’t IJ Speciale Vlo

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle 33 cl. Pours a hazy golden with a small white head and a biscuit, yeast and vanilla-like aroma. The taste is yeasty and spicey, with some citrus or white grapes too. A nice yeasty, hoppy finish. I like it.

Bottled. Oh, this was quite a crazy beer. Pours out in a vibrant hazy orange colour with a low thick head. Big funky and yeasty aroma of white pepper, mature cheese, fresh green hops, tart oranges and herbs. Medium bodied with with dryish yeasty and funky flavour of white bread, white pepper, basil, anise, white grapes and all-spice. Dryish, funky finish of anise, all-spice, wild yeast and white bread. Fantastic.

Golden color, big white head. Aroma: fruits, yeast, citrus. Palate: sweetness, fruits, citrus, little bitter.

33 cL bottle. Pours clear and golden yellow with a huge white head. Spiced and herbal aroma, not good and uninviting. Flavour is nice malty with a nice sweetness and spice mix. Has a slight soapy and leathery feel. Ends with a mild spice note. Terrible aroma but nice flavour.

Pretty sheets of near-white lacing form as a fluffy head slowly recedes. A medium amber body is revealed, quite cloudy. Perfumes and floral notes - perhaps Dandelions - emerge as the glass is drawn closer. Mild spice and aged hops are detected. Alcohol is pleasantly, totally concealed. The flavor takes a sudden twist: Spice! What a momentum shift. The taste is incredibly spicy and almost as lovely as the aroma, it just seems to lack some of the complexity of the nose. Sweetness is medium, hoppy bitterness is mild, astringency is low-mild. The finish is yeasty and bitter, lingering a short while and fading into a crisp and clean wheated fraction of its former self. A delicious refresher with a face-kick of spice to mix things up. Cool beer. This brewery concocts another unique and winning recipe.

Bottle. A golden/amber beer with a huge off-white head. The aroma is of yeast, fruits and citris, the taste is light dusty, yeast, fruits and spices. Medium body with a dry spicy finish.

Bottle. Large off-white thick head that mostly lasted. Good display of lacework. Clear sparkling body with a golden color. Yeast, caramel, fruit, spice and citrus leather. Light to medium bodied with a light dry texture and a soft carbonation. Moderated bitter flavor with a hint of sweetness. Bitter spicy lingering finish.

Bottle. Clear amber coloured with an off white ehad. Spicy aroma of yeast, grass, pine needles and leather. Fruity and spicy flavour of yeast, grass, leather and liquorice.