Beer Advent Calendar Day 20- De Struise Brouwers Black Damnation III- Black Mes

Good evening all. Clearly my advent calendar knows the world is going to end tomorrow, as behind door 20 is an unfortunately-named offering from De Struise Brouwers (Oostvleteren, Belgium); it's Black Damnation III- Black Mes, a version of De Struise's popular imperial stout Black Albert that's spent 3 months in barrels that once held Caol Ila Distillers Version 1995 whisky. On its own Black Albert is a great stout, so I'm looking forward to seeing what the barrel-ageing has done to this bad boy. Review after the pics....

Black Damnation III- Black Mes (13.0% ABV) pours a jet black colour with a lively brown head that settles to a thick halo around the inside of the glass. The aroma is rich and luxurious, with coffee, chocolate, blackcurrant, yeast extract, burnt sugar, vanilla oak (similar to bourbon), a very subtle smokiness and some alcohol in the background. I was expecting the whisky to be slightly more prominent, but it seems that the characteristics of the barrel itself come through more, with the alcohol toned down and more reminiscent of bourbon than Islay whisky. The smokiness switches between peat and tobacco, and the nose becomes accustomed to it relatively quickly. The yeast extract and fruit mingle together quite well, and create a slight tartness that manages to balance out the darker aromas. The taste ramps everything up to eleven, with smoky whisky, yeast extract, tart fruits and some light chocolate and coffee in the background. The whisky is definitely more noticeable on the palette, and warms the sides of the mouth and the chest during and after drinking, whilst the fruity flavours mesh with this perfectly, offsetting the harshness with a light tartness that allows the iodine smokiness to come through after a couple of sips. Because of the sheer power of the other flavours on show, the usual roasted malt-derived chocolate and coffee is only discernible through retro-olfaction, providing a nice counterpoint to the tartness and whisky. The finish isn't dry and the whisky lingers on the palette, along with some light hop flavours. It's also probably worth noting that this beer doesn't drink anywhere near its double-digit ABV percentage, so it might be wise to exercise some restraint (despite how hard that may be!). The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is moderately carbonated, which means the flavours don't cloy too heavily and the whisky can come through relatively unimpeded. Overall, this is a very impressive Imperial Stout that builds upon Black Albert very well, balancing some reasonably intense peaty whisky with the base beer to create a very worthy offering in the De Struise library. I've only had two Black Damnation offerings including this one (the other being the Mocha Bomb), and I couldn't honestly rate one over the other as they both bring such different elements to the table. Definitely recommended, I'll have to seek out the others now based on their stellar trend so far!

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 19- De Struise Brouwers Tsjeeses Reserva PBA (Port Barrel Aged)

Good evening all. Almost on the home straight now, so it seems quite fitting and cyclical that tonight's offering is the sequel to the beer that started off this year's advent calendar- it's Tsjeeses Reserva PBA (Port Barrel Aged), a Saison from De Struise Brouwers (Oostvleteren, Belgium). As with the Bourbon Barrel Aged version, this beer is a barrel-aged reworking of De Struise's winter seasonal Tsjeeses, and has spent time in port barrels prior to being bottled. Looking forward to seeing how this compares to to the Bourbon edition, so let's get to it! Review after the pics....

