Huge, thick, dense cream-like head over fully opaque brown beer, bit of lace. Nutty, wood, chocolate, very dry nose, bit gassy. Again very dry, plywood, wood, very strongly black chocolate; cacaopowder, fondant. Really complex-layered. Finish presents a tad of acidity, like a fruitganache. Bit floral, rosebuds. Good carbonation, well-bodied, slowly receding flavours. Dryness is such, that it borders on astringency. Really dry, severe and yet complex... Bock? I call this a strong stout. True, the style permits higher ratings more readily, but this is a tour de force so far for En Stoemelings. Thanks to Louis!

750ml bottle. Sweet, malty, caramely and earthy with some berries and toffee. Decent

0,75l bottle at home. No BB date. dark brown color, small tan head. smells marzipan, nutty, earthy, tobacco, ok smell. full body, soft carbonation. tastes of earthy, spices, peppery, tobacco. finishes light to medium bitter with notes of spices, tobacco and earthy notes. quite simple beer, considering the abv this is not very skilled, not a fan

New En Stoemelings beer presented at BXL Beerfest as a Doppelbock; tasted there from tap and later from the 75 cl bottle that was part of the beer pack of this festival. Medium thick, pale greyish beige, mousy, rather large-bubbled and easily dissipating head, cloudy deep chestnut brown robe with mahogany hue, a bit murky in the end. Aroma of old dry cocoa powder, toffee, brown rum, dried prunes, ground pecan nuts, old dry cookies, baker’s yeast, cloves, nutmeg, bitter dried herbs. Fruity onset, raisin, plum, fig and banana notes, spritzy carb for the intended style, full mouthfeel; somewhat chocolatey, pecan-nutty and caramelly malt sweet body with an emphatic toasty-bitter side, ending with heating, astringent rum-like alcohol, lingering malt bittersweetness and hop bitterness but also a lot of bready and phenolic yeastiness. Way too yeasty in fact to justify the Doppelbock claim, it even looks a bit muddy, not to mention the alcohol which is very badly hidden. En Stoemelings, contrary to e.g. Ermitage or No Science, still falls a bit short in this ‘nouvelle vague’ or young Brussels brewing initiatives; this is not a Doppelbock, but a Scotch- or quadrupel-like Belgian strong brown ale, and not the most refined one I tasted so far.

Pours dark, rather unclear brown. Medium fluffy white head. Smell is dark bread, leaves, earthy, bit caramel. Taste is sharp, mild bitter, earthy, leaves, caramel. medium dry, nice !

Bottle. Pours brown. Aroma and flavor are sweet and bitter, malt, caramel, dryness, sugar, booze. Overall: very good.