’t IJ Columbus

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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UPDATED: JAN 20, 2005 This is the only t IJ label to depict a Spanish galleon ship (Christopher Columbus?). The beer is like a dubbel. Golden and cloudy in color. It’s quite good with a fair amount of complexity. A little banana and plenty of pepper. Rich mouthfeel. Bitter aftertaste with lingering pepper.

hazy orange colour, dense white head with a lot of residual lace. zesty spicy nose with citrus and white pepper aromas being most distinctive. taste is complex and vsaried. lots of spices with a orange tartness and malt/caramel sweetness. finish leaves a alcohol aftertaste.

Cloudy with quite a bit of sediment. Huge thick foamy head. Nice malt aroma and very smooth body. Quite enjoyable.

Another interesting brew. A lot going on in both aroma anf flavor. A bit more cloying than others.

Cloudy deep golden brown with thick white foam. Homemade looking but beautiful. Spicy in the cinnamon, clove range, add molasses and honey. Yeasty and effervescent. I can feel the alcohol in the gut but this isn’t one that pitches a tent or warms like a hot tamale. Some light fruit sweetness. There’s a lot in here... Truly fun with hints of bubblegum. The texture is all over the place -- bits of particulate, alcohol snap and lip slickness, some foaming, otherwise clean. I can’t let this one sit for an hour like VENOM had... what a feat of restraint! A fun brutish beer.

Cloudy peach with tons of suspended particles and a small pile of yeast. Fat, rocky, sticky off white head. Nice looking. Heavy swirling carbonation. Trademark sweet/tart aroma with light hints of cat pee, some spices and rindy hops. Spritzy body, with the balanced sweet/tart flavor and an intense spiciness. This needs to sit alone for an hour or so. Remains bubbly, but has mellowed slightly. Airy body hides the ABV. Still very tart, spicy and yeasty. Lightly sweet and sticky. This is a solid Pale Strong Ale, and not as loaded with wacky flavors as the other t Ij brews. Nice job.

An aggressive beer, but it goes down smooth. The taste is a little carmely, with just a touch of bitterness. Well-balanced. A little rough around the edges and kinda grainy at times. I had this on tap at the brewery and it was fantastic.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2005 Head is initially average sized, frothy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (cookie, bread, caramel), lightly hoppy (herbs, flowers), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of pineapple, mango, alcohol, banana, tangerine. Flavor is heavily sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium to full body, velvety/creamy texture, soft carbonation, moderately alcoholic. Extremely malty and nicely estery with tropical fruit galore. Rich, sweet, heady goodness. Sweetness can become a bit much by the end of the bottle, but it works as a barleywine-ish fireside sipping beer.

Many happy returns in Amsterdam. This strong beer always seems to get the job done.

A bit sour-sweet beer. Nice head, the appearance is supposed to be clear, but when you pour a bit too much in your glass, the yeast is coming out of the bottle, which is not nice for the appearance. Palate just rolled in my mouth, which was delicious!