Bottle from Daily Delis Amsterdam (?). Hazy black, stable, foamy, beige head. Aroma of lime, thyme, cress, black pepper, black tea, pink grapefruit, blackberry. Taste has sweetish brambleberry and fig and a sourish streak of lime in a toasty malt body, surrounded by spicy cress, black tea and black olive. Herbal & earthy hops in the finish, lingering spicy black pepper, cress and herbs; dash of coffee too. Medium body, slick texture, soft carbonation. Unusual to say the least; lots of different flavours to enjoy.

Imperial Cascadian or black IPA by Holland's great pioneer in global style craft brewing, but a new addition to its range as such - so let us see if De Molen is still capable of impressing me. Bottle from Gerijptebieren.nl, but bottled in September last year so not so much aged (which is never the intention in this style anyway). Apparently contains not just the usual suspects in terms of ingredients, but also sprouts from a specialised company called Koppert Cress, Szechuan pepper and kaffir lime peel - so quite clearly not your ordinary BIPA... Thick and densely moussey, hardly lacing, pale greyish beige, pillowy, stable head on a very dark chocolate brown beer - near black, but with a glow of misty mahogany-bronze visible near the bottom of the glass. Aroma of indeed very perfumey kaffir lime and equally ethereal Szechuan pepper (which is not real pepper but the dried capsules of a totally different and more aromatic plant species), Ethiopian coffee, dry caramel, brown bread crust, cloves (real - not phenolic but probably just the Szechuan pepper speaking again), toasted onion, dried bergamot, dry black tea, tobacco, crushed black peppercorns (that Szechuan pepper again), gingerbread, pine resin. Cleanly fruity onset, mixing restrained sweetness (dried figs and medlars) with slight umami (black olive) and a whiff of underlying, but lively to even citrusy sourishness (the kaffir lime), moderately carbonated with smooth, oily mouthfeel, feeling a tad lighter than expected at this ABV; hard-caramelly, slightly bitter-chocolatey, brown-bready malts, dryish from the start with a bittering toasty tail, the bitterness sharply amplified by a strong dosage of piney, citric and peppery hops. Before long, the Eastern Asian aromatics of both kaffir and Szechuan pepper bust in, with great force, yet great elegance as well; both seem to work together well in adding a dominant effect of Eastern Asian ethereal spiciness and herbaceousness reminiscent of black tea and dried exotic citrus peel. Meanwhile, underneath, that toasty bitterness continues, turning coffee-like and roasty in the end, battling with not just the oniony, piney and leafy bitterness of the hops but also, in the end, a somewhat astringent effect of gin-like alcohol. A lot is going on in this glass at the same time - a clash of the Titans, as it were, with strong, powerful and bold flavours competing with each other for attention; it is a shame that eventually the alcohol wins, but before that happens, you are on a crazy ride of intense flavours which admittedly make this beer very interesting. Nowhere a typical BIPA (which is actually what I was hoping for) and not exactly refined, this is one rough and demanding beer, more so even than your average Cascadian dark; I have rarely seen breweries add exotic ingredients to this particular style which worked out well (Omnipollo's Magic #666 being the one exception I will always remember) but this one does more than a creditable attempt. Heck, the ethereal, volatile, almost menthol-like effects of the kaffir still evaporate from my throat as I swallow... A rollercoaster of a beer in every respect, a bit less of everything could potentially bring more balance to this force, but admittedly daring and entertaining till the last drop. Worthy of a high score for sheer audacity - guess it is a good thing, too, that I was unable to detect the sprouts, though in hindsight, leek sprouts could have been responsible for this oniony, sulfuric effect I sensed - subtly - after swallowing. What a ride indeed.

Fles 33cl thuis. Bittertonen, limoen, roasted malts, pepertje op achtergrond, koffie, grassig, citrus, hoppig, wat mosterd, tuinkers. (23-2-2024).

Bottle at home, thanks to Jason & Tracey, 10/12/23. Lighter shade of black with a good sized lasting khaki head. Nose is earthy hops, light roast, charr, dark malts, Cola cubes, scorched earth. Taste comprises earthy roast, raisins, dried fruit rinds, charr, pine needle, toffee, cocoa powder. Medium bodied with bite, fine carbonation, semi drying close spiked with earthy hop bitterness. Tidy enough CDA.

Bottle. Malty and hoppy aroma and taste, light roastyness and citrus fruit, spices, medium bitter. Medium to full body, malty amd hoppy spicy bitter finish. Ok.

Deep Black color and a tan head. Nice nose of christmas spices and roasted malts. Taste is malty-spicy, herbal-floral hops. Slightly blue- and redberries. Very nice.

330ml bottle. Jet black colour with average, frothy, moderately lasting, minimally lacing, dark beige to tan head. Resinous, piney and herbal hoppy as well as roasty, dark malty aroma, notes of liquorice, coniferes, a touch of lavender, botanicals, rather earthy hop flavours overall, toffee overtones. Taste is bitter roasty and bitter, herbal and slightly resinous hoppy, hints of liquorice, forest floor, coniferes, botanicals again. Slightly oily, watery texture, smooth and soft, simultaneously minimally dry palate, fine, mildly prickly carbonation. Rather earthy, herbal-spicy, nevertheless highly drinkable - very nice.

Bottle. Black with big tan head. Kaffir lime leaves, roasted malts, oily, lime yoghurt, earthy malts, soft spots ces and pepper. Over medium sweet, lighter bitter. Over medium bodied. A bit weird.