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Old Review
330 ml bottle I only have rhinos00 to thank for. This was one of the many amazing beers I found in the BIF box he sent me. Serving this one up in my Terrapin snifter.

A: Pours pretty much what I am looking for in a Russian Imperial Stout. Nice dark and flat black color. This beer is not letting any light through whatsoever. The beer produced about three quarters of a finger of head. THe head is a nice mocha brown and has the lasting retention I am expecting. Falls to about a half finger but it throws up some nice and serious lace on the glass. Just has that classic RIS look.

S: The nose is just a bit of a let down to be honest. Getting first thing out of the gate being some serious booze presence. This just screams some serious alcohol in here. Then there is a decent amount of earthy grains coming out. Maybe a little bit of some dark fruit and chocolate. With that said, thats about all that is happening here. This is really booze dominant and I should have probably waited a little while to drink this one.

T: Gotta admit that the taste is much better. I was really worried with the nose. Getting some pretty dark and nicely roasted malts. Some chocolate and caramel for sure. There is a nice touch of vanilla pushing its way out as well. Then a touch of espresso coffee mingles with those dark fruit (cherry, plum and raspberry) flavors you expect from a belgian brewed beer. The belgian qualities are nice in the yeast category as well. There is a decent fruity candied presence here as well. The hops come out in the end with some of that booze I got from the nose, but the booze is no where as dominant here. In the back there is a touch of burning wood as well. Much better.

M: Full bodied brew that is on the lighter side. Still has a nice wieght and creaminess to it. Carbonation is kept in check but still adds a touch of crispness. ABV is totally there and has a good amount of heat in the palate, throat and absolutely warms you up in the ole tum tum. Aftertaste is some dark fruit with some chocolate.

D: This is actually a pretty easy drinking 13% brew. I am constantly reminded it is 13% when I take a whiff, but otherwise its not that bad in the other categories. It goes down pretty easily and the warmth is rather comforting. If I had a 750ml bottle, I would be more than happy to tackle it. The flavors are nice and just a touch different from your typical RIS, which is always nice. Good brew.

Serving type: bottle

Reviewed on: 05-29-2009 06:31:08

Served In: Goblet

33cl Bottle

Lot A/4/BB

I get the chance to try Black Stout thanks to the generosity of BitterBill, thanks Bill! Black Albert, the Royal Stout, pours midnight black and has enough light sucking darkness to keep any light from shining through the body. The head grew quickly to three fingers and about slipped out of the glass. The beige head became craggy and slowly fell to a finger cap that left chunky peaked lacing on its way down. This is a good looking stout with great head retention for the big abv.

The smell on this beer throws me off a little bit. I'm actually having a hard time putting my finger on the maltiness of this brew. Some lightly booze soaked dark berries are deep down along with a dusting of cocoa and prune juice. What sticks out the most to me is the spicy, musty yeastiness in the form of super dry wood, musty mossiness, and spices I can't quite put my finger on. The nose on this beer is complex but I can't decide if it's entirely to my liking or not. A swirl of the glass to get the head growing gives off a roastiness that borders burnt rubber that I could live without but it's only right after a swirl.

The flavor has the same kind of profile as the nose but it seems to meld together more to my liking. Prune juice and roasty malts kick things off. The brandy soaked berries are waiting around in the back with a mild touch of vanilla. Cocoa plays a nice role mid-palate through the finish and is my favorite aspect of this stout. The yeastiness isn't as apparent in the flavor until the swallow but it brings back the wood and mustiness that the nose introduced me to. There's some spiciness on the finish but I still can't put my finger on exactly what spice(s) it is. This is an interesting beer for sure.

The body was way too airy and light right after the pour but as this beer has sat the body mellows to moderate with a somewhat creamy texture. The swallow brings some roasty bitterness that lingers briefly. This beer could be a little heavier but it's good where it's at.

This is a fairly easy drinking beer. The lighter body keeps it flowing easy and I don't believe for a second that this beer is 13% like the bottle says. The heat is minimal at best and I'm not warming up much even though I'm close to the end of the bottle.

This is an interesting stout from De Struise. There were things I liked and things I didn't but overall this is a good brew. The spiciness threw me off a first but grew on me as I drank. Thanks again for this treat Bill!

Reviewed: 11/27/08

Served In: Snifter

Big thanks to Westsidethreat for the bottle. Best before April 2013.

A - Lovely looking beer. Normal pour produces a big toasted marshmallow brown head. It's thick and heavy looking, made up of a mass of bubbles. Great retention, it takes minutes for this to develop into a thick film on the surface. Thick sheets of lacing along the sides of the glass. Body is very dark brown, but not quite black, completely opaque, not allowing even a ray of light through.

S - Big dark malts all over. Lots of chocolate. Belgian dark chocolate, dark chocolate and a touch of cocoa. Belgian yeast is there, but not huge. Some notes of mustiness, if there is such a thing in a beer. Light alcohol.

