’t IJ Natte

Brewed by Brouwerij ’t IJ
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Serve in Trappist glass

Deep amber with a beige head. sweet berries and yeast in the nose. malty caramel-like sweetness. finish has notes of hay.

24th October 2007
Warning! Early amateur rating! Crisp amber beer. Palate turns soft in the middle. Nice mix of herbs, tangy fruit and malty bitterness. Very nice.

Head is initially average sized, frothy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is murky light to medium brown, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (caramel, nuts), moderately yeasty (horseblanket, barnyard), with notes of band-aid and sour apple, hint of cherry. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. About as odd as the Plzen...very horsey/Bretty and tart, not usual characters for a dubbel. Whereas these characters are kind of cool in the Plzen, I did not care for them in this one. It was almost like a Flemish sour ale that wasn’t finished yet, or more accurately like a dumping glass at a beer fest that contained a mixture of lambics and brown ales. Confused and unenjoyable.

Brown coloured. Slightly fruity and sweet brew. Rather watery texture. The finish is too short and thin.

UPDATED: OCT 23, 2003 20-04-2003 re-rate: Although still a very good beer I discovered a lot of other flavors. The iron was gone and instead prune was all over it. The flemish brown like flavors were gone as well. It's sweeter and better hopped. 03-03-2002, 4: Iron, light tart aroma. Clear, brown, light brown frothy lasting head, good lacing. Sweet, moderate full, hops, light iron taste. Bit horseblanket in the finish as well as light bitterness, but longlasting. Tastes like a flemish brown (red) to me.

Strange brew. A lot of different flovors going on. Kettle corn with a twist... Sweet, butter, citrus. Some do not blend well.

Russet brown hue with initial large frothy head which faded into a nice ring, some lacing. The aroma hints of caramel and toffee notes, floral, berry and lemon, earthy yeast esters and some phenols. The taste starts twangy and sweet combination with a woody finish. Undertones of flowers, hay, and pepper. The finish is a muddled mix of malts and yeast and seems to not display much complexity. The mouthfeel is lively and crisp and not as thin as the Zatte. While not a strong as some of its stable mates, the alcohol seems more pronounced in this beer. Has a double style, it lacks the complexity I hoped for, still is quaffable enough for a try.

(33 cl bottle at The Rover, Göteborg) Cloudy brown color, tan head. Metallic, slightly fruity but also sweet malty scent. Sweet phenolic and sugary taste. Medium mouthfeel. Sweet aftertaste. Medium bitterness.