Struise Dirty Horse

Formerly brewed at De Struise Brouwers
Style: Sour Ale
Oostvleteren, Belgium

26 year old 75cl bottle (21year old brew) shared with Urbain, Travlr and other beer enthousiasts at ’Het Oude Schooltje’. Thanks Urbain. "Are you in for something special?", he asked us. Pours a beatifull ambercolor with little foam on it. Aroma is very strong, even after 21 year in the bottle, with a strong diesel smell which supports the cherry’s and the horse blanket. Taste is full of cherry’s with a deep sourness and some horse blanket. Mouthfeel is brilliant. This surely is one powerfull calling card.

Terracotta in colour with small white mousse. aroma is earthy and fruity with hints of musty soil, cinnamon, clove and wild berries. Taste is fine, wine like, fruity, earthy and complex. Aftertaste is very fine, like a Bourgogne wine. not the most powerful of beers, but it is the finest and most subtile beer I have ever tasted. Taste at the Old School in Oostvleteren. Merci Carlo et Urbain

Tasted at Struise school in Oostvleteren. Old Version, Brick red in colour with slight carbonation and small, quick disappearing white foam. Aroma is complex and very refined. Berries of all kinds, wood, sous bois, old top class wine and antique furniture. Taste is smooth, soft tart, with lots of berrie fruit sensations. balance between sweet and sour is perfect and it has a very unique deep complex taste that remiends me of mespels, a fruit called " dogs ass ". A most wonderfull beer that earns respect . Younger version, much more vibrand in colour, pink-reddish with a nice fine white foam. Aroma is that of red berries, cedar wood, fresh tobacco and old hops. Taste is crisp, slight sharper than the old version and very complex. Aftertaste is super refined and clean. A Struise X-mass treat, tasted in the old school with a group of French beer-tourists from Lille. Thanks Carlo and Urbain.

Bottle courtesy of Urbain at the schoolhouse brewery in Oost-Vleteren. Urbain brewed it in 1983 and bottled it in 1988. "It’s our calling card." A: Deep copper color with a few large bubbles. Bottle had significant diesel marks. Aroma of dark sour cherries with notes of vanilla, a hint of anise, and musty earth. Incredible deep sourness, dark fruits, bits of dust and must. Amazingly complex and totally unique. Body is slightly lighter than expected, but still rich. What can I say? Urbain said it best: "Life sucks...but not here!!"

I had really been looking forward to this beer - all the hype - alle the expectations. The more were the disappointment when I tastes this at De Molen Festival. The aroma to me is first of all dusty, the feeling of cellar is constantly present with a distant sourness somewhere - on top of that some rye. The pour is moisty and cloudy light brown reddish. The taste is flamish and appears very old. The sourness is sour like red sweet grapefruits, but the taste of dust is there side by side with the sweetness. The palate is watery with a very low carbonation and no aftertaste what so ever. Struise has so much better to offer than this. I had actually decided not to write this rating in - but seeing what is happening - people even changing their first rating to a way better rating seem like a mass psycosis, I couldn´t help but adding my oppinion to the picture. To me its like the kid screamin...He has nothing on., can´t really understand what all the fuzz is with this beer. Maybe it´s just my taste butts that´s molested.

Tap @ 1st BBF, De Molen.
Pours a lovely hazy red with a big, creamy, off-white head. Impressive lacings. Aroma has tart cherries, oak, herbs, red wine and a bit of marzipan. A touch of cellar. Medium carbonation, nice creamy mouthfeel. Flavour is soft, tart, cherries, sweet malts, oak, dry, bretty, lemony and a touch of stayin lactic acid. Really nice, but an average rating beyond 4.4? Well...

Draught at 1st Borefts Beer Festival at De Molen. Hazy orange red coloured with a lacing off white head. Light acidic aroma of red wine with notes of caramel, vinegar and lactic acid. Fruity and light acidic flavour of vinegar and caramel with notes of red wine, oak, vanilla and berries. Tart finish. Well balanced acidity.