Bottle from the brewery. Hazy dark amber, thin, tan head. Aroma of marmalade, date, candied orange peel, green tea, raisin, wet cinnamon, brioche, liqueur. Taste has sweet date & raisin over a syrupy, brioche-like and biscuity malt base, surrounded by herbal (tea) and spicy notes. Ends herbal hoppy, medicinal, with dried fruit, orange peel and rather harsh grapefruity bitterness, but even harsher boozy liqueur-like alcohol. Medium to full body, thin oily texture, soft carbonation. Probably meant for fun, this wasn't really necessary.

Strong IPA having undergone the ‘Eisbock’ treatment, one of Emelisse’s more striking recent creations. Medium thick, dense and small-bubbled, pale greyish white, open head, some thin greyish veils in the middle and actually retaining quite well for its ABV; initially crystal clear deep bronze robe with coppery glow, warm and ‘autumny’, misty with sediment. Intense aroma of burnt peanuts, marmalade, whisky, figs in ‘jenever’, honey liqueur, nutmeg, orange zest, hints of bitter wormwood leaf, dry tree leaf even, tea, wood glue, almond, methylated spirits. Candied fig and yellow raisin in the onset, dense with soft carb, blonde-sugary sweetness draped over a hazelnutty, caramelly and very biscuity maltiness with slick, oily mouthfeel, seemingly a bit thinned by the alcohol and less vinous and thick than expected. Toasty bitter edge to the malts, quickly accentuated by a firm, long-lasting, rooty, citrus pith- and quinine-like ‘IPA’ hop bitterness, giving the impression of an American style barleywine rather than anything truly IPA-like in the contemporary sense of the word. The biscuity sweetness pushes through, but evidently everything is eventually ‘burnt’ in astringent, whisky-like alcohol, so that the last impression you will get after swallowing, is that of a shot of whisky sweetened with caramel sugar or something alike. Starts off fine, U.S. barley wine-like as said, but gradually the booze bites off large chunks of this refined flavour – and sets everything on fire. Too boozy for me, but not without its merits – I had worse, but I remain convinced that IPA is not the most suitable beer style group to perform ‘ice bocking’ on.

20-03-21 // RB-tasting. Taster. Heavy sweetness. Then a good bitterness. Alcohol very well embedded. Actually quite nice.

Intensiver, malzig-herber Beginn. Der Alkohol ist voluminös aber nicht drängend und vergleichsweise gut eingebunden. Gewürzig, keine Bitterkeit, milde Herbe, hohe Süffigkeit. Nie brennend, würzig, langer Nachhall. Gut! 10/12/12/10/12/12

33cl bottle. A clear reddish golden beer with a beige lacing. Aroma of sweet strong malt, honey, caramel, raisins. Taste of liquorice, strong dark malt, caramel, raisins, boozy.

Bottle at home. Pours deep orange amber, nose is caramel, toffee, berries, stewed fruit, taste is sweet, fruity, resiny pine, bit of boozy heat.

Sweet, citrus, pine, alcohol, caramel

Bottle split at L6, thanks to Kenny, 16/01/20. Light haze on a chestnut brown pour with a moderately appointed beige cap. Nose is boozey, caramel, spice, toffee, dried red berries. Taste comprises fruit cake, light spice balance, brown sugars, dates, toffee, prunes. Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close dressed in a cloak of booze. Not bad … pretty hot on the booze front but sippable.

Goeie genade wat een alcoholische hoestdrank. Hopelijk helpt het