Hofblues
't Hofbrouwerijke

33ml bottle.

Near black body that's opaque in the glass and has an excellent tan head.

Aroma: spicy and sweet, with more alcohol esters than expected for 5.5% ABV.

Flavor: dynamic with a sweet spicy start transitioning to a mildly bitter, roasty and nutty flavor. Lots of dark roasted grain with negligible burnt aspects. Delicious roasted grain aftertaste.

Overall: Intriguing aroma, very good flavor, outstanding mouthfeel. Closer to an American stout than a typical Belgium stout. Worth seeking out.

Pours a deep brown that appears to be somewhat clear at the edges but must be quite murky since even direct sunlight will not pass through it. The pour produces barely a finger of fine foamy, tan head that leaves only a few thin streaks & motes of lacing. Aroma is dark malt, brown sugar, molasses, butter, prune & other dark fruits, a little cocoa & coffee. Taste is roasted/burnt malt, raisins, brown sugar, hints of molasses & toffee with a little chocolate & faint coffee thrown in. There is a phenolic, plastic note in the malty, lively with carbonation finish. Aftertaste is rapidly fading burnt malt, tangy cola & dark fruit. Mouthfeel is medium-heavy bodied with moderate-high carbonation, juicy, slick, peppery & sandpaper prickly.

 

Pours a cloudy dark brown with tan head. Sweetness, chocolate, bread, and biscuit on the nose; follows onto the palate. Finishes with a bready choclatey sweetness.

Enjoyed from the 33 cl bottle in a snifter. This unique Belgian pours a dark blackish brown with a fantastic head of light tan foam that lingers long with moderate lacing. Nose is very soft and light with muted dark chocolate, stronger hints of dark coffee, and some black raisin notes with a hint of licorice sliding in the back. Flavors surpass the nose with deeply roasted malts, medium coffee flavors, and some moderately dark cocoa flavors coming in on the back with a hint of licorice. All flavors are soft and delicate for the style which is aided by the soft light Belgian yeast note that gives the mouth feel a nice creamy lift adding to the smoothness factor. The ale ends a with a lightly bitter, lingering, roasted malt note that is pleasing to most stout drinkers. A most excellent brew. Light for the American tastes, but excellent for a unique hybrid.

Cheers

Coffee flavor, rich and creamy. Very good

 

 

 

 

 

Viscous cherry-black with a pitted, stiff, burnt umber head.
Nose is coffee, beef jerky, and melted brown sugar.
Dates, milk chocolate truffles, birch beer middle, some black cherry, and mulchy, sweet licorice finish.
Bacon-y end and tingly linger.
Fizzy, almost medium, slight chew.

Some interesting sweet-tart interplay, and overdelivers for the strength. Too lively, thin and smokey, though, to make any real impact. Not deep and chewy enough to be a sipper nor easy enough to session.

Another misconceived Belgian stout.

 

 

 

On my bottle it says it's a belgian stout....

A: It's a gusher! Then even with a gentle pour my tulip glass overflows with bubbles. Had to wait quite some time before the head went down enough to drink. Otherwise this beer is super dark brown and the head is massive, creamy, cream colored.

S: Super musty. Light. A little bit of smokey coffee.

T: It has the belgian must with the roast of a stout. I was curious how these two flavors were going to play together and the answer is not well.... It's like musty chocolate covered grapes. Not a fruit that pairs well with chocolate.

M: Light, but the carbonation is smooth. Some cream notes linger on the palate.

Overall quite light and too odd a pair of mustyness and stout elements. I've been trying to embrace belgian style a bit more but this one isn't doing it for me.

 

A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a dark brown color and a thick texture. There was a huge, tan-colored, creamy, long-lasting head. Good lacing.

S: A somewhat muted aroma of coffee, malt, and a little chocolate.

T: Tasted of coffee (a mild amount), a hint of chocolate, malt, and a little yeast. A pretty well balanced flavor and decently complex for the style.

M: A whopping amount of carbonation here, with a crisp, clean, smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

O: This is a solidly made, drinkable beer. Very well done and enjoyable.

 

Pours pitch black and completely opaque with a one finger beige head that slowly settles into a thin ring. Spotty lacing left behind.

Roasted malt aroma with a subtle lactic presence along with some zesty spice and dark fruit notes. Toasted malts with hints of coffee, dark chocolate, licorice, pepper and vinous berries. The sweetness and spice are pretty tame however, allowing the dark malt notes to take over.

Medium bodied with a dry, roasted malt presence that is overpowered mid palate by estery, dark fruit sweetness and zesty spice. Cloying medicinal presence with too much sweetness for my liking. There is a decent roasted dark malt character up front but it quickly drops off. Hints of toast, coffee bean and chocolate are immediately countered by dark cherry, currant, grape and other dark berries. There's also some licorice, anise and pepper but this isn't too overbearing. As it warms the malt character strengthens but there's just too much sweetness for my preference. Easy to drink but not very well balanced or interesting.