t IJ Struis

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

4/2004 bottle. Pour reveals a medium amber-caramel colored body, with light oranges, coppers and golds all noticeable. Large, well-retained head, per usual for the brewery, with plenty of sediment remaining in the bottle. Aroma has notes of strong belgian yeast, light candi sugar and plenty of caramel malt. Light raisins and berries. Flavor parallels the aroma quite well, with lightly sweet caramel and raisins, figs and dates on the finish. A low amount of residual sugar does not give it too sweet a flavor. Lately I’ve been turned off by high abv BSAs, due to the powerfully sweet and warming nature of them, but this one hid the 9% abv nicely and was more restrained in flavor. Giving the beer time to breath creates a soft mouthfeel. A bit of oxidation from the age loosens up the body, but it makes it surprisingly drinkable for a 9% BSA. So far, T’Ij is 2 for 2 in my book. Excited to try more.

Deep garnet body with a strang epeach colored head. The aroma was rich freshly poished shoe leather and peaches. There was also some earthy musk. The taste was rich with caramel and some old canned pears. There was also a nice spicy cinnamon note in the finish. A clean and delicate beer for the big abv. Well done.

Bottled @ KØ 2005: Burgundy coloured. Unclear. Dark beige head. Fruit, raisin, berries, yeast, malt and sweetness in the aroma. Flavour is equally delicious. Loads of sweet malt, fruit and rasiny notes. Some spices present. Ends on a nice sweet note and a light alcohol burnt. Complex and full bodied.

Hazy orange to fresh polished copper brew, thin but clinging head. Smells like a massive U-pick berry farm on a cooler overcast day, not burned off or dusty, just clean berry essence, Somewhat tart, strawberry pop flavors, very thin and somewhat refreshing even for such a strong ale.

This beer has a brown/red body - hue apperance and a coarse light brown scum collar. I have drunk the beer from the bottle and it had a lot of carbonic acid. The initial flavor taste is fruity with a little bit sweet afther tast.

Nice dark coloured. Brown. A lot of yeast, malts and fruits. COmplex flavour gets better when you let it rest for a while in the glass. Nice.

This is a nice medium bodied strong ale, Nice carmel color and nose is toffee and yeasty. A little extra carbonated when I open it bubbled over. A litte expensive for what it is.

Second in our second ’t IJ triptych, the Struis was certainly a paradigmatic example of this humble Amsterdamian brewery’s savoir-faire. A clinging collar of cream-colored foam floats with facility on the fluvial cinnamon Styx. Fragrant puffs of fruit flow to the nostrils, unhurriedly revealing mango, apricot, banana, orange and pear, further interwoven with white pepper and coriander, with toffee and brown sugar. Impatience seizes the better of me, and an expeditious sip sends the sample slithering to my stomach. A simple sigh, but full of glee, escapes my open lips. The sigh that secret agents sigh, as they salvage and swallow the single flask of antidote. At this instant, a smile stretches across my visage, while my brain rewinds and orchestrates one more time the subtle symphony that pulsates through each tastebud. Viscous and sweet, mango and passion fruit, chocolate and coffee, nutmeg and pepper. Though I force each note to last, the melody soon fades and with a final glissando my glass empties. Beautiful. Drink cold.