De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis (Hell & Damnation)

Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen
Style: Imperial Stout
Bodegraven, Netherlands

Bottled 330 (19 Jan 2010) bought at North London Beer Festival, 11 March 2010. Super dark brown, almost black. Intense aroma of chocolate, caramel, coffee. 10.2 abv, perfectly balanced, an emotion for the palate.

Bottle. Pours black with tan head. Taste is bitter and lightly sweet. Palate is full bodied. Aromas are complex, has burnt malt, coffee notes, vanilla, peppers.

Bottle. Dark brown colour with a medium-sized brown head. Aroma of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate with hints of hops and alcohol. The flavour is sweet, bitter, roasted malt, coffee, liquorice and chocolate. Quite full-bodied, bitter and roasted aftertaste. Very good, but few years in cellar might make this even better.

My 100th rating. Bottle 33cl at home. 186/1284 bottles. Brewed 07/11/2009, bottled 06/12/2009, tasted 06/02/2010. I wanted something less or more special as my 100th beer, and this one came out... Pours very dark, littke red, but really dark, almost black. Nice looking, but a bit to little head. Beige-brown of colour, holds a good time. Roasted coffee and dark fruit smell. Some caramel and chocolate. Bitter -sweet roasted coffee-taste, a bit to much coffee for me. Also dark fruits and some vanilla. Bitter aftertaste. Feels a bit like a dissapointment, expected so much more of my 100th beer. Ofcourse, it is a very good beer, but not a top-10 for me at all. It misses a bit of sweetness, and the coffee is to overwhelming.

750ml bottle. Brewed on 8/28/2008, bottled on 9/27/2008, and consumed in January 2010. Pours almost pitch black, showing oily and thick in the glass, with virtually no head. Some dense sheeting stains the glass brown, but leaves no lace behind. The aroma shows monster notes of rich, bittersweet, dark chocolate and fudge, followed by hints of anise and a balancing, earthy hoppiness. Flavors go a little deeper, as hints of coffee roast and vanilla emerge from the dark chocolate abyss, again showing anise and surprisingly potent earthen hops. It seems like it must have been crazy hoppy when bottled. The palate is almost flat, showing slick and oily up front, but lacking a little activity that I think it needs. It dries out a good bit on the slightly oxidized finish. Very good brew, but the more carbonated and better integrated Eiken version that I tried of the summer is so much better.

330 ml capped and waxed bottle, brewed 7th Nov. 2009, bottled 6th Dec. 2009. Bottle No. 190 (of 1284 from this batch). OG 1115, FG 1031. EBC colour 308.9. EBU 99.9. ABV is 10.2%. Declared good for 25 years if kept cool and dark - feels like a sort of sacrilege to drink it now ... Pitch black colour, big and lasting brown head. Lovely roasty aroma, distinct notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate. The flavour has an intense roasted character, notes of coffee and dark bitter chocolate again, also hints of liquorice, molasses and dark dried fruits. Bitter hops in the finish. Brilliant stuff.

Bottle. The aroma of wine, malty and light sour. The beer has no head, the body is black. The taste is light bitter, light alcoholic and medical. The body is strong without any carbonation and dry.

Reddish black with absolutely no head. Strong aromas of vanilla, wood, coffee, chocolate and cocoa. The flavours are very complex, medium sweet and bitter, with a full body and an oily texture. No carbonation and a long finish. Extraordinary.