Black Damnation IX - Beggars' Art
De Struise Brouwers in Oostvleteren, West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Stout - Imperial Regular|
Score
7.70
|
|
Sign up to add a tick or review
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Frothy off-white fair mostly diminishing head. Black colour. Moderate malty and hoppy aroma. Heavy bitter flavor. Long heavy bitter finish. Creamy palate.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 3.5
Bottle tried blindly. Boozy and extremely thin with hints of glue and no barrel character whatsoever. Poor and underwhelming, not sure if faulty bottle or otherwise what's everybody on about this
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle from Drankenhandel Leiden. Abv at 18.1%. Aroma is heavy on the Ardbeg barrel with dark malt, caramel, oak, chocolate, alcohol. Flavour is moderate sweet, some bitterness in the finish. Heavy and boozy. Body is above medium. Rather massive, boozy but drinks below the 18.1%.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Bottle.Pitch black colour with small head.Aroma of earth and soya tart and oily not long sweet after taste but just strong boozy finish really boring overall.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 10 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9.5
There are not many more attractive beers to me than a barrel aged imperial stout. And I have one from Struise, even better. This 33 cl bottle was acquired from Finest Belgian early last year, saved for the winter chill. I have taken down a tulip glass to sample Beggar's Art and it is in place for the pour. An absolutely dark, mahogany brown body with a spare ring of light tan bubbles. I lift the glass for a smell and get lots of chocolate, scorched grain, booze and berries. And the taste now. This is an outstanding imperial stout. Baker's chocolate, malt, strawberries, whisky, toasted wheat bread, dark plums and earth. Slightly sweet and the same with the bitterness, a complement to one another. The carbonation is minimal but the beer provides a surprisingly complete sensation. The high ABV, label confirms the 18.1%, is not obvious but it adds to the fullness. I appreciate the simplicity to this brew, no long list of added flavors like with pastry stouts, it does not need them. This is easily one of the best beers I have rated in quite a while.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle at home in Hackney - picked up from HOTM. Pours clear, deep brown with a small, foamy tan head. Medium sweet flavour, mellow smoke, roast, dark fruits, berries, raisins, chocolate accents, earth, pear. Medium to full bodied with fine carbonation. Moderate warmth in the finish, some iodine, mild smoke, burnt wood, old barrel, torched caramel, alcohol, earth, raisins. Very tasty stuff, drinks impressively for the ABV.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5
33cl bottle. Deep brown color, with almost no head at all. Aroma of dark chocolate, toffee, coffee, roasted malt, something liquorous too. Taste id dark malts, coffee, chocolate, vanilla. Alcohol is there but well hidden considering what shows the bottle. Very low carbonation. Not much of the whisky barrel though. Not the best of the black damnation series, but still a great imperial stout.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
5th January 2023 Almost opaque dark brown beer, small bubbly pale tan head. Palate is unbelievably light for its heavyweight 18% abv. A good fine carbonation too boot Creamy dark malts, a nice dark chocolate vibe, touch of milk chocolate. Rich coffee eventually makes a brief appearance. The Aardberg whiskey provides a rich but crisp and bright ripe fruity richness, especially plummy ripe fruits, finishes light with a mild spiciness. Leaves a caramelly dark malt aftertaste with a light pleasant spice giving the tongue a mild tickle. Wow, total nostalgia trip for me. Back to those heady days of 12 to 15 years agot when Struise were right up there with the best around. Then came bloated overpriced 750s and a disappearance from the fest circuit. Glad to see these 330s making their beers more accessible and reminding old cynics like me just how good Struise can be. This is a layered and tasty ba Impy that drinks stupid easy. Colour me impressed. Once again.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Whisky barrel aged version of Black Albert and actually one of the ‘first generation’ Black Damnation variations (number 9), now reprised in 33 cl bottles, like some of the other first Black Damnations. Sample at Dijleschuimers’ Winters Bierfestival. Waferthin, pale greyish beige, open ‘ring’ of mousse on a black beer with hazy mahogany edges. Aroma of black chocolate, toffee, whisky (though not so much recognizable as Ardbeg), walnut ‘pralines’, cappuccino, hazelnut oil, bayleaf, black cherries, wet leather, hints of wood, sweat and blood. Dense onset, sweet with an umami edge, candied dates, some porcini, raisins; soft carb, very full, oily mouthfeel. Cashew-nutty, toffeeish, bitter black-chocolatey and eventually mildly coffeeish dark maltiness fills the mouth, adorned with hints of dried prune, pipe tobacco and leather but little of the peat associated with Ardbeg, strangely; boozy ending, long and bittersweet, very whisky-forward but still – in spite of its formidable ABV – rather drinkable and not overly harsh. Not the best Black Damnation number I have had, but certainly tasty, powerful and intense; I do wonder, however, what happened to the peatiness of the Ardbeg – perhaps another whisky was used in this new, small-bottle version?