IJsbock
Brouwerij De Molen

 

Appearance: Pours a clearish, dusky, garnet-hued body sans head.

Smell: Aromas of toasted, crusty bread, sea salt caramel, pureed fruits, and a big nostril-dilating whiff of alcohol.

Taste: Dark caramel-coated toasted dark bread with a flood of warming sherry and fruity flavors of tartish strawberry and raspberry jams. Pinch of pipe tobacco, dash of spice. Stagnant, coagulated yeast provides some earthiness. The initial sip of sherry coarsens into an astringent solvent alcohol harshness, thwarting the other tastes. Soft, dry, hot finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus, viscous body. Very low carbonation.

Overall: Good enough for a slow, cautious sipper! Boldly alcoholic, I'll say, but it isn't exactly easy to simply tuck away nearly 17% alcohol, though it starts to mask as the booze begins to numb the palate.

Thanks to Jan for this 18cl bottle.

Pours an opaque mahogany that shows through as a hazy amber around the edges. There is a small collection of bubbles after the pour that recedes to a thin collar.

Aroma is boozy and very sweet. Lots of overripe fruits with some vanilla and coconuts. There is a definite alcohol presence, almost sherry-like.

Taste a actually has a crisp hop character up front before the massive sweetness of the malts and fruits take over. Maybe some licorice in the taste in addition to tobacco and, of course, a massive alcohol burn going down.

The mouthfeel is slick with low carbonation and seriously boozy with the burn lingering almost like a liquor inn the finish.

This is a big dessert sipper though the interesting hoppiness inn the taste was unexpected and kept things a little lighter than I was expecting given the ABV.

Dark reddish brown, clear liquid, with a minimal lid of off-white bubbles.

The aromas is powerful and heavy. Lots of bready malts, vinous ripe fruit notes, wood and surprisingly prominent notes of spicy saaz-like hops. Hints of brown sugar and fudge. Some alcohol fumes. Not a totally integrated smell, but still kind of fun.

The flavor is obviously very sweet, and at first actually not as complex as the smell would have you to think. However, it really opens up after a while in the glass. Of course, it's malty with prominent notes of dark bread, ripe plums and peaches, and caramel. Hints of dried fruits, powdered chocolate and leather. Light spicy and leafy hop notes. A fairly noticeable bitterness develops already in the mouth. The alcohol is present early on and develops strongly towards the finish where it to some extent takes on a not so pleasant chemical/solvent-like flavor. I actually think the alcohol burns the tongue every now and then. A very mild tart note as well, and lingering notes of wood and malts.

Big body, minimal carbonation (but it is carbonated) which lightens up the character. Smooth texture.

A big and eventful taste experience and an impressive beer. But it's a bit roughed and I don't think it manages to handle the high ABV. It doesn't have enough of that "fine spirits character" to do that. Would have loved to see what some time in a barrel (cognac, port or something like that) would do to it.