’t Hofbrouwerijke Hofblues

Brewed by ’t Hofbrouwerijke
Style: Sweet Stout
Beerzel, Belgium

Serve in English pint

11.2 oz. bottle. Pours black with a large, tan head. The aroma is coffee, tangerines, lemon peels, and ripe bananas. The flavor is sweet, surprisingly bitter, and sour, with a lot of musty yeast. The palate is medium, creamy, and a little acidic. This is a good, complex beer, and certainly not drinkable. Strong and worth savoring.

Pours pitch black and completely opaque with a one finger beige head that slowly settles into a thin ring. Spotty lacing left behind. Roasted malt aroma with a subtle lactic presence along with some zesty spice and dark fruit notes. Toasted malts with hints of coffee, dark chocolate, licorice, pepper and vinous berries. The sweetness and spice are pretty tame however, allowing the dark malt notes to take over. Medium bodied with a dry, roasted malt presence that is overpowered mid palate by estery, dark fruit sweetness and zesty spice. Cloying medicinal presence with too much sweetness for my liking. There is a decent roasted dark malt character up front but it quickly drops off. Hints of toast, coffee bean and chocolate are immediately countered by dark cherry, currant, grape and other dark berries. There’s also some licorice, anise and pepper but this isn’t too overbearing. As it warms the malt character strengthens but there’s just too much sweetness for my preference. Easy to drink but not very well balanced or interesting.

Bottle, dark brown with frothy golden head. Aroma is roasty, light coffee and chocolate. Flavor is similar to aroma. Medium bodied. Decent. Rating #7

Bottle, dark pour with fluffy head that leaves no lace. Struggle to find some chocolate and roast in aroma. Chocolate roast in flavor but finding little else. Light olive brine, medium to lighter mouthfeel, higher carbonation. OK

Date: June 23, 2011
Mode: Bottle
Source: Hop City, Atlanta
Appearance: black, frothy beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: roasted malt aroma, just a hint of sweetness, light phenols
Body: highly carbonated body
Flavor: rich roasted malt flavor, dry, light phenolic spicyness
Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.7/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: ** /4

33 cl. bottle. Pours a huge, fluffy, lingering beige head, with extensive lacing, over a hazy, brown body....nose is heavy chocolate, lighter coffee, touch of brown sugar.....taste is rich chocolate, bit of coffee, finish is light bitter and slightly astringent....mouth feel on the heavy of medium, slightly chalky, carbonation adds creamy fizz. This meets the style quite well. The malt back bone is a bit too much towards the chocolate tones for my palate, but is a pleasant, thoroughly enjoyable pint. BJCP 7/3/13/4/7

(33cl bottle thanks to bu11zeye) cloudy dark brown with creamy tan head. Nose of cocoa, cream, sweet chocolate malt grain, and chalk. Taste of smoke, dry cocoa, cream, nice chocolate linger and a creamy body.

This is a fruity, hoppy, but roasty stout, a really good one out of Belgium. A true Belgian stout.