De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis 666

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

Serve in Snifter

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Well, I think my score says it all, really. This is a truly lush RIS. So, it’s a 75cl bottle here. Cork comes out with a nice pop, though there is no pressure behind it. Pours out looking very oily and slick, but then suddenly a nice mocha coloured head appears and foams up out of nowhere, excellent conditioning it would seem. Pours out pitch black with a slight brown hue. Aroma is sugary prunes, dark fruits, oak, booze (but in a good way) earth/mineral - essentially a peat like quality, there is a choco element, and some coffee but it’s overridden by fruit - interestingly there aren’t the standard aromas here, I’m assuming the fruity element must be coming from the cognac soaked wood chips. Flavour is, I would say, almost perfect for the style. Entry is roasted toasted blackened malt, backed up with a two fold fruit attack coming from some lovely hops, and a whisky/cognac element. More prunes, coffee, now some definite chocolate rearing it’s head, smoke, more oak, eart (definitely like peated malts...) in the mids you pick up a good smack of vanilla and some chewy yeast and doughie notes, which usher you into the coffee soaked, almost liqueur-like finish where it becomes very evident there has been some influence from a spirit of some kind. Body is to die for, slick, creamy with the slightest hint of carbonation creating an element of mousiness, beneath which runs a literal tongue coating oiliness which is just superb and super decadent. I can’t speak highly enough of the brew, pitty it’s so rare, but ho-hum, that’s life. Now I’m gonna have to re-taste and rate Tsarina Esra, as up until now that was my favourite Molen beer - this bad boy is the new contender though. De Molen we salute you!

33cl bottle from Kamiel - one of the versions I was most looking forward to. Midnight brown with a mocha head that fades from a one finger cover to a light ring around the outside of the glass. Roasted sweet malts, coffee, bittersweet chocolate, vanilla, bit of leather / smoke, some alcohol but I don’t have the palate to say that its cognac. Moderately high carbonation, full body, somewhat sweet with a hint of bitterness (reminds me of a slightly sweet but cold turkish coffee), silky and oily texture, alcohol becomes more present on the finish, along with the sweetness becoming dominant. Very tasty.

20/04/2012 180ml bottle, shared by Matt (thanks 50belair!). Nera, densa, impenetrabile, schiuma color cappuccino, abbastanza abbondante e persistente. Aroma dolciastro, cioccolatoso, con note di cognac, molto etilico, una punta di caffè. In bocca è dolciastra, maltata, con sentori di cioccolato e finale amarognolo lungo. Corpo medio-pieno, consistenza oleosa, carbonazione soft. Molto buona, ma un po’ sgraziata.

Sample at ÖÖWF 2011. It poured a pitch black liquid with a pale brown head. Smell and taste of chocolate, coffee, wood and whisky. Very nice and complex.

330 ml bottle bought @ Bierkompass.de. Pours dark mahogany brown, almost black, with a creamy brownish white head that slowly dissipates without leaving much trace. Smell is sweet and malty with dark bread, coffee, bitter chocolate, wood, wet earth and hints of smoke, brandy and metal. Taste is sweet, bitter and tiny metallic with roasted malts, wet earth, sweetened coffee, orange zest, plums, raisins, cognac, wood and hints of milk chocolate and liquorice fudge. Mouthfeel is smooth, slightly creamy and full bodied. Finish is bitter and sweet with coffee, chocolate, wood, resin, vanilla and hints of cognac.

this beer is a typical Russian imperial stout. Taste it ... It is very good. De molten beers are very good

18 cl bottle. Pours dark brown with a tiny brown. Aroma is roast, chocolate, vanilla and some boozy notes. Taste is heavily sweet. Finish is bitter and with some warming alcohol. Emtremely tasty! Another fantastic Hel & Verdoemenis variant.

12oz-ish bottle courtesy of blomster. Thanks, Christer! Pours a deep, dark chocolate-brown color; modest light-brown head with decent retention. Roast-forward aroma, with bitter chocolate and hints of char alongside a light honeyed sweetness; cognac contribution very quiet. Medium-full body; light CO2; modest amounts of honeyed sweetness alongside generous roast, milk/dark chocolate, and very soft, lightly tannic barrel character; there’s also a light, piney hopping here that balances things quite nicely; a pervasive, solid bitterness with a fair amount of subtle hop flavor behind that core, malt-forward approach. Lasting dark/bitter chocolate, roast, and modest bitterness in the finish.

Bottle. Black colour with a brown head. Aroma is oak, cognac, alcohol, roasted malt, coffee, licorice. Flavour is sweet, oak, cognac, alcohol, coffee, , roasted malt, licorice. Full body. Very nice beer.

Bottle, thanks to Leighton. It pours very dark brown, near black, with a moderate tan head. The nose is toasted coconut, chocolate, caramel, roasted malt, vanilla, wood and alcohol. The taste is chocolate, roasted malt, caramel, toffee, coconut, chewy malt, earth and chocolate digestive biscuit, with alcohol warmth in the finish. Full body and low-medium carbonation. Complex, yet very well balanced. Delicious!

330ml bottle. Deepest dark brown with small, stable, lacing, creamy to frothy beige head. Smokey, woody aroma, leather, ashes, almost sulphur. The first sip’s impression is: heavy - heavy in its literal sense. Full body, even the glass seems to be filled with a fluid doubling the weight of water. A cognac note is present in taste throughout; a leather-like woody note predominates in the beginning; coffee gains influence with time; dark chocolate reigns the finish, liquorice sweetness sticks on palate, lips, teeth. Even a Black IPA note, often concentrating hop and malt to a carrot-like taste, is present. Very good, ageless beauty in its simplicity seen from distance.