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.

Nice appearance with a dark amber hazy body and a creamy head. Caramel-toffee aroma with spicey fruity perfume. Smooth mouthfeel, malty and sweet caramel taste with nuts, cinnamon, fruity notes. Nice beer, i’ve enjoyed it.

This beer rocked my socks. As previously noted in many places, I am somewhat picky in liking Belgian strongs, so this was a nice surprise--and something I will be buying again. The aroma is candied oranges, molasses, rum, brown sugar, raisins, anise, wood, caramel, and some type of flower. Deep cloudy mahoghany topped with a diminishing offwhite head. Mouthfeel is moderately carbonated, thick, heavy, rish, coating, with a lasting maltiness on the swallow. Taste started sweet and syrupy, moved quickly to a spiced, fruity middle, and ended on a chocolate note. Excellent stuff.

When I first poured the beer I encountered a ruinously harsh dark molasses aroma--but nothing suggesting infection or other brewing/storage problem. This only slowly disapated as the beer warmed (or did I just get used to it?). When it finally subsided, I was left with a very nice, malty and alcoholic beer: not unlike a Belgian barleywine. Would be very nice if not for the initial aroma. Bought one year past its expiration at a deep discount.

At vonk slijterij zaandam bottle 330ml, heazy brown, medium head, some red fruits and citrus fruits, some caramel, lots of spices, nice one but a bit overwalming.

Pours a cloudy ruby with some off white head. Nose is musty in a way that reminds me of a traditional lambic. If I hadn’t opened it myself, I’d swear this had come from a bottle with a cork. Flavor is extremely unusual and unique. Man. Very faint sweet tone. I can say right away that it ends with a noticable perfume characteristic. Caramel is there too. Alcohol is noticable a bit too. This is one extremely complex BSDA. And add that it is Dutch too. Who would’ve thought. Feel is goog. Smooth with a nice bubble edge to it. Drinkable? Hell yes; but more for the experience. More of a sipper, but the unique qualities should keep a lover of the style coming back for another. You would never be able to tell what this might be from seeing it on the shelves. I mean a diamond label with an ostrich on it? Come on. Regardless. If you see it, buy it.

Bottle. A very sweet aroma of caramel, Port, also some yeast. The head is very large, white and foamy with a long duration. The body is dark orange to red. A light sour taste of yeast, light burning, malt and some caramel in the middle part. The finish is rather long. The body is medium strong, creamy and with much carbonation.

Murky apple cider with a thick tan head. Aroma of pineapple and yeast and stinging spiciness. Spritzy body loaded with pineapple, star fruit and some floral aspects. Powdery candy sugariness. Lush, lightly carbed body with a tart/sweet candy flavor. Quite interesting. Note: re-sampled cold right out of the fridge and their was an intense aroma and flavor of caramel coated popcorn. Weird.