Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
On tap. Pours a dark reddish brown with light head. Aromas of peaty whisky, earthy caramel and bready malts. Flavors follow same with more noticeable peat and sweeter caramel. Nice, without peat overload.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
18th April 2024
If Ain't Dutch...Keg. Clear deep amber beer, no real head. Airy palate is mildly dry, reasonable fine carbonation. Mellow malts, some toffee and caramel cream. Ripe fruits and a fair dose of smokey whiskey soaked ripe fruits. Some nice candy fruits underneath the peat. Light finish. Tidy but quite the ba barleywine.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Freeze-distilled coffee stout in a new series of ‘eisbocked’ beers issued by Emelisse, the once very modest local brewery turned world star thanks to head brewer Kees Bubberman but struggling to maintain that level of quality after his departure in 2015 (and since 2016 part of the overarching Slot Oostende project). Thin and open, pale grey-beige ‘head’ lacing in dots for a while before disappearing entirely; black robe with clear mahogany edges. Aroma of iced coffee (very strongly and almost unidimensionally so), melting mocha ice cream, cold espresso ‘tout court’, whisky, beef stock cubes, teriyaki, smoked horse meat, cold tomato soup or even tomato concentrate, bayleaf, hard caramel, cigars, toasted peanuts. Very dense, sweet, iced coffee-like onset, some candied dark fruit and reduced fig syrup, but next to the sweetness also with a very prominent umami flavour (beef stock, gravy, brown beans); very soft carb, thick and syrupy body (as can be expected from an ‘eisbocked stout’). Toffeeish and bitter-chocolatey malts with a weird aftertaste of curdled cream and strong roasty bitter finish due to both the roasted malts and the coffee having been amplified by the freeze distilling treatment; leafy hops also enhanced and finally, unsurprisingly of course, a lot of harsh cheap whisky-like booze. Muscle-flexing for geeks: through the years I have become very wary around these ‘eisbocked’ beers unless they are done subtly like actual traditional Eisbock, and this one is not what one calls subtle; all the flavours, the booziness, the thickness and so on are greatly amplified by this treatment, and this often implies that the balance goes completely lost. This one too is too boozy, too crude and too umami-forward for me to enjoy. I regret to conclude that Emelisse still has not found the same level of sophistication, accuracy and complexity Kees put into their beers a decade ago…
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Keg at If It Ain't Dutch, Bermondsey, 15/03/24. Dark mahogany brown topped with a beige cap. Nose is smoked malts, medicinal tones, dark fruit rinds, toffee. Taste comprises burnt toffee, bonfire, peated malts, spice, roasted blast, fruit cake mix, earthy, ashen nip. Medium bodied with bite, fine carbonation, semi drying close. Okay drop if a touch overly peated for my liking and lacking some balance.
Natuke tühi ja maitsetu, aga vähemalt ei ole hapu nagu eelmisest kaks sellest seeriast ja turbasuits on ka mõnsa. Voli kohta libiseb hästi. Ok.
Hapukas ja tammene vaadine ja asi. No ma ei tea, miks nii hapu?!
Jood,hapukas, röst, linnaseline. Okish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7
Fles gekregen van Bart en Hillig, geprobeerd met Roelzie. Het is een roodbruin bier met een beige schuim. Het heeft een aroma van en whisky. De smaak is vol, houtig en warm, met tonen van whisky en alcohol.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Keg at If It Ain't Dutch, Bermondsey, 11/01/24. Light black with a lasting khaki head. Nose is booze, dark malts, rummy tones, spice, stewed fruits. Taste comprises oak, rum barrel, spice, toffee, brown sugars, molasses, herb. Full bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a boost offered. Okay sipper if a little unrefined.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
(Bottle) Black colour with brief, frothy, beige head. Malty, roasted nose with black coffee, dark chocolate, oak wood, whisky, liquorice, black bread and a touch of peat. Malty, roasted taste with notes of black coffee, dark chocolate, cacao, liquorice, oak wood, whisky, hints of peat, prunes, raisins and a balanced roasty bitterness in the finish. Full body, with a certain sweetness. Rich, tasty and warming. Excellent beer!