Struise Double Black

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

LCRBM08, courtesy of Carlo and Urbain. Pours dark brown to black with a small chocolate brown head. Aroma is smooth malty, wineous and vanilla. Flavour is smooth wooden oak, vanilla and nicely roasted malty and alcohol warming. Smooth and vanilla to wineous finish. Extremely smooth and pleasant sipper.

Bottle @ LCRBM 2008, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
[ Courtesy of Urbain and Carlo ]. Clear dark black color with a average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly lasting, light brown head. Aroma is heavy malty, roasted, burnt, chocolate, coffee, oak, cask wood, vanilla. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long long duration. The alcohol is very well hidden. Body is medium to full, texture is oily, carbonation is soft and very smooth. ;o)) Thanks again Urbain and Carlo, [20081025]

Bottle, 26% at LCRBM08. Black colour, very small brown head. Vanilla flavour, mild and nice. Quite peppery, a lot of alcohol. But mellow enough.

Drunk at the Struise Farm. Black as night. Bourbon is quite present. What is amazing is that it is still quite distinctly a beer. Its a bit hot, but the intense choc/coffee stuns me. Its unlike anything Ive had. Like an Ultra Imperial Stout with bourbon, Its so smooth, some honey heat on end. Its not something I thought I would like, but its just som smooth and slightly creamy and the honeyish bourbon notes are a delight. Cannot wait for the 39% version

LCRBM 2008, brought in by Carlo and Urbain. Ginger and malt in the aroma. Malty, syrupy flavor with oak, dark chocolate, cardemom and earthy hops. Alcoholic, of course, yet the alcohol is satisfyingly hidden. I feel a more thorough tasting in the quietness of my own home is necessary. Needs a re-rate, if I am lucky enough to get a bottle.

A Mes rate. Again a far too full receptacle forced upon me at the farm, thanks so much Urbs. Just a little too much. This actually weighed in at a paltry 29% so Urbain eventually decided it should be watered down with Black Albert. Yes he did say that. Tsjeeses this is stupid, ridiculous, crazy off its knockers silly. Madder than a bag of frogs. You can feel it hitting like a sledgehammer with each sip and it takes your breath away with eisbock outlandishness. Blacker than the depths of space and erm... how the hell is it holding on to a head? Thick espresso strewn through a cafetiere with added beans of death, has this been dry beaned? Never mind dry hopping. Lashings of chocolate and following on in the same vein to the Delphine, the barrel notes are simply unsurpassed by anything. It is a bourbon concentrate chocolate liqueur and is just mind blowingly over the top but completely adorable. To quote a friend of mine... IMPOSSIBLE.

Out of a decanter at the struise farm. On the day of massive treats beyond reconning! Alround rating: Asd a big fan of all fortified wines(mainly port, maderia and old sherry) this is up there in that catagory, its not really a beer for me, as it plays with you in ways that beer does not and it doesnt taste like any beer iv ever had in the past either, even when mixed with batch 4 mikkeller struise! Its just massive, like sweet roasted chocolate, peppery alcohol blends with the fruit to make its like a thick fruit punch, peach syrup comes to mind. The alcohol is immencly weel hidden, yea i know its over 10% but nothering like one and a half times that. I had about 4 glasses of the stuff and watched in horror stupified by the fact that urban poued 2 or so glasses down the drain. An absolute pleasure and one i cant wait to have again.

Small brown head (nearly miraculous) over black beer. Dry, extra-dry wood, alcohol, fusels, cypress, and smoked touch. Explosive fusels, ’’some’’ ethanol, sparadrap, pine, cypress, just exploding in the oral cavity. This is really at the edge of beer. Somehow, there’s sweetness left. Slick, viscous, oily... words fail, beyond simple comprehension. And now they’re speaking about Triple Black. I’m overawed already.