Fles 75cl thuis gedeeld. Zoetig, aardig kruidig, kandijsuiker, yeasty, bittertonen, wat geel fruit. Kruidige en bitters in nadronk. (1-1-2019).

The dry stout from a very small ‘garden shed’ microbrewery in the Dutch Drenthe region; bottle at De Koffer in Groningen. Thick and mousy, regular, pale beige-ecru head, slowly opening over a black beer with reddish-mahogany edges. Aroma of old dusty ‘fondant’ chocolate, coffee grounds, ground walnuts, burnt toast, charcoal even, bayleaf, salmiak, hazelnuts, black olives. Very fizzy and sharply numbing carbonation effect in the onset, distracting a bit from the flavour, which eventually reveals itself as restrainedly sweetish (old dry raisin) with a thin dash of dry beefstock cube umami and basic underlying sourishness, quickly moving to a streamlined, oily, walnutty and toasty-bitter main flavour, evolving into further roasted bitterness in the end, roasted chicory-like and mouth-filling, with a rooty, spicy hop bitterness supporting it. Meanwhile the fizzy carbonation continues to interfere and that is my only complaint here: apart from this obvious overcarbonation, this is a very well-measured, clean and balanced ‘old school’ stout of a kind I can still hugely appreciate among all these ornamental and exuberant flavoured imperial stouts. Well done, all in all, especially for such a small brewery.

Bottle. Color: Clear ruby to copper, bthin beige head. Aroma: Caramel malt, red and dark fruit notes. Taste: Caramel malt, combined with fruity notes of red and dark fruit, figs, raisins, bit sugary. Moderate to above moderate sweet, moderate bitterness. Medium body, below average carbonation. Medium to just under medium body, rather thin for a quad. Below average carbonation. Fruity Quad, quite nice.

Bottle. Color: Black, beige head. Aroma: Roasted malt, mocha, coffee. Taste: Moderate to medium sweet, smooth mouthfeel, mocha, coffee, chocolate and roasted malt. Light to moderate bitterness. Just over medium body, below average carbonation. Pretty thin finish. Ok smooth Stout, although not that special.

Bottle. Dark brown color. Caramel, roast and the slightest hint of smoke in the aroma. Warm, malty sweet alcoholic flavor with caramel, pineapple. roast and pear. Just a hint of cinnamon. Pleasant.

Bottle. Golden color. Pineapple, melon and some flowers in the aroma. Slightly herbal, grassy perfumed flavor with pineapple. Thinnish and slightly alcoholic. Yeasty notes in the finish.

Bottle. Blonde, chunks of yeast. Hints of coreander and citrus in the aroma. Alcoholic, flowery perfumed flavor, rather dry. Coreander, hints of pineapple and citrus. The aftertaste is fruity with a hint of butter.

Bottle. Blonde, cloudy. Floral honeyish aroma with a hint of coreander. Sweet flavor with coreander and citrus notes. Slightly floral. Notes of honey. Not unpleasant.

Bottle. brown color. Malt, licorice, caramel and milk chocolate in the aroma. Malty sweet flavor, slightly roasty and yeasty with milk chocolate and hints of licorice. Interesting and tasty.

Bottle. Blonde, hazy. tangerine and coreander in the aroma. Strong spicy flavor, too spicy perhaps, with coreander, white pepper and anis. Hints of alcohol. Tangerine. Not unpleasant, but lacking in balance.