Lab44 Limited Edition - Liquorice Stout
Brouwerij Hoop in Zaandijk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands 🇳🇱
Stout - Pastry / Flavoured Special Out of Production|
Score
7.13
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Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Dry stout flavoured with liquorice and sea salt, thanks Joeri for sharing! Pale greyish beige, creamy, mousy, opening head on a very dark chocolate brown beeer - blackish indeed but not quite, with ruddy-mahogany glow. Aroma of indeed (old dry) liquorice sticks upfront, nutmeg, 'koetjesreep', old herbes de Provençe, 'Haagse hopjes', dust, dry forest floor, hard caramel, bayleaf, old walnut shells, prunes, acorns. Dryish onset as befits a dry stout, some 'dry beef stock cube' umami but not so much that it becomes annoying and indeed a very slight pinch of salt somewhere, softish carb, full and oily, but also slightly powdery mouthfeel; nutshell- and hard caramel-like, dry malt profile, a bit dusty, low in sweetness but with a well-developed toasty bitterness accentuated by confident leafy hop bitterness, but also by the liquorice providing a dry-herbal accent (and appears much less strong than expected based on its dominating presence in the nose). Some bready yeastiness and additional spicy notes (bayleaf, nutmeg) appear in the end as well, but dry liquorice, almost salmiak-like in combination with the subtle yet structurally important salt, remains the main flavour that lasts after swallowing. Dry stout with a twist, could have been a tad more malty (even roasty) and less yeasty and therefore needs some cleaning up, with that liquorice giving an impression more akin to an old musty bag of herbes de Provençe than actual liquorice candy, which is a bit what I was hoping for. Not bad, though, and certainly an interesting beer.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
33cl fles van Vonk. Zwarte kleur, beige kraag. Aroma van verbrande mout, wat drop, karamel, pure chocolade en koffie. Smaak volgt, zoute drop, gebrande smaken, koffie. Lichte body. Goede stout, maar volgens mij hetzelfde bier (zoethout/zeezout stout) als de Wispe/Hoop Kalisse Collab, dus zo experimenteel en limited is dit niet.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Fles 33cl thuis. Zacht, zoethout, koffie, romig, bitters, zoet, zout, chocoladetonen, redelijk vol, redelijk droog. (29-10-2020).