Black Damnation XI - Special K (Kay)
De Struise Brouwers in Oostvleteren, West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪
Collab with: The Portsmouth BreweryStout - Imperial Regular Out of Production
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Score
7.71
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Uh-oh, looks like we did it again. This big mother of a beer clocks in at 22% ABV and is nothing short of a flavor explosion. Special Kay is an unholy collab between Struise and Portsmouth Brewing company, well known for making one of the best stouts in the United States.
We first blended Portsmouth's Kate the Great imperial stout with our Black Albert. We then fractionally ice-distilled it over 20 days and ended up at a temperature of -15°C. The result is a white-knuckle thrill ride for your tastebuds: bitter, sweet and super intense. It was only made once, so get your hands on a bottle while you still might have a chance!
We first blended Portsmouth's Kate the Great imperial stout with our Black Albert. We then fractionally ice-distilled it over 20 days and ended up at a temperature of -15°C. The result is a white-knuckle thrill ride for your tastebuds: bitter, sweet and super intense. It was only made once, so get your hands on a bottle while you still might have a chance!
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7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
[5/11/12] Draught sample at Copenhagen Beer Celebration. Black with a brown head. Big espresso and dark chocolate aroma, pretty burnt, with some fruitiness and alcohol notes. Flavor is a bit liqueur-like, coffee-ish with a burnt bitter finish. Thick.
Tried
on 17 May 2012
at 01:12
7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Copenhagen Beer Celebration, 2012. Pours black with a small creamy beige head. Roast, coffee, charcoal and alcohol. Not even boozy. 22% ?? I doubt it. Warming finish. Really dry end.
Tried
on 16 May 2012
at 08:11
5.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Draught. Roasted aroma. Black colour. No head. The flavour is sweet and roasted. Does not taste that strong.
Tried
on 16 May 2012
at 07:29
7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
From tap. Pours pitch black wit a small tan head. Aroma is dense malty and dark chocolate, roasted. Smooth roasted and liqourice. Dense malty and roasted, liqourice. Smooth and dark malty finish.
Tried
from Draft
on 16 May 2012
at 00:15
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Draft at CBC. Black pour with a small brown head. Aroma is sweet, fruits, coffee, chocolate and licorice. Sweet flavour with fruit, port, bitter chocolate. Expected alcohol warmth but hidden in the flavour. Full bodied with low carbonation. Another great high alcohol beer by Struise!
Tried
from Draft
on 14 May 2012
at 12:47
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Sample @ Copenhagen Beer Celebration. Pours pitch black with a chocolate brown head that slowly dissipates while leaving thick lacing on the glass. Smell is sweet with roasted malts, port wine, wood, prunes, raisins, alcohol, vanilla, chocolate and hints of chlorine. Taste is sweet, bitter and tiny sour with roasted malts, coffee, prunes, raisins, port wine, bitter chocolate, tar, vanilla and wood. Mouthfeel is tiny dry, tiny tart and full bodied. Finish is bitter with roasted malts, coffee, liquorice and wood.
Tried
on 14 May 2012
at 03:48
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draught @ Copenhagen Beer Celebration
Pours pitch black with a heavy viscosity and small sticky brown head. Heavy aroma of roasted malts, alcohol, leather and hints of vanilla, chocolate, wood and oak. Taste is complex and heavy with malts, some roastiness, alcohol, hops, chocolate and vanilla notes. Finish is strong and roasty, but alcohol is surprisingly well hidden.
Pours pitch black with a heavy viscosity and small sticky brown head. Heavy aroma of roasted malts, alcohol, leather and hints of vanilla, chocolate, wood and oak. Taste is complex and heavy with malts, some roastiness, alcohol, hops, chocolate and vanilla notes. Finish is strong and roasty, but alcohol is surprisingly well hidden.
Tried
on 11 May 2012
at 04:42
7.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Draught @ CBC ’12
High viscosity. Aroma is bitter in a harsh way with rubber – like Mikkeller Black. Also hints of vanilla and lactic acid. Flavour is really intensive and somewhat harshly bitter with burned malt, rubber tires and some very dark chocolate. Warming alcohol in the finish ̣– it stings with a surprisingly low power. Too bitter, not as good as I expected.
High viscosity. Aroma is bitter in a harsh way with rubber – like Mikkeller Black. Also hints of vanilla and lactic acid. Flavour is really intensive and somewhat harshly bitter with burned malt, rubber tires and some very dark chocolate. Warming alcohol in the finish ̣– it stings with a surprisingly low power. Too bitter, not as good as I expected.
Tried
on 11 May 2012
at 04:28
6.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Bottle with friends. Black appearance with a dark brown head. Rich fruity, dark grape, plum, anise, chocolate aroma. Rich, red vinous, dark grape, date, dark chocolate, quite rich, anise flavor with a strong, boozy finish.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Mar 2012
at 22:59
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Little, short-lived foxy dark-beige head over black beer. Chocolate, whisky, alcohol, old wood & undergrowth, overripe banana. Sweet-alcoholic, loads of liquorice; carbon or charred wood, whisky and hops in the finish. Meatroast, and incense in the aftertaste, and again the overripe banana -sweet touch. Very heated-alcoholic; velvety, felt-y feel, super well-bodied. Unbelievably heat-filled beer - groovy! But I would have been served ten minutes earlier if Urbain hadn’t succombed to the rididulous wax-mania! For crying out loud, can anybody tell me what surplus value this adds to - any - beer or liquid??? And then, there’s the price...
Tried
from Can
on 26 Feb 2012
at 01:08