Dark Horse Reserva
De Struise Brouwers
Beer Geek Stats
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- Style:
- Sour - Flanders Oud Bruin
Ranked #19 - ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- 89
Ranked #5,375 - Avg:
- 4.28 | pDev: 6.07%
- Reviews:
- 9
- Ratings:
- From:
- De Struise Brouwers
- Belgium
- Avail:
- Rotating/Seasonal
- Wants
- 1
- Gots
- 5
SCORE
89
Very Good
89
Very Good
Notes:
Hybrid dark sour ale somewhere between a Dirty Horse and Earthmonk. Spontaneously fermented and aged for 4 years on some of the finest red wine barrels from the Bordeaux area in France.
Reviews: 9
| Ratings: 31
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CraigDeMoss from Kansas
4.24/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Damn, this is really good. At a little over two years, bottling of 2/6/2018, this has the appearance of coke/Pepsi with a deep amber hue in the light. Streaming bubbles take over where a slight head fizzles out. Earth, dirt, yeast funk and prune scents. Plum, raisin, coke bottle candy, with a residual taste of dirt that strikes a balance with the dark fruit overtone. Some bitterness, tart and slightly sour, just dry enough, medium-thin bodis. Really impressed with this. Glad I have another to try in a few more years.
Aug 23, 2020
4.24/5 rDev -0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Damn, this is really good. At a little over two years, bottling of 2/6/2018, this has the appearance of coke/Pepsi with a deep amber hue in the light. Streaming bubbles take over where a slight head fizzles out. Earth, dirt, yeast funk and prune scents. Plum, raisin, coke bottle candy, with a residual taste of dirt that strikes a balance with the dark fruit overtone. Some bitterness, tart and slightly sour, just dry enough, medium-thin bodis. Really impressed with this. Glad I have another to try in a few more years.
Aug 23, 2020
emerge077 from Illinois
4.1/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Dark chestnut brown color, good clarity, compact head of tan foam that audibly crackles.
Aroma of apple butter, that's really all I could get from it. Not bad just one dimensional.
Tart flavors of apple butter, cider, mild leather, vinous and medium bodied with a touch too much carb for me personally. Okay, but it could use a bit more depth and complexity.
A bit less character than expected, considering the brewery description that it's somewhere between Aardmonnik and Dirty Horse, and it's high pricetag. Oud Bruin #83
Sep 15, 2019
4.1/5 rDev -4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25
Dark chestnut brown color, good clarity, compact head of tan foam that audibly crackles.
Aroma of apple butter, that's really all I could get from it. Not bad just one dimensional.
Tart flavors of apple butter, cider, mild leather, vinous and medium bodied with a touch too much carb for me personally. Okay, but it could use a bit more depth and complexity.
A bit less character than expected, considering the brewery description that it's somewhere between Aardmonnik and Dirty Horse, and it's high pricetag. Oud Bruin #83
Sep 15, 2019
mynie from Maryland
5/5 rDev +16.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Absurdly expensive 750 ml bottles were on sale at Max's Tap House in Baltimore, and as it was my birthday, and as I am a big fan of De Struise, I decided what the heck and plopped down 50 bucks for one. Beer-wise, that was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
The pour is beautiful: perfect carbonation, a dark red the color of pressed berries.
The aroma is, likewise, perfect: berries and funk. Soft strawberries, lightly sharp yeast. So, so, so perfectly balanced. Nodes of vanilla icing sneak in there. This smells like strawberry shortcake, but not in a weird contemporary American brewery way where it smells oddly close but still ersatz like a Jellybelly--this manages to smell like strawberry shortcake while also still very distinctly being beer, and in blending those two things De Struise has created something that greatly transcends them both.
Tastes, again, goddamn perfect. Starts sweet and gets gradually dry, kinda like a good wine but also better than any wine I've ever had. It's never super tart until the a few seconds after the sip is swallowed. The start is strawberries, then oakiness and light yeast funk, then strawberry vanilla ice cream, then wonderfully tart and dry yeast with a bit of bourbon tossed in.
Absolute world class.
Jun 23, 2019
5/5 rDev +16.8%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Absurdly expensive 750 ml bottles were on sale at Max's Tap House in Baltimore, and as it was my birthday, and as I am a big fan of De Struise, I decided what the heck and plopped down 50 bucks for one. Beer-wise, that was one of the best decisions I've ever made.
The pour is beautiful: perfect carbonation, a dark red the color of pressed berries.
The aroma is, likewise, perfect: berries and funk. Soft strawberries, lightly sharp yeast. So, so, so perfectly balanced. Nodes of vanilla icing sneak in there. This smells like strawberry shortcake, but not in a weird contemporary American brewery way where it smells oddly close but still ersatz like a Jellybelly--this manages to smell like strawberry shortcake while also still very distinctly being beer, and in blending those two things De Struise has created something that greatly transcends them both.
Tastes, again, goddamn perfect. Starts sweet and gets gradually dry, kinda like a good wine but also better than any wine I've ever had. It's never super tart until the a few seconds after the sip is swallowed. The start is strawberries, then oakiness and light yeast funk, then strawberry vanilla ice cream, then wonderfully tart and dry yeast with a bit of bourbon tossed in.
Absolute world class.
Jun 23, 2019
Alieniloquium from Florida
3.7/5 rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
750 mL bottle. Deep brown body. Smells of strong red wine. Red wine acidity. Heavily fruity wine aromas. Tastes pleasantly tart. Sour vinous notes. Slight malty tones behind it, but finishes with sharp red wine acidity. Well carbonated. It's a beautiful wine flavor, but it's only wine.
