Bottle from a Deen supermarket in Holland. Medium thick, cobweb-lacing, pale greyish white head retaining quite well over a very dark, initially clear but eventually hazy, burgundy coloured beer with ruby hue, blackish but still fully transparent under bright light - not what I’d expect from an impy. Aroma of fresh blackcurrant, lots of caramel candy and butterscotch, liquorish, milk chocolate, banana (gaining strength as it warms up), raisins, candied fig, kahlua, ruby port, some shoe polish-like phenols, dead garden weeds, roasted hazelnuts, toasted brown bread, pear syrup and a vague presence of cooked, brown-sugared red cabbage. Sweetish and sourish onset of fig, pear, raisin and blackberry, very ’Belgian’ in its esteriness and much more announcing a dubbel or a quad than an impy, medium carbo (a tad too sharp for the style), no umami worth mentioning, (too) supple and smooth, caramelly and lightly nutty maltiness with a toasted edge, bit oily, no true roasted bitterness but still bitterness from spicy, leafy hops in the end combined with the toasted malts, as well as a certain wodka-like alcohol astringency, though showing up late enough not to become much more than deeply warming. Very malty and more or less enjoyable beer for sure, but by no means an imperial stout: this is, in terms of looks, (Belgian yeast) aroma and flavour much closer to a (average) quadrupel. Not bad per se, but utterly failing in trying to be a RIS, that much is clear. A shame in that respect, considering the high quality of their barley wine, for example.

SNAB’s self-proclaimed "king of honey beers", bottle from a Deen supermarket. Medium thick, egg-white, moussy head leaving patches of lacing on the glass, colour a deep and warm, pure coppery amber, clear but turning light hazy in the end. Aroma of acacia honey indeed, quite dominant but leaving enough room for other suggestions of sandwiches, gingerbread, faint strawberry, grass, iron but in a natural way to the point where it becomes a bit rosehip-like, apple cake, orange liqueur, dry earth, soap, overripe red tomato, some dried kitchen herbs, red apple, jute, toasted bread and even a very weak hint of cooked cabbage (DMS) lurking somewhere in the background. Spritzy onset of canned apricot, raisin and banana sweetness plus a soft, background redcurrant sourishness, strongish carbo, very supple, slick and even slightly metallic caramelly and lightly nutty to even slightly toasted malt sweetness in the middle superseded by honey sweetness and subtle spicy hints, bitterish in the end with ongoing toasted malt bittersweetness, soft herbal hop bitterishness, some faint spicy phenols, warming liqueurish alcohol and, expectedly, honey sweetness, unmistakable yet still managing not to overpower all the rest, though it does stick to the throat a little bit; the toasted malt bitterishness and the hops try to counter this sweetness, but fail in the end. Belgian style sweet honey tripel, tasty but still a tad too sweet; I can, however, appreciate the fact that the people of SNAB have applied artisanal honey in this, but I think adding it in an earlier stage of brewing would have been a better idea. Too sweet still, to my palate at least; needs more body and more ’end bitterness’ to finish off the initial honey sweetness.

From a 75 cl bottle bought at the Deen supermarket in Lelystad. Lot of pressure upon opening, but no gusher. Very thick and frothy, thickly lacing, whipped cream-like, dense and stable head sitting atop a rusty burgundy, deep brown beer, clear and translucent. Aroma of hazelnuts, toasted brown bread, caramel, soap, dried banana, blue plums, black pepper, dried orange peel, jute, caramelized sugar, dry autumn leaves, butterscotch, clove-like phenols, brown rum, liquorice candy. Fruity onset, raisin, fig, overripe plum countered by redcurrant sourishness but sweetness prevails, softish carbo, thick and ’fluffy’, supple body consisting of very caramelly, lightly bitterly toasted and somewhat bready, full malt sweetness, spicy notes here and there, ending with sweet, soft and rich, toasted and caramel maltiness with a dash of leafy, earthy hop bitterness not lasting long (as expected from the style), along with a light bready yeasty touch and a glow of warming, brown rum-like alcohol. Convincing as a ’dunkler Doppelbock’, perhaps a tad too hoppy in the end, but this feature only adds complexity; body is thick and soft enough to feel almost quadrupel-like too. This beer can withstand comparison with some of the German classics (Andechser Doppelbock Dunkel and the like). Classic in terms of style and overall profile, but if you like your beers big and malty, this is surely recommendable.

Thnx to Kane. Pours unclear amber, small white head. Smell os mildly hoppy, Taste is sharp, yet not so intense bitter. Creamy hoppyness, but not so intense. Mildly aromatic, OK mf and high carbo.

Thnx to Kane. Pours clear, very dark brown. Small white head. Smell is bit bitter, some chocolate, mild smoke. Taste is sharp, bit bitter, mild smoke, some dark malt-sweetness. Rather thin. Ok carbo. Balanced smoked.

(Bottle, 0.375 l, at Gastropub Tuulensuu, 20151230) The beer poured dark brown and clear. Its head was medium sized and white. Aroma had molasses, vanilla, wood, coconut and sweetness. Palate was medium bodied with medium carbonation. Flavours were molasses, malts, caramel, vanilla, cocnut, grass and bitterness. Aftertaste had vanilla, malts and bitterness. A decent malty brew but the barrel effects were too strong.

At Kerstbierfestival 2015. Pours clear, dark amberbrown. Small white head. Smell is bit sweet, rather intense. Taste is nice, bitterness, mild dryness. OK.

Bottle sampled at Essen Winterbier festival 2015. Appears very hazy brown with a big bubbly cream head. Aroma of speculaas, veggies, yeast, overripe dark fruit and caramel. Flavour is over moderate sweet and light moderate bitter. Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.

Haarlem Culinair Speciaalbierfestival Botermarkt. Waterig hoppig droppig Goeie dorstlesser. Backlog from 2015/08/09.