’t IJ Struis

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Dark pour with a good sized head. Some fruit and touches of spice on the aromas. Dark fruit and molasses. Flavor had more hops than the aromas. But mostly malt and sweet finish. Pretty good

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 from beerlando. Clear mahogany, decent off white head. Aroma rather subdued but what’s there is quite nice. Candied fruit, hints of brett, yeasty, herbal character I can’t pinpoint. Flavor has same herbal character, which is amplified by hot alcohol. Honestly tastes like someone put ricolla cough drops in a barleywine. Strange, but not all bad. There is alot going on here, but you really have to dig for it.

Pours lovely... bronze from the bottle to mahogany in the glass, with a mild fizz before a small, cream colored head which reduces to a Christo-esque island surrounded by film. Yeast and malt dominate the aroma with yellow cheeses and taffy and mustiness. Over time, she reveals more defined cheesish yeasts, Parmesan, cheddar, feta. Mid-bodied with a sticky note to the palate. Flavor finds a berry-touched maltiness alongside tart, mildly funked-out yeastiness, finishing with a sugary kicker that proves to be one of this beer’s few flaws. Overall, tasty & satisfying. ~~~~~~~ Purchased June 2007 (Oliver’s Beverage, Albany, NY)... consumed March, 2009.

UPDATED: JUL 11, 2009 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.

Bottle at the brewpub. The beer pours reddish brown witha creamy tan head. The aroma is sweet caramel, spices, light yeast and dark fruit. Light chocolate, sweet malt, light spices and dark fruit in the flavour. Nice one.

Bottle @ home. Murky brown appearance with lots of particles, big caramel coloured head. Smell is of IJ yeast, brown sugar, dark fruits and alcohol. Taste is brown sugar, caramel, toffee, dark fruits, dark fruits, finish is a bit sour and dry. On tap @ IJ brouwerij: Mouthfeel is much softer and more creamy, taste is sweeter. Prefer the tap for this one.

Bottle. Dark amber colour with a lasting medium-sized off-white head. Malty aroma with hints of yeast and fruits. Sweet malty and slightly sour flavour with notes of yeast, berries and some fruits.