Black Damnation XXIV - Octopussy
De Struise Brouwers

11.2 oz bottle served in a tulip. Pours the color and clarity of cola with a creamy, khaki-colored head that quickly dissipate into a sudsy head that clusters around the shoulders. Nose is interesting - cocoa, ethanol and peaty notes, as well as hints of oxidation. Taste consistent with nose. Mouthfeel is medium-light in body with a still carbonation and a somewhat silky carbonation. Overall, interesting and complex, but definitely moving past its prime.

 

 

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a small head, and not much lacing.

This smells like dark chocolate, licorice, smoke, peat, vanilla, and oak.

De Struise really loves to age their stuff in scotch barrels. Normally, this would not be something I’m super interested in, but Struise does it right. It’s got that smoke and peat vibe but it’s not overwhelming, and the base Black Damnation is strong enough, with enough fudginess, roast, and licorice to keep the smoke as a supporting player. There’s caramel and oak too.

This is medium bodied, silky and velvety, and not all that boozy.

I remember being fascinated with this series when I started to get more into beer, and the series still intrigues me a decade later.

 

(4 oz draft pour into a wine glass at The Sovereign in DC last night)

Wow what an underwhelming beer, but dangerously sluggable... Very dark brown in color with a collapsable head, gone in a jif... The beer is defined by its overall cigarette smoke-infused velvet aroma and taste... 13% abv and I had to double check the menu, because it drank like an Irish dry - barely a hint of alcohol... The peated whiskey influence is very much present during the first few sips before darn near disappearing by the end, vanishing into thin air, or at least getting buried by the burnt Pall Mall-iness... strange brew (2285)

Pours a darker brown to lighter black, with a tan head. Nose has a hint of smoke and char. Taste is heavier on the smoke, less desirable to me, but I must admit not overwhelming. Still has some char taste that paks through the smokey flavor. Smooth across the palate.

Black Albert stays on quite a prowl looking for a new barrel to slumber inside. Octomore Scotch whisky barrels are quite the home and this cat can't wait to wrap its arms around this new and brilliant taste.

Tawny black and catching deep and dark brandy hues about its margins, the barrel stained Octopussy may be shy on froth but is abundant in sultry, savory and smoky perfumes. As its decadent caramel, toffee, honey and butter pecan malts flood the tongue with flavor, a bold malt impression pulls away from coffee and roast for those sweet and spicy barrel nuances.

As the flavors roll along the middle palate, a fruitier tone takes place with scotch soaked cherry, plum, date, raisin and fig in a nearly barleywine type of taste. Savory with hints of port wine, sherry and madiera, the sweet maltiness provides a perfect buffer from the peated, smoky, peppery nature of scotch soaked woods. As the ale trails into a lightly bitter finish, the suggestions of coffee and chocolate finally arise.

Full bodied, pleasantly oily and viscous like maple, the Black Damnation variant sounded intimidating from its label but its taste is mature, complex, well balanced and truly unique.

Great name! Not the best Bond film but anyways.
Pours a light fizzy brown head with lower retention, a bit of lacing, decent legs, jet black color

Nose intense dark roasted malts, lots of roast, char, a touch acrid and burnt malt, dark roasted coffee, licorice, some dark chocolate cocoa, baking spices, some spicy hops, plenty of smoke, some earthy peat smoke

Taste brings plenty of roast again and smokey roast, smokey from the roast as well as earthy smokey peat, mild char, roasted coffee, smooth rich dark chocolate, cocoa, lots more baking spices and licorice, a touch of smokey campfire, bitterness kicks in, not a lot, med spicy hops and dark roasted malt bitterness, vanilla ice cream, finishes a touch sweet drier than expected,

Mouth is fuller bod, rich, lower carb but OK, almost no alcohol

Overall an interesting beer, not one I'd go after again as the smoke and base beer kinda clash a bit, but fun to try

 

L: Morning after desperation coffee brown. Minimal head.
S: Bit of vinegar and umami on the nose. Smoke is present but secondary.
T: Mellow soureness, some smokiness but not overpowering. Char comes in at the end and lingers.
F: Carbonation is mellow, mouth feel is average.
O: Pretty good, but I was hoping for more.

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a reddish sheen when held up to the light and a small, creamy head. Smells of slightly roasted, caramel malt chocolate, licorice and hints of peat and oak. Taste is a good balance of slightly roasted, caramel malt chocolate, brown sugar, dark fruits/red berries, with notes of raisin, fig, cranberry, lighter coffee, licorice and tobacco, as well as hints of ash, peat and oak. Finishes with a light tartness, medium sweetness and some chocolate, brown sugar and licorice lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

This is the last time I buy a barrel-aged Black Albert. They have always been hit and miss but that was okay when you could get them in a 33ml bottle for 6-8€. These 750ml bottles at 35€ are an entirely different story. Basically this is way too sweet for my taste, with that strong brown sugar note that I really dislike and not enough peat for being aged in Islay barrels, while body and mouthfeel are mediocre at best as well. Not enough Islay character for me, with this lacking in distinct peat character, despite some oak and a good, general Scotch heat in the finish. I also dislike that light tartness in the background, which may all be due to age though as this bottle is 3 years old now and has a very slightly oxidized feel to it. I always thought that stouts aging well was a myth and will avoid buying them at more than a year old like the plague in the future.

 

 

 

Drank on draught, presumably keg at Cafe beemoth
After the Manchester homebrew meeting
Poured a jest black body with proud tan head
Aroma is boozy coffee, flavour has are sour note and sherry flavours

A 750ml bottle, number 1275/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 23rd March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: Black in colour with a thin half finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some spotty lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, peat, leather, whisky, chocolate, leaning sweet from the dry dark fruit, prunes, raisin.

Taste: Light to medium sweetness, whisky, peat, roasted malts, chocolate, candied prunes, brown sugar.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: Generally, Octomore is among my preferred whiskeys, and it showed up nicely in the aroma. In the flavour, the peat was not coming through as strongly as compared to the aroma, although I’m not entirely sure if it’s because of aging as I did not take notes when I tried it in 2018 and 2020. It’s still an enjoyable sipper and among my favourite Black Damnations along with Coffee Club and Hollow.