t IJ Struis

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

this one was the second of the 2 bottle beers i had at the windmill brewery. had a deep burgundy brown pour with a tan shitoke head. now mind you this was the last beer at the brewery and my head was swimming with the windmill humm. huge nose of dark fuits raisins, apples, figs and plums... sweet notes of rock candy , brown sugar, honey and vanilla. yeasty texture with bread like freshness and that tin roof rusted thing l. nice mouth feel and not as much alcohol feel as the others. need to try it again to completely appreciate this beer. however, what i remember was very nice.

Nice dark coloured. Brown. A lot of yeast, malts and fruits. COmplex flavour gets better when you let it rest for a while in the glass. Nice.

This is a nice medium bodied strong ale, Nice carmel color and nose is toffee and yeasty. A little extra carbonated when I open it bubbled over. A litte expensive for what it is.

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.

[Sampled in 2004 with "Den blå Hund."] Bad that this beer cannot be found in dk anymore. Great looking and an aroma of explotions of fruits and some spices. This continues in the flavor where it all is handled by some hoppiness. It could be a christmasbeer

pours a depp brown with hints of orange, and a decent tan head. aroma is deep and pruny with obvious alchol and yeast. good carbonation. Tatses of dark fruit, plums and apricots with a bit of a cholocately carmelness. a very noticable alcohol warming finish. The first sip seemed a bit watery, but it coats the mounth on finsh. This is a real unique, full beer

Pours a hazy, copperish brown with a large fine-bubble tan head. Unique aroma with a lot of pineapple, candy smarties, spiced apples, and caramel. Plenty of spices dominate the aroma along with tropical fruits Mmmm, the spices give it a very complex, delicous taste The initial malty and yeasty flavors slowly melt into a spicy, tasty medicine-like finish. There’s something about this beer that leaves you wanting more and more after every taste. This is exactly what I would expect from an Amsterdam beer. It’s rich, creamy, smooth, and leaves your taste buds tingling. An explosion of dark fruit and spices in the flavor along with a funky yeast taste that can only be described as Amsterdam at it’s best, makes this beer a very special one.

Cloudy brown colour, tan head. Aroma had caramel and dark fruits. Flavour is of dried fruits, malts and some caramel. Very nice!