Black color with a tan head that quickly diminishes. Aroma has strong coffee notes with some vanilla and barrel hints. Flavor has notes of roasted malts, almost burnt, black chocolate and coffee beans notes of black ripe fruit with a good oresence of alcohol. Warm and roasty final, light sweetness. Creamy and smooth on palate.

The third installment of this Cuvée series by De Molen, for the seventh anniversary of Monk?s Café, bottled 27-03-2015 so one and a half year old, and "best before 27-03-2040" because they had to find a date somehow, I suppose... Loose, greyish beige, milky, bubbly head needing some force to develop but thinly retaining on the edge of the glass after that and even leaving a little bit of lacing here and there; black colour with burgundy red-brown edges (only visible in the very end or under bright light). Strong, noble, ?old? and very complex aroma of bitter chocolate, kahlua, coffee liqueur and coffee grounds, very old madera, marzipan, brown rum, raisins, candied fig, pipe tobacco, toffee, caramel candy, tawny port, liquorish, beef broth, Belgian chocolates, cognac, cinnamon, bayleaf, brown sugar, molasses, black olives, dried mushrooms, toasted brown bread. Candied sweetness (fig, dates, brown sugar sweetness) mixed with meaty umami in the onset, some deep underlying sourishness further balancing this, flat carbonation just like the #4, impairing drinkability and thinning the body. Thick, syrupy, oily mouthfeel, deep layers of caramelly and chocolatey sweet malts with a bitter toastedness in the end as well as a subtle coffeeish touch, spicy notes here and there, peppery hop accent in the finish providing long and late bitterness, very vinous finish with a lot of warming, rum- and sherry-like booze, but no real alcohol burn. Thick sweet molasses, bittersweet malt, lingering beef stock-like umami, lingering (and even somewhat sticky) candi sugar sweetness all soaked in this alcohol warmth fill the throat. Complex and warming sipper, very sherryish like the #4, doubting somewhere between imperial stout and barley wine and to be enjoyed slowly in small quantities. As with the #4, however, I find the carbonation just too flat and the mouthfeel too sticky, both of which decrease drinkability making it hard to pour down an entire bottle. Interesting for sure, just not my personal thing, I?m afraid, certainly in comparison with dozens of other Molen beers. How did they come up with this anyway? Is it a means of getting rid of leftovers from other beers? I cannot help but feeling this was the intention of this series... Nothing wrong with that as such (this approach has given the world great things like Bruery’s Melanges or Lost Abbey’s Deliverance, after all), but just randomly throwing together a bunch of leftovers from great beers will not automatically lead to a new great beer and in this case, the result seems a bit messed up, frankly. Same for #4.

330mL bottle, pours black with a tiny beige head, hinting at low carbonation. Aroma is huge on the bourbon upfront, with loads of vanilla, a little liqueur, maybe some vinous notes, and chocolate. Flavour is certainly complex and very multi-dimensional, with notes of bourbon, red wine and various liqueur barrels, along with a pronounced miscellaneous spiciness, some roast and chocolate. There is a fairly apparent tartness on the finish that seems like it's from red wine barrels rather than any sort of infection. Seems like a random blend that they haphazardly threw together that works fairly well to some extent, but it's not on the top tier level of some De Molen's other impie stouts. Very nice experiment for what it is.

2018-01-04, bottle from BCL, Park Royal, West Vancouver, bottled 27-03-2015, 2 years old, 7-4-8-4-15=38
It pours black, oily, with no carbonation. Aroma of dark caramel, dark malt, tar, a bit of iodine, phenol, red wine, hint of cheese. Full bodied; the very low carbonation gives a slightly oily texture; the dark caramel dominates, with notes of red wine and liquorice. The alcohol is quite well masked, some wine barrel seems particularly evident in the final.
Very good, but not exceptional for complexity or harmony.

2016-06-26, bottle from BCL, Park Royal, West Vancouver, 7-4-7-3-14=35
Black color, not much head. Aroma of dark malt, alcohol, red wine, rubber. Strong body; dark caramel and some roasted malt flavor, with moderate residual sweetness; the alcohol is very evident; there is some liquorice, tobacco, bourbon, wine, dark chocolate. Everything comes through in a very chaotic way.
A good beer, but very messy.

330 ml bottle at home from trade with Douberd. Thanks Christos! Dark brown black color with beige head. Malty aroma, roasted, chocolate, coffee, licorice, dark dried fruits, wood, vinous, alcohol. In the beginning there are some medicine and plastic notes. Sweet and bitter lcoholic taste like aroma. Medium to full oily body with soft carbonation.