English Porter or Stout in a dryer, maltier dark beer. Four sorts of malt used in the right balance lead to various flavours, just right for a game dish or stew.
It's certainly not sweet and it's not far off a strong old style light mild. I'd buy again and would be interested to try some of the other Musketeers/Troubadour beers.