t IJ Struis

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

A much better showing this time around. Impressive appearance: big thick off-white head and a body of dark tan with a dark orange core. Nose shows toffee and chocolate, raisined fruits and some darker spices. Suprisingly light touch in the palate; mild spice and chocolate but the intensity does build to a warm and spicy finish. Not convinced that this bottle is in great nick.

August 2007 (2.8): Should have been another cracking beer from what is now one of favourite producers. Visually stunning, as is common for the house. Perfectly formed medium sized head, offwhite in colour. Glowing orange with a dull red core. Served in a chablis / chardonnay wine, which by the way worked a treat. Sweet candied malts on the nose together with minerals and cinnamon. Flavours unfortunately let the beer down I suspect this one has a bad case of the ’skunks’. Some cinnamon and spice of the palate, but quite mild and disapates as the skunky notes kick in. The palate is surprisingly light for a 9% with the alcohol barely registering any presence. I’ll rate this purely for record keeping purposes but clearly a sound sample would rate near or above 4.0.

First new rating in a long time! Bottle from City Beer Store in SF. Opaque light brown (not quite orange) color, light beige head, aroma of banana, orange, alcohol, caramel. Thin, reedy mouthfeel, taste of berries, lasting on the tongue. Almost drinks like an hour-old soda except for the slight alcohol burn.

Hazy orange to fresh polished copper brew, thin but clinging head. Smells like a massive U-pick berry farm on a cooler overcast day, not burned off or dusty, just clean berry essence, Somewhat tart, strawberry pop flavors, very thin and somewhat refreshing even for such a strong ale.

Bottle. Very hith loff-white long lasting fluffy head. Hazy orange body. Aroma of sour berries with the addition of alcohol and hops. Not sour but acidic flavor dominated by alcohol, too dominated in fact, with little carbonation and a long aftertaste. "Not my cup of tea". Too much alcohol in aroma and flavor.

Mahogany red with a huge, creamy head. The aroma has notes of yeast, bread, dark fruits and the flavour of sweetness, roasted malt, caramel, dark fruits, figs, cane sugar and a light sourness, that has a bit tart hints. 2450

Pours to a murky chestnut body with lots of small white/tan particulate. A thin coating tan head with dense lacing sits on top. The aroma is yeasty with tart lemon juice and a nice bready grain. Very house-styled ’t IJ aroma. The flavor is really yeasty with tart pale malt and light lemon and banana. Perhaps some oranges. Lots of earthy yeasts. Doesn’t taste much different as a whole than the other ’t IJ beers. Perhaps something’s lost in translation? :) The palate is carbonated, lightly acidic, and earthy. It grows on me the more I drink it.

Pours hazy brown with khaki head. Smell is banana bread, alcohol, vanilla. Taste is prominently banana, rubbing alcohol. Creamy mouthfeel. This beer was a trip.

Bottle. Frothy off-white excellent mostly lasting head. Ugly brown muddy colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter flavor. Moderate bitter salty finnish. Oily palate. Not so great BSA.