t IJ Natte

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

Pours cloudy copper with a tall white head, lots of particles swimming in this one. Very spicy aroma, still sweet and malty. Lots of fruity character to the start, citrus, plum and caramel. Finishes lightly tart with a lot of spiciness. Medium body with a lightly bitter finish.

Bottle. Hazy, orangey amber with a big yellowish head that left nice lacing. Great fruity aroma, that is vinous and spicy at the same time. Spicy flavours, fruit, even a bit of chocolate, nice bitter finish. ’t IJ does not let you down.

33 cl bottle. Yeast in bottom. Reddish amber colour with a fluffy white head. Sweet toffee and caramel aroma. Tasty flavour of dried fruit and some wood, the beer ends up little sour and dry.

(Draught at Brouwerij ’t IJ, Amsterdam, 3 Aug 2009) Cloudy amber colour with frothy, beige head. Malty nose with notes of dark bread and dried fruit. Malty taste with prunes, raisins, caramel, dark bread and a moderate, spicy bitterness in the finish. Medium body, rather sweet. Decent, but nothing exceptional.

Hazy dark amber colored with a frothy off-white head. Dominating yeast and spice aroma, herby and chocolaty tones. Extremely herby flavor, typical for ’t IJ, probably from the yeast. Notes of malt, toffee and spices. Foamy soft mouthfeel.

8/05 bottle. Glad to see I didn’t have a preference bias on this one, and that my ratings are slightly sane ;) I’ve had this bottle in my cellar a while, the only ’t IJ beer I’d bought to date, as in my main store they are really expensive at $4 a pop. Though I was under the impression that they were mostly 85th+ beers, at least, this one included. Well, I don’t like it much. Thus, it was reaffirming to see the 61th % and realize that I wasn’t a fool :)

Pours a dark brown with a small, fizzy head, a little lace. Aroma is pretty nice, typical for a dubbel, with plum, raisin, candi sugar, raspberry, thin milk chocolate. Actually very nice. But a total disaster in the mouth. Very metallic, overcarbonated and dull; as usual with overcarbonation, it blocks so much complexity that would otherwise be evident. I’m confident this beer could be so much more without that problem. Unfortunately, it is so. Plum and raisin in the taste, too, but it’s really so hard to get anything out of this. Perhaps some spices, cinnamon, lemon. This is so frustrating because this could be so great! Oh well.

Bottle: Deep rusty amber with visible proteins floating around, topped by a creamy, but fading off-white head. Somewhat tart aroma for a Dubbel. Nice Belgian character, with a plummy fruityness, apple skin, orange peel notes, dark caramel malt; appetizing. Creamy mouthfeel. The flavor has a light tartness upfront. Fruity, plummy notes, candied granny smith apples, light orange peel, musty wood-like notes, subtle roastyness, caramel malt, slightly oxidized, with a zingy, slightly spicy finish; along with subtle roasted toffee notes. A unique and intersting Dubbel.

The beer pours to a murky chestnut colored body with a lasting frothy off-white head. A heavy quick carbonation is actively propagating up. The aroma sort of has a bing cherry lactic thing going on. The flavor is nutty toasted almond slices, creamy cheesecake, dry nutty Brazil nuts on the back-end. The palate is rich, creamy, tart, and medium-bodied. The heavy carbonation seems to soften the mouthfeel.