’t Hofbrouwerijke Hofblues

Brewed by ’t Hofbrouwerijke
Style: Sweet Stout
Beerzel, Belgium

Serve in English pint, Shaker

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Swingtop bottle. Pours a pitch black body with a large foamy brown head that slowly subsided to a thin covering. The nose is deeply roasty with a hefty Belgian yeast influence. Slightly sweet smelling, yet slightly sour at the same time. Chocolate, coffee, some lightly burnt notes. Sweet flavor with a slightly sour twang on the finish. Heavy burnt coffee grounds with a good deal of bitterness overlaying the sweet base. I really dig the Belgian twist on the typical Sweet Stout. Medium bodied with a slightly clingy oily texture and quite active frothy carbonation. This was pretty darn good, it’s nice to get such big and expressive flavors from a relatively low ABV beer.

Decent beer. Nice label and flip top bottle. I did expect a little more due to its Belgian pedigree, but I also don’t want to generalize too much. Aroma is toffee, a bit roasty and malty. Poured with a huge, foamy, frothy tan head and a little lace. Flavor’s is similar to the aroma but sweetness comes out along with leather and burnt sugar. Body is a touch on the thin side, but mouth filling and obviously great carbonation. Weird that although alcohol is nominal, I get a slight alcohol warmth. Proly not a session beer.

33Cl. Black colored beer with a brown beige head. Coffee aroma. A lot of black burned malts in the aroma. Coffee, chocolate, bitterness from the burned malts. Excellent stout.

750mL bottle.. this was a serious gusher. Poured deep brown with a surprisingly short-lived tan head (considering the gushiness). The aroma picked up sour coffee and vinegary notes backed by charred black patent and increasing molasses toward the back.. all in all decent. The flavor was centered around black patent and molasses maltage, again with an unwelcome sour component.. light earthy bitterness and vanilla surrounded.. sour and tacky on the finish. Medium-bodied, but a bit slick on the palate.. tacky and too sour at times.. just didn’t come together.

Bottle. It’s a black beer topped by a small, thick and diminishing tan head. Sweetish, roasted and chocolatey nose, slightly sourish. The flavor is heavy on the roasted malts, quite coffee-like, with fruityness, chocolate and resiny hops. Full-bodied, dry and a bit sourish. Lasting finish, coffee-bitter and a bit hoppy bitter, and surprisingly some alcohol warmth. A nice stout combining sweetness and dryness cleverly. (090523)

Bottle. Black colour with a tan head. Aroma is roasted, malt, coffee. Flavour is dry, roasted, coffee, cacao, hop. Medium body. Easy drinkable beer.

Bottle. The aroma is sweet, malty, also some chocolate. The head is beige, medium large and creamy with a normal duration. The body is black. The taste started light bitter, then there is a little bit of chocolate. The finish is very bitter and metallic. The body is light creamy and medium strong with a lively carbonation. Unfortunately too metallic for my taste.

Bottle from Le Bier Circus (Brussels): Pours very dark with thin beige head. Yeasty arouma with light carbonation. The hops is upfront, light lingering taste that’s creamy and crisp. Caramel, coffee overtones. Well balanced stout.

Tasted at the San Diego International Beer Festival. Dark brown with creamy tan head. Chocolate caramel vanilla and citrus aroma and taste with a tart finish.

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Wallingatan, Stockholm) Black colour with brief, pale brown head. Malty, roasted nose with freshly ground black coffee, cocoa and liquorice. Malty, roasted taste with notes of freshly ground coffee, liquorice, cocoa, black-currant, hints of ashes and a generous well roasted coffee bitterness in the finish. Medium body, dry with a soft and rounded mouthfeel. An excellent stout in stunning balance with lots of flavours and an alcohol level that makes it very drinkable. Very nice.