t IJ Columbus

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

Cloudy orange with a yellow tinted head that doesn’t last long. No lace. Aroma is hay and gooseberries. Sweet palate like barley candy with chamomille, dried apricot, and a reedy/woody element. Surprisingly bitter finish. Alcohol is completely hidden-- there is no way I would guess this at 9%. Not a bad beerwhen you study it, but it somehow fails to equal the sum of its parts. Just not very tasty I guess.

330ml Bottle: Very sweet aroma. Smells of malts, candi sugar, plums, honey, and general sweetness. Poured orange/amber/copper in color with a small, creamy, off-white head that lasted throughout. Cloudy. Not sparkling. Full of large particles. Flavor is incredibly sweet. Tastes of malts, honey, candi sugar, bread, yeast, and some hops in the finish. Full body. Thick, oily texture. Soft carbonation. Sweet honey and slight hop finish.

Small foam eruption when bottle is opened, which is kinda cool. Cloudy brown, big tan head. Aroma of pears, chewing tobacco, and bourbon. initial flavors of smoke and fruit, with a pronounced alcohol burn through the finish.

Rich dark fruitiness, with some nice citrusy hoppiness, and a great spicy caramel maltiness, melds very nicely with a bit of yeastiness throughout. Super creamy texture, this is really quite tasty. A very nice surprise.

Burnt orange pour with a dense head and tiny flecks of sediment - aroma of sugar-coated citrus fruits, slight tartness and yeast - creamy mouthfeel with medium carbonation - tastes like orange marmalade on toast, perfect balance of sweet, bitter and tart - long, grainy finish - this is a highly under-rated tIj brew.

(Bottle, Monk’s Café, Stockholm, 2 Feb 2007) Amber colour, slightly hazy, with huge off-white head. Fruity nose with notes of apricots, orange, Seville orange and lots of spicy, flowery hops. Fruity taste with a nutty backbone (walnut?), notes of dried apricots, grapefruit and loads of spicy hops in the finish. Quite complex brew with a lovely spicy, hop character. Very nice!

33 cl bottle. Yeast in bottom. Unclear amber colour with a nice lance head. Aroma of caramel with notes of toffee and sweet malt. Great flavour of malt with a spicy and alcoholic aftertaste. A very fullbody belgium style.

Bottled. Dark red bark color. Woody, sweet, charcoal and worcestershire sauce nose. Nice and complex. Cloyingly sweet flavor, overwhelming esters, extremely hard to drink. Boozy, muddy, and uncomplex. I dig the aroma though.