Struise Tsjeeses

Brewed by De Struise Brouwers
Style: Abbey Tripel
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Date: April 14, 2007
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting
Appearance: cloudy dark yellow, wispy white head
Aroma: sweet lemony aroma like a lemon merangue pie with some added spices
Body: creamy body
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of spicy character, nice sweetness blends well with the spices, adding some yeast adds some breadyness to the aroma and intensifies the spicyness while beefing up the body and flavor
Overall: an incredable flavorable tripel
Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 9/10
Score: ***+/4

Bottle thanks to Papsoe: Pours a cloudy gold with a medium white head. Aroma, doughy, yeasty, some cinnamon, caramel malts, and some other spices. Flavor, bready, with some spices, and floral notes, both dry and sweet at times, very unique, I couldn’t describe this beer well enough. But I enjoyed the heck out of it.

Best by date of October 2011, Sampled August 2007
Pours with a lightly hazy, orangish tinged, bright amber color. The beer is topped by a frothy, initially two-finger thick, light tan colored head that leaves some lacing on the sides of the glass. The smell is fairly dry, with a distinct fruit and spice combination that I can’t quite place right now. A nice, subtle maltiness pokes through the previously mentioned more dominant notes. Aromas of candied orange-flavored gumdrops, and earthy spiciness, some green herbal notes (sort of like nettle) and some holiday spice flavors reminiscent of nutmeg, perhaps some clove and cinnamon. There is a spice note I am missing here though, it is quite distinct and I can’t quite place it. Fruit notes of pears, dried apples and prunes are noticeable in the nose as well.

The beer has a fair amount of body to it, but has a solid carbonation which helps to scrub the palate. Chewy concentrated fruit notes & malt character carry the more dominant spice flavors. The beer is quite dry, especially when you consider the strength & body of this beer; this tends to mute & round out the spice flavors. The spice notes provide some astringency, perhaps a hint of tannins, a distinct sharpness that seems characteristic of nutmeg. This is lightly tart too, which accentuates some notes of green raisins, dried pear and dried apples as well as something almost like concentrated melon or even some sort of tropical fruit note. The fruit notes become quite noticeable towards and in the finish where there is a light bitterness and spice astringency as well.

An interesting beer, and definitely an interesting take on a holiday beer; one usually sees heavy, sweeter malt character in these types of beers. The simple malt character is actually quite nice and accentuates a different side of the spices than one usually sees in a holiday beer. At times the spice notes and the fruitiness seem like they should be disparate, but they are not; in fact this beer is quite well integrated, quite complex & most definitely tasty. This beer is really growing on my as I slowly work my way through this 330ml bottle.

Beautiful orange color with a fine white creamy head & lacings that are wonderfull. Very soft carbonation - smooth & filling. Fruity malty - orange, apple & spices. A bit sweet & sticky. Light alcohol &warmth. Long finish!!!!!! Struise is the shit!

BCTC 2007. Cloudy golden-blonde body with a small off-white head. Aroma is original. Hard to describe, a bit of everything, spicy/fruity/sweet/and so on… Taste is just as original. Strong fruity notes with an unusual mix of apple skins, citrus fruits and why not some strawberries. Somewhat spicy too, and the spiciness is also unusual. Rather sweet beer with a hard-candies type of sweetness taste. A light-medium acidity and light-medium sourness tops it all. Rather unique and complex beer that I’ll probably describe in a totally different manner next time I have it. I already had a high opinion of De Struise but now they really made a believer out of me, Tsjeeses Saves!!!

Pours out a light hazy copper color with a small lacing head. Heavy fruit on the aroma with some slight spice. Taste is complex, mostly sweet, apricot, citrus, and some spices. Very interesting example of this style, thanks to Papsoe for sending this one.

Sweet fruity nose along with some holiday spicing and some yeastiness. The flavors are nicely blended apricot/peach/citrus with some light holiday spiciness. Yeast-forward profile mixes nicely with the fruits. Ratther overly sweet at times but just this side of cloying. Pretty surprising brew.

Appears a hazy orange with a small white head that slowly fades out. Scattered lacing is left around the glass. Smell is of ginger, orange peel, light peach, with notes of nutmeg, and cardamom. Taste echoes the aromas with notes of peach and vanilla standing out. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, spicy, sweet up front with tropical notes swirling along the palate.