Bottle 750ml. @ [ Pre-Borefts Ratebeer evening ] - ABC Beers, Korte Koediefstraat 5, Den Haag, Netherlands 2511CE. [ As The Bruery Black Tuesday (Rum Barrel Aged) ].Clear dark black brown color with a average, frothy, good lacing, mostly lasting, beige head. Aroma is moderate to heavy malty, dark malt, chocolate, roasted, alcohol - sweet alcohol - rum. Flavor is heavy sweet and moderate to heavy bitter with a long duration, chocolate, sweet alcohol - rum, dark malt, buzzy. Body is medium to full, texture is creamy, carbonation is soft, finish feel is moderate alcohol. [20150924]

The rum barrel aged version of this highly esteemed and sought after imperial stout, (very) expensive 75 cl bottle. Loose and coarse, thin cream beige head dissolving in instants and swiftly reduced to nothing more than some minute, loose bubbles trying to stick together on the edge of the glass; colour is obviously black, but with deep yellowish brown, translucent edges revealing a light haziness. Very strong aroma rises up from the bottle as I carefully open it: a ton of warm chocolate sauce, molasses, the finest Belgian chocolates, vanilla-like oak tannins, butterscotch, cloves, marzipan, ruby port, brown rum indeed but less ’intrusive’ than expected, hints of Cuban coffee, strongly reduced beef stock with bayleaf, cinnamon, candied orange and dito banana, whisky, shoe polish, fine Cuban cigars, pear syrup, veal, Drambuie, cola, candied dates, leather, mushrooms fried with brown sugar. If anything, the taste is even more intense than the aroma: a deep, strong, ’praline’-like candied sweetness to begin with, like a cherry bonbon covered in dark chocolate, ’deep’ and structural blackberry sourishness for balance, deep meat broth-like umami flavours but not as expressive as in some other great ’impies’ - the candied sweetness prevails here, as if you are about to ingest a fluid bonbon. Carbonation tickles the tongue but remains refined and does not distract from the overall mouthfeel, which is expectedly very thick and fat, very oily and very heavy. An abysmal maltiness ensues in the middle: the weight of the malts on the tongue quickly increases from caramel, strongly roasted chestnut and honey flavours over milk chocolate and molasses to dark chocolate and roasted coffee beans, but the latter remain rather subdued, as the chocolate sweetness keeps dominating the palate a lot more than roasted bitterness, to the point where it even becomes cloying and impairs the drinkability. The finish is, as expected, a ’grand finale’ of heavy chocolatey maltiness, a dash of spicy hops drowned underneath, a strong but delightful tannin-rich oaky ’woodiness’ and, more than anything: booze. The alcohol is present from the start: it warms up the tongue from the onset onwards, but becomes a bit tiresome and even burning in the end, drowning the balance of malts and wood; it lends the beer a rather wry, astringent ending, going down in a fight with the intense chocolate malt sweetness, the sticky brown sugar and the drying wood. The last impressions after swallowing this concoction are cloying sugar and chocolate malts but, more than anything, burning alcohol. Wow... this stout is a rollercoaster of intense aromas and flavours, that much is clear. I cannot compare with regular Black Tuesday or other barrel-aged versions of it at the moment, but I cannot imagine the others being less intense, seen the ABVs they all carry - which I personally think is a bit over the top for this style. Bruery deliberately hypes some of their beers and beer geeks are easily fooled by this marketing strategy, but having tasted other hyped American stouts, this one does not seem to be worth the money. I hate brown rum to begin with, and I do get a feeling this infernal liquid lingers in the back of the throat, deafening an otherwise great, yet probably overly sweet, imperial stout. Difficult to judge: the aroma is truly divine, but in the mouth, this beer seems to behave more brutal than it should, and it is not an easy task to pour down a whole glass of it. This is just too much in terms of ABV: a 10-12% version of this would likely be fantastic. Now it is just a bit over the top. Hiding alcohol is one of the first things brewers should keep in mind when producing very strong beers, and this one does not achieve that goal all too well. It remains a great beer though, the intensity alone is awe-inspiring, it’s just that I am left with the feeling it could have been even greater...

Bottle @ Bullerup Pubben’s , Re-Opening/Solar eclipse pt. 2. Pours black with a small creamy head. Roast , wood, soy, rum, barrel, alcohol and liquid. Boozy - no question. Slick sipper.

