Stout d'Ardenne
Brasserie Invictus in Louette-Saint-Pierre, Namur, Belgium 🇧🇪
Stout Regular|
Score
6.91
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Alengrin (11675) reviewed Stout d'Ardenne from Brasserie Invictus 5 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
'Ardennais' stout by Invictus, a microbrewery in the province of Namur that has been quietly active for years now - but still I never managed to score any of their beers so far, until now. Quite a strong gusher, I could not prevent losing a few centilitres to the sink, and had to keep an eye on the bottle afterwards as foam was still creeping out of the bottle neck minutes later. Very thick and bath foam-shaped, thickly plaster-lacing, pale yellowish beige, even-bubbled, pillowy head, misty dark chestnut brown robe with ruddy-mahogany hue - but not the blackness I expect from anything labelled as a 'stout'. Aroma of burnt toast, charred walnuts, burnt wood even, cigar ashes, red apple, raisins, blackberries, used coffee filters, old dusty Belgian chocolates somewhere, cloves, autumn leaves, soggy rye bread, hints of prunes, damp forest floor, beetroot, black chocolate, minerals, old liquorice. Fruity, very fizzy onset, red apple, ripe plum and blackberry notes, sweetish with a clear sourish undertone, accentuated by a very strong amount of carbonation (a mouth full of fizz indeed); still 'fluffy' mouthfeel though, if plagued by ongoing overcarbonation adding way too much minerality to an essentially brown-bready, burnt toast-like main character with a slight caramelly edge and roasted to even ashy finish, where a bitterness of gritty black coffee and leafy hops dominate, even if fruity esters also keep things 'juicy'. Very earthy finish with that ashiness lingering, alongside blackberry and other forest fruit accents. Strong dry stout - in other words, an 'export' stout in style, looking backwards to Guinness Special Export (developed for the Belgian market in the fourties) rather than seeking connection with the present-day, often overly elaborated craft stouts of all too often 'imperial' strength; this as such is something an oldtimer like me can perfectly appreciate, but the 'Belgian-ness' of fruity esters, earthiness and overcarbonation is clearly too strongly pronounced here. Still, and contrary to what I was expecting, this stout has enough roasted bitterness to it to deserve the 'stout' status, even if a proportionally thick sauce of yeastiness is poured over it. In its core, not a bad flavour profile at all for me and had it not been for the overcarbonation (and associated gushing), this would certainly have received a higher score from me. Enjoyable enough, in all, but Minne's Ardenne Stout so far has no reason to fear any serious competition from this one.
Sloefmans (15519) reviewed Stout d'Ardenne from Brasserie Invictus 5 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5
Dark cream head, irregular, over practically black brown beer. Liquorice and wood, sweetish nose. More of the same in the taste: liquorice, wood, melanoidins. Finish has some typical stout acidity. Medium to well bodied, good carbonation. Decent stout, nothing more. Thanks to Stef!
EvNa (6176) reviewed Stout d'Ardenne from Brasserie Invictus 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Color: Very dark ruby to black, beige head. Aroma: Chocolate, red berries. Taste: Roasted malt, chocolate, slightly sour red fruit, blueberries, lactose. Hoppy. Hints of coffee, liquorice, grass and strawberry. Light boozy hints and bittery palate at finish. Pretty smooth mouthfeel. Moderate sweet and moderate to medium bitter, light sour hints. Over medium body, below average carbonation. Nice Stout, not fully loaded with dark roasted malt, liquorice, coffee or something like that, but subtle and fruity. Nice complexity.