t IJ Struis

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

Bottle 0,33ltr: Brown , but powerful ale from Amsterdam, with some spices in it and a good bitterness.

fairly thin dark tan head, goes moderately quickly. ruby brownish color, dark gold at edges. some yeast specks but not too cloudy. sourdough yeasty aroma, malty, tart apple, date, molasses too. dry vinuous start, light carbonation. medium body. malty flavor and mild alcohol too. some hop in the finish, nice dry aftertaste

Mohogany brown w/ a short lived light beige head, probably from alcohol. Toasty & caramel malt, intense fruitiness like a grape fruit rollup; light clove spicy yeast & perfumey alcohol. Toasty malt flavor, low clove flavor from the yeast, well balanced but malt flavored. Raisin and plum fruit & sugary sweetness. Caramel in between all that. Highly carbonated, medium body, warming alcohol, but very smooth. Very tasty & fruity. More so than the other beers I’ve had from this brewery. I wish I could get my hands on more from this place!!!

Bottle, brewery. Cloudy dark chestnut, thin offwhite head. Strong alcoholic nose, wheaty, some lemon hop. Mouth is warm wheat with strong alcohol, some cherry glace tones and some other dark fruits. Finishes long and warm, spirit burn present. Rather good.

Dark ruby- brown color with a medium beige head. Aroma is fruity with yeast and an odd (prune?) scent. Flavor starts with red grape, prune, black cherry followed by some peppery spicyness and a tongue tingling, lightly dry and tart finish. 9% ABV not apparent.

A much better showing this time around. Impressive appearance: big thick off-white head and a body of dark tan with a dark orange core. Nose shows toffee and chocolate, raisined fruits and some darker spices. Suprisingly light touch in the palate; mild spice and chocolate but the intensity does build to a warm and spicy finish. Not convinced that this bottle is in great nick.

August 2007 (2.8): Should have been another cracking beer from what is now one of favourite producers. Visually stunning, as is common for the house. Perfectly formed medium sized head, offwhite in colour. Glowing orange with a dull red core. Served in a chablis / chardonnay wine, which by the way worked a treat. Sweet candied malts on the nose together with minerals and cinnamon. Flavours unfortunately let the beer down I suspect this one has a bad case of the ’skunks’. Some cinnamon and spice of the palate, but quite mild and disapates as the skunky notes kick in. The palate is surprisingly light for a 9% with the alcohol barely registering any presence. I’ll rate this purely for record keeping purposes but clearly a sound sample would rate near or above 4.0.

BBE 11/08. Murky ruby brown, lacing beige head. Nose is vinous sourness, rust, dry fruits, earth and spices. Berry vinous flavor, port wine, earth and strong spices. Nice sourness. Quite dry finish with little alcohol. Medium to full bodied, foamy and smooth carbonation. An interesting, Oud Bruinish brew.

Bottled. Murky, dark mahogany color. Sweet malty aroma with a very sweet flavor as well. Slightly hot. A bit confusing.