t IJ Columbus

Brewed by Brouwerij ’t IJ
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Light amber beer with warm shine and light colored head. Nice malt aroma’s, touches of fresh stone fruits, cookies, caramel, yeast and vegetal hints of hops. Taste is more dry than expected, hoppy bitterness, cookies, cakes and some spices. afthertaste is strong, dry and hoppy. Nice beer.

Orange colour, large frothy lasting head, lots of floaties. Orange and spices in the nose, slightly sour taste, developing into a bitter finish. Pretty dry, very IJ-ish.

This beer has a amber body - hue apperance and a coarse white scum collar. I have drunk the beer from the bottle and it had a medium carbonic acid. The initial flavor taste is fruity with a little bit sweet afther tast.

Just hit the shelves, this must be a 2004 bottling. Deep orange-copper pour, very murky, with lovely large bubbles bursting to the top lazily. Foamy white head, which sticks around in clumps. And now for the single most exciting word in brewing: UNPASTEURISED Yes, ungefiltered and unpasteurised it proudly (well I’m proud anyways) displays on the label. Great, this should be fun. As I slowly swirl the beer to reduce some large head formations, a scent of strong yeast, candi sugar and curacao greets my nostrils. In for the ride are the plentiful malt sweetness (honey, lightly toasted almonds, sweet peaches), and a ever so faint touch of alcohol. Being encouraged, I begin to drink quickly. Mmmm, live beer. Plenty of funky yeast notes collide with a whopping dose of sweet malt and much of the citrus from the aroma, though it is a more sweet orange flavor, not bitter. Alcohol is only slightly evident for a 9% beer, and the body is medium-full, with a pleasant bottle conditioned carbonation. Finish has some light tropical fruits, hints of caramelized sugar, more candied oranges and a big dose of pepper, perhaps grains of paradise. Damn, I’m angry I’ve waited this long to enjoy this brewery. And while this beer may be overall, a bit too sweet and prone to using force to display its flavors, I am instantly a fan of the brewery and will be hunting their other beers down. Bet this ages wonderfully (will be testing that theory).

This darkish golden ale pours with a short off-white head. The flavor alternates between bitter and sweet, tasting more like a Belgian strong ale as it warms.

Light orange gold color, slightly cloudy. Big sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity and sweet, banana and cloves. Nice lacing. A medium bodied Belgian Strong Ale. Malts are fruity and sweet, lots of banana and clove esters. Nice bright yeasts. Smooth taste. Lots of all those flavors that you would expect in a Belgian ale; pepper, banana, orange, peaches etc. Nice solid beer. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

This beer poured a fairly clear golden color with a thoroughly massive white head which was half soapy and half creamy and absolutely refused to die. The carbonation level in this beer was utterly unbelievable, yet it died down incredibly when I actually sipped it. The aroma is nice and yeasty as to be expected. No real surprises here aside from the heavy citrus and orange peel. Other than that the standard lemon, banana, yeasty freshness and grapefruitness that we’ve all come to love from belgian strong ales. The flavor begins as a dry fruity, banana meld but leads into a nice, more mellow citrus, apricot and grapefruit amalgamation by the time this beer warms. A little spices come into play later in the beer in both the nose and finish, but there were nice. Mildly dry lemon and fruity ester finish with a hint of alcoholic warming as well...but I mean only when it warms can it be found. Well rounded beer.

Dark amber, lively head formation. Sweet apple, cidery aroma, woody. Puckering sour apple palate, tart fruity finish. Lanbicish in its tart acidity. Not what I was expecting from my last beer of the night.