T - Rich and very sweet. Starts off with some chocolate flavors that seem a bit muted versus the aroma. Cocoa and Belgian milk chocolate. Hops come in, seeming fairly green still. Light espresso roast hits for just a second, then anise fills the mouth mixing back with the green hops. Warming alcohol comes. It's not really obtrusive, but it's obvious enough. Touch of leather and tobacco. Bitterness lingers on the tongue.

M - Thick and rich, super smooth carbonation.

Overall - Aroma was very good and if the flavor developed on that this could have been great. I think that the flavor was a touch of a letdown from the aroma. While this is a very good beer, it doesn't seem to hit great level at all.

Served In: Goblet

Canadian Import Label, Best By Date April 2013; Sampled October 2008
A solid pour easily produces a four finger thick, creamy consistency, nicely browned, dark tan colored head in my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip glass. Lots of lacing sticks to the sides of my glass as the head, fairly uniformly, slowly recedes. The beer is a dark, opaque, deeply concentrated brown, really near black color that is opaque when held up directly to the light, but showed a clear, dark chocolate brown color as I was pouring it. The aroma has an up front fruitiness to it that smells of prunes and fig. A deeper inspection shows the same fruit, but with the alcohol produces notes of brandy and rum. Towards the middle / end notes of cocoa, lightly roasted nuts and toasted whole grain notes. As my nose gets used to it a faint, funky, musty notes starts to become noticeable; light notes of ripe cheese, decaying wood and a touch of dried, musky sweat contribute, what seems to be recurring, a signature Struis character. The alcohol can be a bit too prominent in the nose at times, making this a bit hot, but it is just about complex enough that I don't really care. I wasn't really expecting much roast character here, and at first I didn't notice a whole lot, but now that I have dug around a bit there is definitely a sharp, a bit acrid, at times substantially toasted, roast / burnt grain note towards the finish.

Soft and creamy at first, then some prickly carbonation sets in and the beer gets a sharpness from the roast malt that also tends to add some thinning effect; never enough to keep this beer from being chewy and a definite sipping brew though. Substantial chocolate notes up front are tempered by darkly roasted, coffee-like notes towards the finish that add both a roast bitterness and some burnt acidity to the finish. This hides its alcohol fairly well in the flavor with just a touch of warming as it runs down my throat. A substantial, rich, concentrated fruit character becomes much more noticeable as my palate gets used to the dark grain notes; flavors of tart / sweet prunes, moist dried figs and some definite brandy-like fruit / alcohol notes. As the beer warms up it picks up more sweetness, which helps to balance the roast malt and alcohol notes a bit more. At times, in the finish, there is a substantial, toasty nutty note that reminds me of chestnuts and perhaps a touch of roasted pepita (pumpkin nut). Towards the end of my glass it starts to pick up a bit of chalky dark malt character.

Definitely a good beer, it is lacking the finesse that I was hoping for though. The complexity is there in the nose, but, while tasty, it doesn't seem to fully follow through in the flavor.

Served In: Pint Glass

Huge thanks to hoppymeal for the opportunity. I didn’t think I would get to taste this one so soon. Drinking this one for my 100th review on TBS!!!

I put this one in the fridge for about 20min so it’s around cellar temp.

Is this a RIS, Belgian Royal Stout? I don’t know so I just poured it into my Duvel tulip glass.

Pours as it should, black with no opportunity for light to penetrate through and a thick, soft, 2 inch crown of milk chocolate foam. Very good retention throughout; the beer maintains a nice thin layer of foam and a quick little stir brings this one back to life.

The aroma is enticing that’s for sure. There is a good amount of sweet, dark, fruits and it has a yeasty profile that is characteristic of quads. Very soft and floral on the nose, the chocolate is more like cocoa than a dark Belgian chocolate. There’s also hints of vanilla, maybe some wood. I’m also picking up some dark Belgian candy sugar. Can’t quite pick out all the aromas since it’s quite subtle, it’s a soft fragrance. After a while I detect the roasted malts, some husk, and a bit of coffee. After a few sips the beer develops some green grape skin or apple skin…no it’s more like dried apricots that I smell. There’s also a bit of a coca-cola aroma going on in there. As complex as it is on the nose it just doesn’t have a powerful bouquet, it’s just a tad shy and quiet. I’m actually a bit torn on the aroma, it’s very good, and maybe it’s not meant to be a pungent chocolate etc…aroma for this style, but it just didn’t impress me as much as the other categories.

The first sip is like a carnival ride, it just takes the palate out for a ride. Starts out with a little sour cherry, sweet raisins, and dates; then it moves into roasted malts, chocolate, a bit of wheat, yeast, and alcohol. Again, really soft and elegant. Near the finish and aftertaste I get a tangy wheat flavor and well as some dry roasted barley. The alcohol also brings a fruitiness in the finish, not hot by any means. Near the finish of the glass there beer has more roasted malts, a little charred wood, even more dark fruits, and more dryness.

Mouthfeel, well, it has to be perfect for me. The beer is so smooth on the palate, it is sweet and airy. Drinks rather easy for 13% I could easily drink one or two more.

Served In: Tulip