Tsjeeses Reserva PBA (Port Barrel Aged) (10.0% ABV) pours a hazy amber colour with a thick white head that maintains itself well throughout the course of drinking. Despite careful pouring, some of the sediment still managed to find its way into the glass. The aroma is Saison-like, with yeasty phenols, earthy esters, malty sweetness, but also has some fruits residing in the background (both red fruits and light citrus fruits- clementine, orange). The fruits hit more prominently early on, with some vinous notes from the port barrel-ageing, but these soon retreat and the characteristics of the beer base become more significant. The spiciness of the yeast is very much at Saison level, and the sweetness isn't too overpowering. There's also some perception of the alcohol after a bit of time has passed, but again this isn't too overwhelming. The taste delivers some more power to the proceedings, with phenols, spice, yeast extract, a hint of port, blackcurrant, some caramelised sweetness supporting everything and a light grapefruit flavour in the finish. The main source of intensity when tasting is the fruity tartness that comes along midway through each sip; prior to this the beer base characteristics are at their most discernible. The yeast extract and hoppy notes come out towards the end of drinking and linger on into the finish, which isn't too dry and contains some burnt sugar flavours. The mouthfeel is thick and the beer is well-carbonated, which compliments everything on show nicely. Overall, this is a very balanced and drinkable offering that I would happily have again, but unfortunately the barrel-ageing hasn't contributed a significant amount to the proceedings and so it seems a but unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. Personally I'd rather just have the original Tsjeeses over this, and the Bourbon Barrel Aged edition is definitely the superior of the two. 

Until next time....

Beer Advent Calendar Day 13, 14, 15 and 16- Two Mikkellers, one De Struise and a Kernel in a Pear Tree

Good evening all. I was pretty exhausted last night following an epic weekend of jamming and drinking Iron Maiden wine with an old 'Nam buddy, so I had no desire to review a load of beers in order to catch up with the advent calendar. Fortunately I'm feeling it tonight, so I'm going to review four beers now and do two tomorrow; by which point I should be able to resume normal service from the 19th up to Christmas Day. Tonight's beers are as follows; The Kernel/Brodies' India Pale Ale SCANNERS, De Struise Brouwers' Pannepeut Old Monk's Ale, Mikkeller's Monk's Elixir (Barrel Aged Red Wine Edition with Brett) and Mikkeller's Black (Tequila/Speyside Edition). For the sake of clarity I'm going to use the capsule review style for each beer, so at least you won't have to read as much this time round! Reviews below....

The Kernel/Brodies India Pale Ale SCANNERS

Style: India Pale Ale

ABV: 6.9%

Appearance: Hazy pale golden colour, inch of white head that settles to a thin halo around the inside of the glass.

Aroma: Mango, grapefruit, acetone, caramel/honey sweetness.

Taste: Mango, grapefruit, peach, pine, very light coffee notes, decent amount of bitterness in finish. Sweetness during drinking, none of the flavours have particular dominance.

Mouthfeel: Slightly thick, light carbonation. Lacks that nice tight head and effortless drinking quality of most Kernel offerings.

Verdict: Not as amazing as I was expecting, particularly when considering the hype it's garnered recently, but it's still a decent IPA. Personally I'd rather choose any other Kernel IPA over this one, but it's still worth trying at least once.

De Struise Brouwers Pannepeut Old Monk's Ale

Style: Belgian Strong Ale

ABV: 10.0% ABV

Appearance: Dark brown, thick beige head that settles to a thin film over the surface of the beer.

Aroma: Candy sugar, plasticine, blackcurrant, marzipan, phenols, rich malt, caramel. Nice and luxurious yet well-composed and light, very similar to a Quad.

Taste: Dark candy sugar, yeast extract, fruity tartness, Belgian yeast character (phenols), caramelised sweetness, warming quality from the alcohol. As with the aroma it's very light, has some woody tones and fortified wine. No sense of alcohol during drinking but a nice hit during finish, sense of hops in aftertaste. Very Quad-like.

Mouthfeel: Thick, well-carbonated. Very smooth and interacts with flavours nicely. 

Verdict: Great beer; plenty of flavours on show, wrapped up in a very drinkable package. Definitely recommended.

Mikkeller Monk's Elixir (Barrel Aged Red Wine Edition with Brett)

Style: Quad

ABV: 10.5%

Appearance: Dark brown colour, thick white head that maintains itself well throughout the beer. Some lacing in the early stages.

Aroma: Plenty of brett funk, vinous, almost like a Flanders Red or an Oud Bruin with the lactic acid quality. Some sweetness from the wine, quite hard to discern anything else due to the power of the wine and brett.

