Exclusive experiment from Struise and along with its Cuvée Delphine counterpart (’Pablo Eiscobar’) the strongest beer ever made in Belgium. Bottled 11/08/2015. No head whatsoever (as is announced on the - somewhat pharmaceutical looking - label), dark mahogany brown colour with amber hue, still translucent, lightly hazy. Very strong aroma of peated whisky (Laphroaig indeed, and a lot of it), even some iodine, oak, chocolate extract, vanilla-like tannins, burning pipe tobacco and of course a very strong alcohol vapor. Obviously very intense and alcoholic taste which resembles beer as much as a decent whisky does: the alcohol burn is there right from the beginning, perhaps even more so than in a decent whisky, and dominates the entire palate, burning away the remains of caramel, bitter chocolate and dark fruits that were once there in the basic beer; strong vanilla-like oak tannins burst open in the finish and mingle with the alcohol burn, which heats mouth and throat altogether. A very caramelly malt coating remains back in the throat along with this heat, and is basically the only thing to remind you that you are still drinking beer. I only poured 2 fl. ounces of this and still the alcohol burned on my tongue for a long time after swallowing. Interesting, but only if you look at it as a liquor: this should be judged in the same way as you would evaluate a single malt whisky, with which it has a lot in common. I have nothing against a good whisky, but most top quality whiskies have an even softer alcohol effect than this beverage. This sparks curiosity, obviously, but apart from the fact that this can be kept in a cellar or even a closet for an undetermined amount of time like any whisky, cognac or other distillate, I do not recommend buying it: the price is as impressive as the ABV, and those who like a good whisky (or cognac, or armagnac, or any other 40% ABV liquor) are probably better off buying that than this extremity. I had several other 25%+ beers and I would even recommend paying 200 USD or more for a bottle of Samuel Adams Utopias than this. Still, if you can set your mind to fine liquor mode, this is not all bad: it just depends on how you look at it. If you look for beer, stay away from this, but if you are looking for a fine liquor to add to your whisky or brandy collection, this will be an interesting side note in your closet. Precisely that makes this kind of extreme ’beers’ hard to rate, so I’ll simply give it an intuitive rating in line with the degree to which I enjoyed this compared to other extreme ABV beers I tasted. One thing is certain in that respect: in terms of aroma, taste, mouthfeel and palate, this is the closest thing to whisky I ever tasted which is not whisky.

Bottle thanks to Marcelo and Rebecca. Pours a jet black color with a big oily bunch of legs. A sharp whiskey nose, smoke. The flavor is massive smoky heat, oak, raisins, sharp, chocolates, oily viscous feel. I liked this more than the Eiscobar. Not drinkable much but good. Great experiential.

Bottle at craig’s. Pours black, nose is massive whisky burn, chocolate, smoky, taste is dry, peaty, boozy. Basically a whisky.

Bottle at the 1st Annual Christmas at The Garvie’s tasting 2015. Pours dark brown with no head, it’s got legs! Aromas of peaty whisky, hot booze. Taste is hot, whisky finish. Too hot for me, said chimpanzee!

Bottle at craig’s. Pours black, nose is massive whisky burn, chocolate, smoky, taste is dry, peaty, boozy. Basically a whisky.

Bottle. Pours brown - nose/taste of peat, smoked peat, whiskey, scotch, chocolate and oak - medium body.

Thx! 350 ml. bottle sampled @ Borefts 2015. Day 1. Smallest sample ever but still sufficient. Still light black. Nose is medicinal alcohol, peated, touch floral, light anise, little else. Taste is pure booze, alcohol, hugely boozy, peated, medicinal, iodine, licorice,… Body is thinned, boozy. Not awful but also basically a bad spirit, not worth the money, you can get good peated whiskey for this price. The text tries to be cocky & sell this but yeah… As whiskey this is no good & it is clearly not worth it. The sad thing, Struise is making is whiskey, it is young, they do have distilled Black Albert, if my memory does not fail me, the version that I did try was also on Laphroig barrels & that one was absolutely stunning.

At Borefts 2015. Aroma is nice, with lots of vanilla, smoke, booze and roast. But taste is way too strong. It?s mostly booze, with a tiny hint of the things that work well in the aroma. With 15% less abv, it could be great.