Struise Black Albert

Brewed by De Struise Brouwers
Style: Imperial Stout
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Bottle. Strong chocolate. coffee, charcoal aroma - nicely rounded. Opaque black with light tan head. Sweet-tart cherry plum and light cocoa flavor with a dry finish. Nice berry and chocolate aftertaste.

Holy crap! 14$ a bottle! Retail! This better have something in the ingredients that makes me live 3 years longer or let me finally grow a beard on my elbow or else... Poured out a thick black brew with a nice and large light brown cap that sticks around for a very long time and sticks to the glass pretty good early on. The aroma is nice and soft, nothing shocking. Mild and sweet, I can find chocolate up front, plums and fragrant hops, a hint of coffee (barely!) and some thing reminding me that I want to drink a Gin & Tonic. The flavour is very mild overall with very obvious chocolate, extra sweet candy, plums and nectarines (???), medium light strength bitterness shows up mid sip, fades and then appears again pleasantly on the finish. It’s quite sweet but not in a bad way. Looks like the bitterness and the sweetness both gain strength as I near the bottom of my glass. This beer is still holding a small crown after all this time. I have yet to really notice the 13% - once or twice I got hit up with some spiciness but nothing that really stuck out to give a lasting impression - and I guess that is the given impression. Now that my glass is thinned out, the beer has a dark Barley wine colour. Comes across quite smooth and has a pleasant, enjoyable bitterness through out. A very enjoyable beer but at 14$ for 330ml there are probably more sensible options.

Pour is coal black with just mild hints of mocha around the edges; head is full, creamy, mostly lasting, and dark tan in color with a dense, lasting froth remaining throughout and lace all over the place. Nose is nice and complex but takes some time to breathe; lots of dark, bittersweet chocolate, coffee beans, burnt grains, molasses, dark candi sugar, and chocolate cake with lighter notes of anise, black plums, red currants, and earthy/floral hops. Flavor has a shorter progression than I expected but still nice; the flavor starts with similar dark chocolate notes are prominent, mocha coffee, similar fruit notes (black plums, red currants), faint molasses, and burnt grains. As the flavor progresses the fruity notes become more like dried fruits, burnt caramel comes into play and the sweeter notes begin to dry out a bit. Palate is full, round, nearly chewy, but nearly lively with only some warmth noted in my stomach long after the flavor is gone. Finishes average length, drying with lots of cake notes, unsweetened chocolate, faint fruits, and a good amount of earthy/floral hops and bitterness showing up very late leaving a bitter note on the tongue. A beer that took some time to breathe before it reached it maximum potential, and the ABV is nearly undetectable until minutes after each sip. More bitter notes and dryness in the finish than I would have wanted and a shorter flavor progression than most 13% beers. All in all, a very nice, complex beer from Struise.

Original review date 3/8/2009... Since this has been blended with KtG in the past somewhere, if memory serves me right, it doesn’t hurt to toss it into the Portsmouth snifter. This one warmed on the counter before opening. Actually it gets to be borderline room temperature before I pop the cap. OK, Donnie...let’s do this work... Pours gently into the snifter a jet-black opaque body...moderately viscous, and an awesome peanut-butter-maple 2/3-finger head emerges and sticks for a while. A picture of strength (or maybe the feats of strength). The aroma of this is a little more understated than I would expect but for the most part smooth. There’s a fairly significant presence of tannin shakeout from the patent malt here. Mild, slate-ish austerity...with a slightly bittersweetness and a touch of booze. Hop presence is loose and light. Actually would expect more here. Now the malt presence reverts to expectations of huge, bountiful husky roast. Dark fruits also have your back here...maybe not as acidic as plums but definitely dates and a prune or two. Definitely the austere slate quality abounds but is backed up by a muted alcohol sweetness. Not as much nuttiness as I would expect but very enjoyable. This one has depth and bench strength...and no empty clamminess. I don’t get an alcohol burn...this is too well-constructed for that. Finishes with a sweet slight booziness that is viscous, warming and velvety...maybe a touch of chocolate. Not quite perfect but very good. After a while the sweetness emerges along with a more leathery feel. Different from many in its weight class, but it drinks nicely and I would welcome this into my glass anytime.

33ck bottle. Pours opaque black with medium thick short-lived tan head that fades to a thin disc of mottled tan and brown spots. Dark fruit and cherry aroma with some chocolate and coffee sweetness, light earthy mustiness, and alcohol. Slight acidity with good bit of roasted grain character. Flavor starts chocolatey and cakey with notes of dry cocoa and red wine. Lots of chocolate and dark fruit/cherry. Earthy balancing bitterness with subtle resiny notes at mid-palate. The beer finishes somewhat dry with rich cocoa and fruit, mild toffee sweet character, and subtle acidity that enhances the perception of red wine and cherry. The mouthfeel is swishy and creamy with high - but pleasant and not harsh - carbonation. The beer is surprisingly only medium in body, accompanied by a very velvety texture. Overall, a very rich and luxurious big stout. It is surprisingly mellow - I expected something more extreme, but that’s not to say I’m disappointed: a very nice beer.

11.2oz bottle, Best before April 2013. Thanks to Storm for sending me this with the Secret (summer) Santa 2008. I believe this is from Batch 1, the original supposed totally rockin’ batch that was near perfection. We shall see. Clear deep brown with a three finger tan head, good retention. Hmmm--I still get the purple Kool-Aid smell in the aroma that I got from a bottle that was shared almost a year ago, which is one of the stranger aromas I’ve gotten in a beer. There is also some Belgian yeast, berries, less coffee and roasted malts than one would expect. There are also some figgy notes, raisins, and toffee. Flavor is much the same with everything leaning towards dark fruits (and grape Kool Aid). Still strange. Semi-dry moderately roasty (hey, there you are!) finish with some light alcohol burn. Moderate carbonation with a full body. Yep, this is about as good as I remember it. Definitely different.

Bottled. Old rating Dark brown colour, almost black with a tan head. Lots going on in aroma: Toast with accompanying slight sourishness. Juniper and blood. Chocolate and dark fruits. No alcohol here. Darker fruits in flavour, with very rounded mouthfeel, lots of juniper here and a little toast along with vineous sourishness. Very smooth beer, without fieriness.

(bottle - 330 ml) Dark black pour with a thick tan head. Aroma is dark and roasty with a nice hop undertone mixing with some chocolate and dark fruits. Flavor is a little sweet at the beginning with a very dark and roasty followup. The hops are rather apparent as well as roasted malts, coffee, cocoa, and some caramel near the end. Thick and sticky with the alcohol well hidden.