Struise Cuvée Delphine

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

deep brown ... light toffee ...some barnyard funk nose ... raisins ... toffee ... soft malts ... chewie ...light nuttyness ...quite a lot of alcohol ...

Bottle, bought @ Cracked Kettle, Amsterdam.
Pours completely opaque black with a big, staying, frothy, brown head. Heavy oaky aroma. Lots of bourbon, vanilla, tart raisins and plums, chocolate. Low carbonation, lovely creamy mouthfeel. Flavour starts a bit astringent, lots of oak, sweet, cocoa, chocolate, tobacco, hazel nuts, vanilla, bourbon. Incredibly long, lingering aftertaste with lots of chocolate and oak. Vinious and a tad boozy. But very nice!

25 cl bottle courtesy of StFun – thanks for this gem Josh! Pours crude oil black with a thick 3 finger brown head the lasted through the entire glass. The nose is sour dark fruits, tobacco, light molasses and ashy cocoa. The taste is ash, dark chocolate, roasted malts, light oaky booze and coffee. There’s a slight astringency right at the front but that fades quickly. Thick creamy mouthfeel. Very warming and very good. Thanks again Josh!

Rating #2300. 25cL bottle, courtesy of urbeer. Thanks, Urbain! Pours a very dark brown color; medium brownish-tan head with good retention and medium-bubbled lacing that coats the glass; a gorgeous pour on this one; a lot of the Struise bottlings seem to be overcarbonated at the front, but look great in the glass. Giving this a little shake to put the carbonation down a bit. Still, woah. One can smell this beer from across the table: intense leather, dried fruits, hints of anise and licorice; as with Black Albert, a heavy emphasis on a Belgian imperial stout rendition, with more dried dark fruits and leather than explicit chocolate or roasted malts; the bourbon character is an accessory, a perimeter of oak and warmth that never makes itself known too noisily. You really do have to shake the life out of this beer (I’m looking at you, Pannepot) to get the carbonation settled to any sort of approachable level; maybe decanting would help, but it would also help all of the other over-carbonated beers in the world; at least this one is worth the additional effort. Full mouthfeel: some slick oiliness and peanut character on the front of the palate, followed by roasted malts and dried dark fruits, leather, tobacco, and those touches of black licorice seen in the nose; it would be interesting to try this side-by-side with Black Albert; the barrel character seems quite soft; the core shows cola, lingering dried dark fruits, nuttiness and roasted malts. The palate gets a 3, just for the amount of effort it takes to get the bubbles down. Underneath, this is gorgeous. Heavily drinkable, all told. Lengthy finish, showing fruit leather, tobacco, and plenty of roasted malts and oily nuts.

Very sour aroma. Taste reminds of the Black Albert, but more refined. One of the best stouts I’ve had!

chocolate, coffee, cough drop, brown, black, brown foam, medium sweetness, medium bitterness, full body, creamy, soft carbonation, long finish,

Bottle 150 cl. Pours a cloudy opaque black with a creamy beige head. Aroma of hard roasted malt, a little metal and a warming alcohol bite. Distinctly full-bodied, soft mouthfeel, hard roasted malts and vanilla, a little low in carbonation. Distinct alcohol burn. Very soft, smooth and quaffable. 110709

Thanks Jason! The beer pours to a pitch black body with a deep brown head and light lacing. The aroma is sweet and chocolatey with a lot of Four Roses bourbon. [I love that stuff] Perfectly blended aroma. The flavor is a deep chocolate and cocoa powder with a subtle, but definite Four Roses bourbon. The palate is medium-full bodied with a light dry cocoa powder and a warming but not boozy alcohol.