Taste: Vinous, loads of brett, candy sugar, tart fruits, yeast extract. Very powerful wine and funk character, a light Quad profile in the background (malt, marzipan, subtle Belgian yeast).

Mouthfeel: Thick, beer is well-carbonated- compliments vinous qualities and funk power.

Verdict: Pretty intense offering- lots of stuff going on but the extraneous additions certainly take dominance. These can be a bit unbalanced and overpowering now again, but despite this the beer is certainly worth trying at least once as there's nothing else quite like it out there.

Mikkeller Black (Tequila/Speyside Edition)

Style: Imperial Stout

ABV: 18.8%

Appearance: Black with a brown tinge, short-lived off-white head that settles to a thin halo around the inside of the glass.

Aroma: Smoky/peaty whisky, plenty of booze, licorice, smoked malt, caramel, brown sugar. Very complex and carried a powerful alcoholic hit, some yeast extract, malt, dark fruits.

Taste: Tequila booze and alcoholic burn, caramel, smoke, alcohol hits along sides of the mouth and creates a harsh tartness/warming quality in chest. Licorice, burnt sugar, yeast extract, chocolate, tequila hits bottom of mouth heavily. Finish is relatively flavourless but alcohol continues on long after drinking.

Mouthfeel: Slightly thick, although volatility of alcohol thins it out slightly, moderately carbonated.

Verdict: Truly a one-of-a-kind beer- tequila barrel-ageing supplies a lot of alcoholic intensity whilst whisky barrel-ageing provides a nice smokiness which mingles with the base beer well whenever it manages to push through. Highly recommended.

Until next time....

De Struise Brouwers Pannepot Reserva

Good evening all. I received a rather nice package today from Hawkshead Brewery containing all three of their recent "Well Hopped" beers, and have been gradually reviewing them in front of the camera over the last few hours. As a result you lucky guys can expect a three-video post in the next couple of days, but to fill the void between that post coming up on the blog I'm going to be maintaining usual service and reviewing plenty of interesting beers, such as this one from De Struise Brouwers. It's Pannepot Reserva, a Quadrupel from a fantastic Belgian brewery, and the review is after the pic....

Pannepot Reserva (10.0% ABV) pours a dark brown colour with a short-lived head that dissipates to a thick halo around the inside of the glass. Probably one of the first beers I've had from De Struise that doesn't have an epic ballooning mound of foam after pouring, despite the bottle conditioning. Oh well, onto the important stuff now. The aroma is quite phenolic, with candy sugar, dark fruits, caramel and a sweet hoppy quality reminiscent of barley wines. The predominant spice is offset by the sweetness, and the hops add an interesting dimension to this beer style that cuts through the darker fruit flavours. The taste is just as spicy and phenolic, with dates, blackcurrants, raisins, yeast extract and licorice flavours coming through during drinking and in the finish, which brings along a slight alcoholic burn and a final burst of spice before settling down to reveal a decent amount of yeast extract in the aftertaste. The mouthfeel is slightly thinner than I was expecting, and the beer is moderately carbonated. I would've preferred the mouthfeel to be slightly thicker if I'm honest as borderline-excessive carbonation compliments Belgian beers impeccably, so as it is it's a slight disappointment but certainly doesn't render the beer undrinkable. Overall, a very interesting Quad with plenty of phenolic Belgian character, sticky dark fruits and an unusual yet pleasing roasted malt flavour in the finish. If I could get this again I probably would, although I'd rather take a St Bernardus Abt 12 or a Trappistes Rochefort 10 as they are better examples of the Quad beer style. And if anyone has a spare bottle of Westvleteren 12 lying around the place, I'd be happy to take that off their hands as well! Seriously though- definitely recommended, get a couple of bottles if you have the opportunity and you shouldn't be disappointed.

Until next time....