De Grote Black Tuesday Tasting: 13 Versions. For all versions: 750 ml. bottles sampled. 2011 Black Tasting (4.1/5) vs. 2013 Black Tuesday (4.3/5). Neither were gushers unlike the 2012 I tried once before. Both pour very dark brown with some black, virtually no head in both cases. Some lone bubbles with the 2011, nothing at all with the 2013. Alcohol is huge in both cases, a touch lower in the 2011, some light oxidation & varnish notes in the 2011, thick bourbon, mocha,… Alcohol is even bigger in the nose with the 2013, harsh & brutal. Raw white spirit almost. More mocha, sweeter chocolates & very thick mocha in the nose in the 2013. 2011 carries some light oxidation in the taste, less raw, big burning alcohol in the finish but overall a bit muted, some weird notes here, leaves, varnish, touch oxidation, making this one the lesser one of the two. You also get hugely thick molasses, harsh bourbon,… Body is low carbonation & molasses, pure syrup. Booze is huge, in the 2013, vodka, raw spirit, burns, the taste is niches, thick syrup, more cacao, chocolate, sweet cacao nibs, not getting oxidation here, molasses, chocolate syrup. Same thick molasses. Overall a fun beer due to its extremity but it is also bit of a caricature, too excessive. Overall I am not crazy about it but I do like but it far from all that impressive. Winefication I (4.2/5) + Winefication II (4.4/5) (obtained in a trade with AdamChandler. Thx!) side-by-side. Winefication I pours a very deep red Bordeaux, little bubbles. Nose is quite strange, the two components seem to clash a bit here, molasses, mocha, sweet, umami, big roasted oak, soy sauce with thick dry sweet red wine, odd. Taste is huge oak, massive roast, wine character dominates, this one is a bit hard to describe for me, raisins, huge dry strong boozy red wine with huge church incense taste, dry, red grape skins, touch plastic, fruit punch,… Thick & dry. Very much a strong basic red wine with some components that clash a bit, interesting to say the least. Winefication II is hugely different, also massively wine-like but just a different wine. This one is a better wine, less conflict here just a supper thick wine. Pours a very dark red Bordeaux, little bubbles. Nose is light mocha but largely hugely vinous, lots of oak, dry red grapes. Taste is huge oak, lots of roast (very much as was the case with the I), lots of roasted barrel, interesting mix of licorices, wine leaves, wine ranks, red grape, huge dry red frape spins, light plastic, vinous, warming (strangely tasted about as strong as I despite the huge ABV difference),.. Very thick, weird, unique & interesting. Melange #1 (4.5/5).Very dark brown, solid mocha head. Nose is huge red wine, balsamic vinegar, very tart, puckering red fruit,… Not getting any Black Tuesday here. Taste is puckering sour red grapes, wine, faint glue, balsamic vinegar, pomegranate, sour cherries,… Very thick body & puckering. Lovely. Not getting any Black Tuesday here oddly & like it more than Oude Tart. Quite simple but also very nice. This should be the 3rd batch made. Melange #3 (3.8/5): Very dark brown with a deep red hue and no head. Nose is weird, almost a bit like Black Tuesday (dominates heavily) with something sourish (White Sap I suppose), glue, bourbon, heavy alcohol, glue, oak, lots of bourbon. Taste is weird, faintly sour vanilla, thick bourbon, boozy Black Tuesday, molasses, thick basic licorice, syrup,… Thick, boozy. Strange mix. Doesn’t fully work for me. Least favorite of the 13. Chocolate Rain 2013 (4.7/5): Very dark brown to black, only some bubbles as is usual. Nose is huge thick sweet mocha, milk chocolate, vanilla, sweet bourbon, thick candy, molasses, thick & sweet. Taste is huge vanilla, bourbon, warming, mocha, vanilla, cacao, sweet chocolate, molasses, thick, sweet. Awesome, this is the 3rd time I have this beer, still surprised by how well it really works. So much better than the base beer. Grey Monday (4.2/5): Black / brown, zero head as usual. Hugely alcoholic nose, syrup, mocha, molasses. Taste is hugely boozy, molasses, thick syrup, very straightforward & basic, mocha, exotic sugar. Very basic, body is alcohol & molasses. Second time I have this beer & I am still not getting the hazelnuts. This one is still a bit pointless for me. 2013 Mocha Wednesday (4.4/5): Black, dark brown with no head. Nose is weird charcoal, ashes, burned wood & hugely roasted espresso beans. Taste & smell carries so much more roast & coffee than I remember this one having. Taste is burned mocha, charred barrels, huge roasted espresso, molasses, charcoal, mocha, sugar & molasses sweetness in the back. Basic but nice, quite an interesting heavily roasted espresso tastes & charred barrels. Thick body as usual. Rum (4/5), Madeira (4.4/5) & Port BA (4.4/5) versions next to each other. First two look as expected, very dark brown, dash black with basically no head. Port one has very dark red hue. Rum is the least one, even less than the base beer. Kind of pointless since the rum is far too muted & doesn’t seem to add much, the base beer sort of drowns it out. Nose is sweet booze, mocha, very basic, pretty much Black Tuesday without bourbon, more sugar. Taste is boozy overly syrupy, barrel, big oak, very alcoholic, basic brown sugar, candy, mocha, roast, brown sugar. Okay but less than regular Black Tuesday & clearly lesser than Madeira or Port. Madeira: nose is hugely sweet mocha, sweet sugar, light complimentary barrel, sweet light red wine, faint red fruits. Taste is hugely sweet, spirit, coated in oak, old strong wine, huge brown sugar, vinous alcohol, sugar, oak, molasses. Thick chewy. Works rather well. Better than regular Black Tuesday & prob. my fav. of these 3 (Rum, Madeira & Port). Hard to choose between this one & port. Port: nose is huge red wine, massively so with strong alcohol, candy & lots of barrel. Taste is huge port, red wine, booze, light molasses, plenty of barrel, roast, oak, light chocolate, thick. Quite interesting & nice, also better than the regular one for me. Final one: Black Tuesday Reserve (4.6/5). Usual appearance. Nose is huge bourbon, warming, toffee, molasses, bourbon, boozy but oddly less so than the regular one, this is one is much rounder, chocolate, caramel, fruity even. Taste is vanilla, huge mocha, chocolate, overripe fruit, molasses, cereal, sugar, warming, syrupy, finish is heavily booze but the booze is in the back here as opposed to everywhere in the regular, barrel, oak, cacao, mocha. So much rounder, richer. Way better than expected, nice surprise, very big beer.