De Molen Tsarina Esra Reserva

Brewed by Brouwerij de Molen
Style: Imperial/Strong Porter
Bodegraven, Netherlands

Cask (gravity) @ Great British Beer Festival, GBBF 2008, Earls Court, London, England SW5.
This to celebrate my rating #4900 on ratebeer. Clear dark black color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly dimimshing, beige head. Aroma is heavy malty, roasted, caramel, chocolate, cream chocolate, licorice, vanilla, alcohol. Flavor is heavy sweet and bitter with a long long duration. Body is full, texture is oily - creamy - syrupy and so smooth, carbonation is flat. This is a beer that Mrs. fonefan loves and me also. It is so powerfull and complex - balanced - impressive.. Very very nice .. It is not for lager boys.... ;o)) It was my first and last beer the first 2 days on GBBF, Mrs fonefan did not drink much else the second day ... ;o)) Lovely work Menno, you are one of the best ! (050808)

Bottled @ BBF. Cloudy brownish color, medium off-white head. Aroma of chocolat and coffee, but also fruity red wine. Perfect balance in taste between the roasted coffee from the tsarina esra and the vinous notes of the barrel aging. Awesome stuff.

Cask@Brewpub. Amazing aroma. Really unbelievable. Sweet, strong, coffee, sweet chocolate, subtile oak, lots of fruits. No head, shiny, very dark brown, thick. Sweet, complex flavor of fruits, coffee and chocolate. Full and smooth. And ... it was still way too young. I’m really looking forward to trying this in a couple of months again.

GBBF, Trade Day, 2008 Gravity cask (oak). Musty and musky - touches of warm plastic. Wonderful aroma. Warm, soft mouthfeel - very rich and coating. Warm treacle. A gorgeous beer.

Cask at GBBF 2009: chocolate milk, dark chocolate, cocca butter, dried fruits, weak sourness, very very rich, thick body, full flavored, amazing beer,

Bottle at BBF. Black body with small head. Nose of malts and chocolate. Really nice, rich and dark taste of chocolate, coffee and dark fruits. Well-balanced. Very, very good.

Bottle @ Borefts Beer Festival 2009. Black colour, beige head. Aroma of roasted malts, fruits. Flavour of chocolate, dark fruits, roasted malts. Very good beer!

I couldn’t imagine any other beer for rating # 5000. So here it is. Bottle, kindly provided by Menno. Dark chocolate, raisin, oak and plums in the aroma. Sweet raisinny flavor with porto, oak, plums, dark chocolate and fairly well hidden alcohol. Vanilla and hops in the aftertaste. The young girl (somehow I find Tsarina Esra a very feminime beer!) has developed into a beautiful, strong, well developed woman with a lot of power and complexity. I will probably never forget this beer for the rest of my life... Bottled: 2009 version. Bordeaux barrel and you can notice that! Vinous aromas next to the coffee, dark chocolate, figs, raisinny and coffee notes you will find in the ’standard’ Tsarina Esra. Low on carbon. Powerful yet deceptively drinkable. Some alcohol in the finish. Once again a magic liquid.