t IJ Struis

33cl bottle. Pours muddy amber with a fine red hew & large fluffy head. Aroma is sweet & vinous of malts & fruits (berries) Heavy yeasty nose as well! Sticky & full palate. Sugary, earthy & dusty taste. My third beer from the brewery & I havent freaked out about any of the beers yet. I guess its their yeast I slightly dislike!

Pours a dark, ruddy, caramel brown color with a burnt orange tinge. A thick, creamy, beige colored head displays excellent retention, leaving strong, well defined, foamy lacing behind. The aroma shows the signature ’t IJ funk throughout, with musty, peppery yeast permeating a malty base of caramelized apples and candy sugar. Flavors follow suit, with caramel and orchard fruits intermingling with sharp, dry, spicy yeast notes. The result is a unique contrast between sweet, sour, and dry that just seems to work in a funky sort of way. Medium-full bodied and moderately carbonated, the yeast dries out whatever sugary sweet textures that the malts attempt to impart. I call this brewery the Jolly Pumpkin of Europe, and brews like this go a long way to substantiate that claim. Great beer.

Bottle at the brewery.Pours cloudy ruddy brown with a small tan head. Quite a bit of sediment. Sourly fruit aroma. Complex bitter and sour fruit flavours. Dry finish. Well-carbonated. One of those beers that only get better the more you taste of it.

BBE 11/08. Murky ruby brown, lacing beige head. Nose is vinous sourness, rust, dry fruits, earth and spices. Berry vinous flavor, port wine, earth and strong spices. Nice sourness. Quite dry finish with little alcohol. Medium to full bodied, foamy and smooth carbonation. An interesting, Oud Bruinish brew.

a real nice powerfull dark beer. a strong, sligth sweet aroma. and lots of flavor.

On tap at the brewery under the windmill, Amsterdam (3/2008). This was a very close second to Zatte as my favorite ’t Ij beer, and on any given day it could probably take first. Opaque hazy orange brown, diminishing head to a thick dusting. First taste note: "wow." Strong, full overripe dark fruits (currant, plum, carrob) are the gist of this beer. Coats the mouth with the full flavors, which linger as a light hop prick and slight mealiness emerge in the finish. Middle has a wonderful round maltiness, a malted-milk sweetness playing well with the fruits, which are so full and distinct. Alcohol and dirt on the smell. I wrote in my notes that it seemed like this was trying to be Pannepot, and only later realized that the name of the beer pretty much makes that plain. Not as well-made as Pannepot, nor as complex, but a great effort.

Bottle. Unclear medium amber orange color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, caramel, tart, moderate yeasty, prune. Flavor is moderate to light heavy sweet and bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. (190408)

A characterful beer with an interesting tartness to it. Bottle at the Wildeman. Pours cloudy amber-brown with beige, lacy head. Nose is fruity and tart with an odd chemical edge like Sweet Tarts candy. Taste is both sweet and tart, fruity, with a moderately bitter kick that goes bone dry like a big saison. Funky.