t IJ Natte

Brewed by Brouwerij ’t IJ
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is murky light to medium brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (caramel, nuts), moderately yeasty (horseblanket, barnyard), with notes of band-aid and sour apple, hint of cherry. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. About as odd as the Plzen...very horsey/Bretty and tart, not usual characters for a dubbel. Whereas these characters are kind of cool in the Plzen, I did not care for them in this one. It was almost like a Flemish sour ale that wasn’t finished yet, or more accurately like a dumping glass at a beer fest that contained a mixture of lambics and brown ales. Confused and unenjoyable.

Malt hop aroma with sweetness and fruit. Clear red brown colour with fair head and lacing. Hop flavour with fruit and slight malt flavour. Smooth palate.

Chestnut coloured beer, end of bottle pretty ’unclear’. Good, creamy, whipped cream-like head, yellowish. Sourish nose, with some nice fruity acids, but also a bit lactic, on a malty background. Light citrus in the taste, but also a touch on the edge of infected. Malty, still sweet underbuild, fruity flavours of fresh figs. Caramel and some higher alcohols. Medium bodied, ends significantly lighter. Rather typical for ’t IJ. I call this "infected", but this kind of "infection" I’ll tolerate anytime.

Bottled. Hazy brown/dark orange colour, small white head. Aroma barnyardish malts with weak hints of alcohol. Also in this one the aroma comes kind of weak. Flavour of sweet plum, alcohol and some "ginsengic" notes. (reminds of La Swaf!’s in a way).

Bottled. A muddy brown coloured beer with no head or lacing. The aroma is typical, with raisin fruits and alcoholic malts. The taste is also malty and fruity with a little chocolate and alcohol. A tasty drinkable dubbel.

Second in the ’t IJ triptych my friend and I had as we celebrated our successful trip to Amsterdam, we began to notice Brouwerij ’t IJ’s house character. The cloudy reddish brown body reminded of a dilute cola color, topped of a foamy beige head. The nose was full of a nostalgic aroma: the smell of chocolate cake batter, a delicious composition of butter, chocolate, eggs and sugar. Some coffee and cookie dough brought together this simple but rare aroma. Green peas and artichoke emerged in the flavor, somewhat unexpectedly but in a similar fashion to our previous taste of IJ, the Plzen. With every sip, thin lacing slides down the glass. Chocolate, butter and cream develop on the tongue but feel slightly watery in texture. An authentic chocolaty bitterness announces the finishing note, abruptly concluding the experience as nearly no significant aftertaste is left to guide the ending. A lucid but enjoyable brew.

16 June 2005 (Maastricht-Fallstaff) - Some fruit malt and hop aromas. Clear red-red/brown colour, lowish head and OK lacing. Complex fruit and hops, could have more malt. Thickish palate.

This bottled brew poured a large sized head of foamy finely sized long lasting light brown colored bubbles that left behind a fair lacing. The body contained thick carbonation, was very hazy with a colloidal suspension and brown in color. Its aroma contained notes of yeasty brown malt. Its mouth feel is initially tingly vinous and thick with a lingering tingly palate. Its flavor contained thick yeasty mild brown malt slightly sour vinuous notes.