De Molen Hemel & Aarde (Heaven & Earth)

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

Serve in Snifter

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The best beer I’ve ever tasted. Drank at a local beer festival in the summer. Going to the Netherlands at the end of the month so will re-rate in detail when (hopefully) drinking it.

La meno aggressiva delle 3 imperial bevute, grandissima birra, caffè e cioccolato, caramello e miele, che buona!

I’m actually not a stout fan but I heard that this was good so I thought I’d give it a go. I’m so glad that I did. Very smooth taste, a touch of caramel and a very pleasant aftertaste. Looked wonderful in the glass.

(33cl bottle) Purchased at Cook Street Liquor Store for around $7.90/bottle. Pours a brown thin head atop a black body. Nose of overly peat and smokey. Rich flavour, jerky, highly carbonated on the tongue - this is almost more of a smoked beer than an impy stout. Intriguing - I’m not to into smoked beers but this is fascinating. Strong, gritty .. An ashtray and young tobacco leaf. It’s very very delicious.

Pours black as night with a fuming head that lingers like a fresh memory. Aromas of heavily peated malt with a touch of candy rock. I would have guessed this was Belgian just from the aroma alone. Medium full nectar with mild liquid carbonation. Mild to moderate sugar levels on this with a heavy smoked peat bill. Extreme in nature, like no beer I’ve had before. I drink scotch from Isaly for a reason, the heavy peat and smoke profiles. This brew is that. Iodine is on the finish sliding down with the sugary maltiness. It leaves a tingling feeling on my tongue. No different from drinking a campfire. You gotta try this brew. Bottle says good for for 25 years. Bamn!

Pours a viscous black with little carbonation. Starts with peat-smoke on the nose, followed up by pine and tar from the hops, and chocolate/coffee stout-flavors. A smoky palate (Port Charlotte peat?) rapidly overtaken by intense hop-bitterness and sweeter malts. Lingers for a while on the sweet-ish coffee and caramel flavors, then finishes very ashy and dry. Strong hop-bitterness lingers for a long time, together with a roasty bitterness from the malts. Remarkable consistency, very thick and rich.
Overall.. there’s an impressive amount of flavors packed into this one, without being messy: a bit of a giant, with very very intense peat-smoke and ashy stout flavors.

A bottle, from the Rake. All round sampling. World class head. Excellent lacing, top head, dark rich malts, creamy chocolate, excellent bitterness, fantastic bitterness, excellent balance, gorgeous dark roasted malts, rich and intense like a perfect night out, dark guey tan on appearance. Opaque colour. Menno, you are a LEGEND!!

UPDATED: MAY 8, 2013 Woow... huge smoke scent, which comes back in the mouth and the aftertaste... Incredible power and taste! Very special indeed! ------ this. Had to... 2010 vintage, tasted 08/05/2013 in a beer tasting glass - cellar temperature, still a huge head (beige). Pours almost black. Aroma is chocolate and brownie, honey, motor oil & petroleum... Oh my god. palate is quite perfect: sweet in the beginning, slight sourness, bitterness kicks in as from the middle and ends with nice smokey notes. Taste is chocolate, chocolate, chocolate in its purest form. And some non-anice "drop"/liquorice in the end. Marvelous beer!

Poured very dark brown, almost black with a small, beige head that is quick to reduce to a lacing one. Delicious aroma of espresso, wooden cask, dark chocolate, molasses. Earthy and deep roasted. Dense as a meal with low carbonation. Brown sugary sweet taste with a bitter, strong hoppy aftertaste. Superbly balanced all over, excellent complexity, a masterpiece. Well done, and thanks!

A superb beer from De Molen (again). Loads of smoked and peat aromas which overpass the back hints to liquorice. Complex and long-lasting palate, with smoke, wood and black fruits wrapped up into an oily but creamy texture. Divine, glorious beer.