t IJ Struis

Brewed by Brouwerij ’t IJ
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Sweet malt hop aroma. cloudy dark brown colour with good head and lacing. Hop malt flavour with a hint of celery? Fizzy palate.

very nice spicy saison-like beer. lots of spices, yeast and fruit in the nose. tastes spicy and then more fruity and malty. finishes sweet sourrish and a bit alcoholic(hides its alc. still very well). great!!!!

Poured into a Tripel Karmeliet tulip glass, Struis is a solid ruddybrown color, with cocoa-tinged tannish foam resting neatly atop. Looks alright by me. Nose: yeast and spice hit a two-pronged attack, and fruit takes up the rear, dark ones, plums, and dates, and grapes, and raisins, and more. Drink it in deeper and the spices have taken over, peppers and clove and more. Definitely dubbel-ish, this. Rich and lovely. Taste it: wonderful! A big explosion on the palate, a delirious blend of dark fruits, spices, and hefty malt, uplifted by Belgian yeast that adds a wicked funk to the proceedings. Berries become bigger in the flavor profile, grape stands tall, as well. And then up comes plum! This is a fun beer, to be sure. Full-bodied, long finish, impeccable flavors, evident, but untroubling alcohol. A great Belgian beer from the Netherlands, and why the hell not? I will return to this one, that I can guarantee!

33cl. bottle dated 9/05. Pours a hazy light brown color with a large beige head. Really nice malty aroma with lots of brown sugar, caramel and dried fruits. Flavor was a bit of a disappointment after the aroma, but by no means was it not good. Bready, sweet flavor with some caramel and dark fruits. Aggressive carbonation on one hands keeps the beer from being cloying, but also makes it feel a bit thin. Overall a very good beer.

Full, silken head of light tan; beer is burnt orange in color. Aroma is wonderful; hop aroma mingling with caramel, citrus, plum, and toffee. Sweet beginning flavor, with notable candy sugar, fig, and toffee flavors, is well balanced with a pleasant hop bite. I made the poor choice of pairing this with ahi tuna. Still, the beer was a joy to drink. Worth noting that the beer foamed out of the bottle immediately after I un-capped it.

Plummy brown and darkly toned with a medium cap of light tan firmly smoothed froth on top. Settles to a thin collar and the lace is strewn about in minimal glaring dots and a few straggly strings. Aroma is quite nice with a pleasant bouquet of berries and dark fruity things. Dates and raisins with twists of lemon skins make up a good portion as it gains a alcoholic soaked berry and date mixing with some black licorice and root beer. Taste is mostly dark and fruity, steady and even in the front and middle with a dark fruity maltyness thats a scad yeasty and spiced. Tends to finish better with a quick, and the gradual brigade of hefty complexity in the dark fruits, adding some pits, skins, and baked raisin, dates, and spicy breadyness. Also hits a wonderful drying sense of dried dark fruits of the raisin and dates, perhaps a bit of fig too. Quite nice and much, much better as it warms. It really gains some nice subtle complexity as it goes. Feel is about medium, with a lighter side to its body then you’d think with all of its dark-sided malt and fruityness. Not a bad thing really, it actually suits the character quite well; especially as it warms. This one grows on you. The pleasing finish with its long wondering dried dark fruity draw is a fine treat to the palate as it leans into some soft breadyness. A damn fine brew. Drinkable as all get out with its moderate carbonation and long drawn out finish. ’Struis’ is a nice brew to share; or to hoard, take your pick. Good stuff.

16 June 2005 (Maastricht-Fallstaff) - Sweet malt aroma, but lacks some hops. Suds lacing, dark brown cloudy colour with good head. Vinuos celery hop and dark malt flavours.

This beer puts forth a large amount of fragrances in the aroma: citrus fruit, dates, wheat, and even the hint of cherry can be detected in the background. It is the color of wet brown suede with a thick creamy cocoa colored head. This beer enters the mouth smooth and heavy producing a bitter-sweet taste as it mildly numbs the tongue. The flavor of nuts with the hints of apples and cherries in the background.