t IJ Natte

33 cl, notched "at least maintainable to" June, 2004! Nearly opaque brown-black with a large creamy head that lasts and frosts the glass well. Great nose of earthy spices, dates, musty plums, caramel, brown sugar-molasses, and slight chocolate. Flavors are similar with added notes of funk, roasted nuts, cocoa, raspberry, wood and more spices for great balance. Cured tobacco in the finish. Smooth, medium-heavy body is a little sticky but in a nice dessert-beer way, and finishes slightly dry with a little alcohol warming. Maybe everyone should rate a 6-8 year old bottle of this stuff.

Nat in Dutch means wet. I believe the addition of "te" at the end makes it mean wetty which, leads me to believe that there is a play on words here alluding to Natte meaning naughty. I have great admiration for the Brouwerij t'IJ and their ability to vary their styles with only the subtlest changes in alcohol and malts. Natte is 6.5% alcohol, amber in color, and very dinkable. I can see where this beer might make someone naughty or get them wet. The aroma is mild and earthy just as the aroma of the sea outside the brewery. The predominate flavor is of roasted malts, which also lends the wonderful amber color. Good clean crisp finish. Way too easy to drink for a beer that is 6.5%

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!

Very good double ale. I liked the thick head on the beer. It tastes like raisins and vanilla. Very malt-like aftertaste. Excellent brew.

A ton of Indian cuisine spices in aroma - cumin, curry, pepper and woody saffron. Flat body, dry and full of cedar set against a solid malt backdrop. Very solid palate for the amount of alcohol. Thick, lasting lacing. Would be a perfect accompaniment to a hearty beef dish.

Bottle - Man...I can’t figure out why the score is so low on this beer--it absolutely blew my doors off. It’s a nice pour, all murky brown and almost opaque. It’s one of those beers you can smell across the room, and I got a lots of flavors in the nose: bourbon, sweet bread, toffee, raisins, and anise. The taste is about the same--slight bourbon, raisins, but fairly dry. Finish is sweet, bready malt. Yum. It’s medium-bodied and smooth--just a remarkable all around beer.

33cL bottle, chalice. Deep murky brown hue with red highlights. Giant, creamy/frothy, off-white head doesn’t last as long as I had hoped. Huge chocolate and candi sugar malt presence. Slightly nutty. Nice floral hop profile. Sweet dough yeast aroma. Plums, raisins, somewhat vinous, maderia. Pleasant and rounded aroma...the chocolate is to die for. Moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly sweet flavor becomes a lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter finish. Somewhat sour finish. Medium body, velvety texture, lively carbonation. The bottom line is: Great aroma, nice looking...an odd sourness in the finish (think grapefruit) and a too-slick palate that results in the taste washing away quickly are what hold this beer back. Like most of the ’t IJ beers I’ve had, I would recommend being very cautious with the yeast near the end of the pour. It’s a potent strain!

20-04-2003 re-rate: Although still a very good beer I discovered a lot of other flavors. The iron was gone and instead prune was all over it. The flemish brown like flavors were gone as well. It's sweeter and better hopped. 03-03-2002, 4: Iron, light tart aroma. Clear, brown, light brown frothy lasting head, good lacing. Sweet, moderate full, hops, light iron taste. Bit horseblanket in the finish as well as light bitterness, but longlasting. Tastes like a flemish brown (red) to me.