t IJ Natte

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

Brown, cloudy color is inviting. I’m getting buttered popcorn in the nose, with a little sugar. A full malty taste has hints of chocolate. Not for the weak at heart. I should mention that I sampled this at the ’t Ij brewery and it was delicious. (Be sure to get there early enough to grad a table. TIP: take the #10 tram there).

Pours a lightly hazy deep amber color with ruby-orangish highlights when held up to the light. It is toped by a frothy, finger-thick, amber tinged tan colored head. The aroma is an interesting mix of fruit and fresh-yeasty bread notes. Both the fruit and some alcohol notes combine to remind me of brandy, though only a hint in the finish. The aroma is quite complex, though it is certainly on the sweet side of things; I get notes of caramel soaked raisins, concentrated malt (almost extract like), a hint of cherries, and a rich almost aged character that has a touch of sherry. There is something almost vegetal in the aroma too, and I can’t quite place it.

The taste is only lightly sweet, at least in relation to the sweet smelling nose. There is still a fair amount of dark fruit notes though, I get notes of raisins and prunes predominantly. There is not much to balance the fruit notes either, I would have like a bit more yeast derived spiciness, or perhaps even a bit more body and strength. As it is, this beer has a medium to light body, and despite a slight bit of spiciness is fairly clean as well. There is a hint of aged malt character here as well, most noticeable as a slight sherry note and a sort of meaty stew-like note. This beer seems to end a bit thin, and perhaps even a bit drab. I have definitely had much better offerings from this brewery, though this is certainly not bad.

Draught @ ’t Ij, Amsterdam. Hazy brown. Dried fruits and caramelised malts with mild brambly hops and light tart yeastiness. Pleasantly drinkable.

Bottled (33 cl) at het Amsterdamertje, Göteborg, Sweden. Hazy amber with medium off-white head. Fruity, a bit animalic, spicy and yeasty. Meidum bodied with soft carbonation. Well balanced, would certainly gain from a bit more dryness.

Wonderful on tap in the windmill brewery: Malty with raisons and also hoppy aroma and flavor. Nice amber body with hints of orange and a diminishing head. Fizzy carbonation, fullmouth and crisp. Weeh, balanced, this beer hits the spot!

Deep, fairly clear ruby-mahagony catches the light nicely, and the cream-colored foam that sits atop the beer lasts nicely. The aroma is full of overripe fruits and more fruit that was caramelized (kind of like a brown sugar and fruit sauce). There’s a bit of a floral (roses and honeysuckle) nature underneath the heavy fruits. The flavor is less exciting than the aroma, but still comes up with a nice supporting caramel flavor to back up what the nose picked up. A lingering bit of bananas foster in the finish leaves you with a pleasant memory of the beer. Brandon (wunderbier) warned me to leave the yeast in the bottle as it’s a very potent strain, and I have to agree with him, without the yeast, this is a very underrated beer from an underrated brewery.

Pours a dark, cloudy, caramel-orange color with a massive, foaming, off-white head. The foam settles slowly to a small blanket, leaving solid rings and spots of sticky lacing all over the glass. The aroma is a bit of a surprise for a beer that is classified as a Dubbel. I’d call it more of a Belgian Ale, as the primary scents I pick up include yeasty bread, dry, bretty funk, herbaceous green leaves, and doughy, lightly caramelized malts. Flavors show lightly sweet caramel, toast, lightly sour, slightly peppery yeast, and mild herbs. There’s quite a bit of funkiness going on here, almost as if it is a distant cousin of a Jolly Pumpkin brew. Medium bodied and moderately carbonated, it goes down smooth and finishes semi-dry. If there’s any knock at all on the beer, its that it has a slight medicinal character that I’d imagine comes from the herbs. That aside, this is a really nice, refreshing, summertime beer that I’d really like to get more of. Underrated, for sure. A Dubbel, however, this is not, at least in my opinion.

330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. The beer is quite clear reddish brown when poured, a slight haziness may occur if the sediment is disturbed in the end, decent head. LOVELY aroma with intense fruity and vinous notes, spices are very much present too. The flavour is also fruity and spicy but not very powerful, hints of caramel. Moderate sweetness, moderate bitterness. A slightly salty finish. Light bodied, the ABV is well hidden. Easy drinking. The aftertaste is not remarkable.