t IJ Struis

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

Second in our second ’t IJ triptych, the Struis was certainly a paradigmatic example of this humble Amsterdamian brewery’s savoir-faire. A clinging collar of cream-colored foam floats with facility on the fluvial cinnamon Styx. Fragrant puffs of fruit flow to the nostrils, unhurriedly revealing mango, apricot, banana, orange and pear, further interwoven with white pepper and coriander, with toffee and brown sugar. Impatience seizes the better of me, and an expeditious sip sends the sample slithering to my stomach. A simple sigh, but full of glee, escapes my open lips. The sigh that secret agents sigh, as they salvage and swallow the single flask of antidote. At this instant, a smile stretches across my visage, while my brain rewinds and orchestrates one more time the subtle symphony that pulsates through each tastebud. Viscous and sweet, mango and passion fruit, chocolate and coffee, nutmeg and pepper. Though I force each note to last, the melody soon fades and with a final glissando my glass empties. Beautiful. Drink cold.

Dark brown colored with hints of red. Huge light brown head, yeast makes appearance to be cloudy. Strong aroma of yeast, spices, caramel and mild alcohol. Medium to full bodied. Flavor is also nice with licorice, spices and sweetness. Aftertaste has fine warming alcohol with some licorice, spices and biting hops and yeast.

33cl bottle. This was a bit of a gusher. Obviously a hug head to begin with, but disappeared rather quickly. Pours an amber brown, with some red streaks. Aroma was very earthy, with some malt and a smidge of yeastiness. Very smooth tasting, possibly a little thin. Flavor was mostly sweet, malty, yeasty and a little cardboard thrown in. Very drinkable.

Bottle sampled with Beerded_one. Pours bronze\brown with a large fluffy lasting off-white head. Aroma is floral, citrus, fruit, yeast, and belgian style spices. Flavor is smooth, sweet, floral, citrusy, fruit, spices are present, carbonated. Good body, excellent brew.

Rating 1400. 11.2 oz bottle. Bought at State line in Md. Pours a deep amber/ light brown with a big fluffy cloudy light beige head and sticky cobweb-like lace. Aroma has some brett in it which is nice but isnt overly powerful initially. Lots of fruity esters like raisin and plum in the aroma, phenolic herbal and barnyard as well, and even a hint of cherry pie-like brett/pedio in there. Flavor has a sharp bite to it from the brett, lots of wild things going on- horseblanket, barnyard, clove, must, and a light tart acidity in the end. Some sweet caramel malts, some nuts, and a bit of hops in the finish. Brett produces some nice high carbonation but isnt too harsh and still goes down pretty easy. Nice aftertaste. This is a great belgian strong ale, that is enhanced by the brett, even though im not even sure there is supposed to be brett in here at all. I love brett, so this was kickass. I am wondering why no one else has noticed brett in this though.

This one is really nice. Complex taste, lush colour and full, thick body and aroma.. great barleywine-ish brew.

bottle purchased at State Line Liquors. Pours a murky amber, looks like liquid butterscotch syrup. Nice thick off white head. Aroma of fruit flavored tea and musty basement. Rather thin texture. Flavors of caramel apple, bread, yeast, and dark fruit. Sort of like if you mixed a barleywine and weizenbock and watered it down, you’d get something that tastes like this. Finish is slightly cloying. Surprised at how high this is rated. At 4.00 a bottle, I won’t be coming back to this unless it’s free.

BCA (from Bitter Virtue, BB Dec 06). Malty nutty caramel start with raisin and plummy fruit. Slight coriander and fruityness from the yeast. Just a little bit too sweet in the mouth with nothing to balance this making for a slightly cloyinh finish.