Struise / Pipeworks Xenophon’s Wine

Brewed by De Struise Brouwers
Style: American Strong Ale
Oostvleteren, Belgium

Serve in Snifter, Tulip

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16th January 2010
Cloudy brown beer, frothy biscuit coloured head. Dry palate, semi soft. Low carbonation. Soft caramel malt well buried under bitter fruity hops. Aniseed alcohol. Okay but not the greatest beer from this brewer.

Tasted 09/06/2011. Pours nut brown, light tan head fading to hazy surface slick. Bright fruity nose of range, grapefruit, spicy resinous hops, undercurrent of caramel, brown sugar. Taste has nice orange, grapefruit, mildly sweet, caramel malts supporting, and bitterness on the upper palate, though this aspect seems to be fading. Juicy aftertaste, pleasant warming alcohol on the breath. Medium in the mouth, easy and smooth for the high ABV. I quite enjoyed this one. Rich and complex, I particularly enjoyed the orange citrus notes, which shine.

Intensiv malzig-cremiger Beginn mit alkoholischer Unterstützung. Das Malz stürzt sich dann in in schokoladige, später auch röstige Noten. Würzig, leicht hefig, vollmundig. Dann süßer, die Alkoholigkeit ist nur hintergründig erkennbar, sie übt aber einen spürbaren Einfluss aus. Weiterhin intensiv malzig-hefig, etwas honig, erdig, Hopfennoten, die aber weit hinter dem Malz liegen. Ein von vorne bis hinten hefig-malziges und auch schweres Bier. Sehr gut! 13/11/12/12/14/12

Hazy, dark amber-brown body (even going to black). Lightly brown, creamy-frothy head. Brilliant aroma of american hops and very warm chocolate (milk). Never thought a combination of caramalts and hops could work out this well. Heavily bitter, lightly sweet flavour. The sweet caramel part is strongly dominated by the strong hops without making it unbalanced. On the contrary, the balance is great! Maybe somewhat too sharp-edged and slightly powdery dry. Nonetheless, a brilliant beer!

Bottle at home. Clear dark brown - white head. Spicy, yeasty, phenols, high malty, sweetness, light tobacco, peppery, thyme, oiley, chocolate, nutty, fruity, caramel, burned sugar, light candy, light oxidation, light wooden dryness.

Still finishing off the night in the Schravenacker. I have to have this again because I was very drunk when I had it and raved about it. Was I carried away? Was it that good. Yes, yes it was. To both probably. Hazy amber with a medium off white head. Definitely got the American hop influence which is a damn good thing in my eyes. Typical compplex Struise brew. Some spice, yeast and tripel type action. Have to have more!

Bottle… Murky caramel ale with huge floaties and a small, fizzy, off-white head. Decent retention. The nose is of caramel, funky socks and fallen dark fruit. Medium-bodied and sandy with fizzy carbonation. The flavor is moderately bitter and moderately tart and delivers only a kiss-on-the-cheek of caramel. Raspy, dry finish. Definitely past its prime. Bottle courtesy of fata2683!

bottle thanks to bu11zeye. amber with a cream head. nose is alcohol, dried fruits, caramel, and faint hops. nice on the palate, flavor is sweet hops and caramel.

(33cl bottle batch No. 17 bb march 2013 thanks to bu11zeye) opaque orange with creamy bubbles. Nose of oranges and chocolate. Taste of oily oranges, bitter chocolate and cocoa. Oily slick bitter finish.

(33cl bottle) Pours a cloudy orange body with a medium off-white head. Aroma of orange, caramel, cherry, toffee, resin, and apricot. Flavor of orange, Belgian yeast, herbs, caramel, and florals.