Jun 19, 2019
3.7/5 rDev -13.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
750 mL bottle. Deep brown body. Smells of strong red wine. Red wine acidity. Heavily fruity wine aromas. Tastes pleasantly tart. Sour vinous notes. Slight malty tones behind it, but finishes with sharp red wine acidity. Well carbonated. It's a beautiful wine flavor, but it's only wine.
Jun 19, 2019
larryi86 from Delaware
4.55/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottler poured into a tulip
A- A murky reddish brown with a large little brown head.
S- Sour, earthy, cherries, some vinegar, plums, dark fruits, some wine, oak, leather, touch of toffee and sweet malts.
T- Sour, leather, eathy, cherries, some tannis, touch of red wine, oak, touch of toffee, plums/dark fruits.
M- Smooth, medium body.
O- A very nice sour, nicely balanced and complex. It might have a high price tag, but it is worth it if you enjoy a great and complex Flanders.
May 04, 2019
4.55/5 rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
750 ml bottler poured into a tulip
A- A murky reddish brown with a large little brown head.
S- Sour, earthy, cherries, some vinegar, plums, dark fruits, some wine, oak, leather, touch of toffee and sweet malts.
T- Sour, leather, eathy, cherries, some tannis, touch of red wine, oak, touch of toffee, plums/dark fruits.
M- Smooth, medium body.
O- A very nice sour, nicely balanced and complex. It might have a high price tag, but it is worth it if you enjoy a great and complex Flanders.
May 04, 2019
Stevedore from Oregon
4.02/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
750ml bottle. Darker purple reddish body, two finger white head, fair retention and lacing. Smells and tastes like a dubbel; sweet dark fruit and caramel, mild-moderate acetic acidity, a bit of oak and leathery funk, toffee. It's not quite a full blown oud bruin, but really more of a tart dubbel, good complexity, mildly vinous as well. Lighter medium bodied, fairly dry without much on the backend.
Dec 29, 2018
4.02/5 rDev -6.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
750ml bottle. Darker purple reddish body, two finger white head, fair retention and lacing. Smells and tastes like a dubbel; sweet dark fruit and caramel, mild-moderate acetic acidity, a bit of oak and leathery funk, toffee. It's not quite a full blown oud bruin, but really more of a tart dubbel, good complexity, mildly vinous as well. Lighter medium bodied, fairly dry without much on the backend.
Dec 29, 2018
Beersnake1 from California
4.46/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from fridge temperature. Pours a nice dark brownish red with very little head. Nose is insane. Sour cherries, rhubarb, a touch of menthol, red grapes, and leather. Taste is interesting. Definitely a mix of sweet and sour, with a touch of bitter. Picking up a lot of sour cherries, tart, red wine, barnyard funk, bark, horse saddle, leather, pine, oak, and citrus peel. This is so complex. Definitely sour, but with so much depth. Mouthfeel is dry and mouth puckering. Overall, this is a fantastic beer - something unlike almost every other beer. It wasn't cheap, but well worth the adventure.
Dec 24, 2018
4.46/5 rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured from fridge temperature. Pours a nice dark brownish red with very little head. Nose is insane. Sour cherries, rhubarb, a touch of menthol, red grapes, and leather. Taste is interesting. Definitely a mix of sweet and sour, with a touch of bitter. Picking up a lot of sour cherries, tart, red wine, barnyard funk, bark, horse saddle, leather, pine, oak, and citrus peel. This is so complex. Definitely sour, but with so much depth. Mouthfeel is dry and mouth puckering. Overall, this is a fantastic beer - something unlike almost every other beer. It wasn't cheap, but well worth the adventure.
Dec 24, 2018
BEERMILER12 from Maine
4.51/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
A: Pours a deep ruby brown color with a tiny head that quickly fades down to a thin ring of lace
S: Lots of earthiness and vinous notes from the Bordeaux barrels along with a light vinegar note and some oaky notes. Plenty of dark fruit in there as well, mostly cherry and plum. Some tannins. Very wine-like yet still distinctly beer
T: Follows the nose, although much more tart to start than the nose lets on. Starts with the funky tartness and earthy, vinous notes and slowly picks up the Bordeaux barrels. Oak and leathery tannins stick out. Some vinegar notes again. Dark fruit helps to round things out. Finishes with lingering oak, tannins, and vinous notes
M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Definitely on the dry side
O: This is really a treat if you're into Flanders beers. Very refined and complex. Definitely a sipping beer. Very much worth the $40 for a bottle
Dec 14, 2018
4.51/5 rDev +5.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75
A: Pours a deep ruby brown color with a tiny head that quickly fades down to a thin ring of lace
S: Lots of earthiness and vinous notes from the Bordeaux barrels along with a light vinegar note and some oaky notes. Plenty of dark fruit in there as well, mostly cherry and plum. Some tannins. Very wine-like yet still distinctly beer
T: Follows the nose, although much more tart to start than the nose lets on. Starts with the funky tartness and earthy, vinous notes and slowly picks up the Bordeaux barrels. Oak and leathery tannins stick out. Some vinegar notes again. Dark fruit helps to round things out. Finishes with lingering oak, tannins, and vinous notes
M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Definitely on the dry side
O: This is really a treat if you're into Flanders beers. Very refined and complex. Definitely a sipping beer. Very much worth the $40 for a bottle
Dec 14, 2018
Ciocanelu from Romania
4.25/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Hazy brownish color with tan head. Aroma has toasted malt, balsamic vinegar, wood, funk and some caramel notes. Taste is sour, quite acidic but not very harsh, woody with toasted malt. Medium minus body with medium carbonation. Quite nice with complex flavors.
Dec 07, 2018
4.25/5 rDev -0.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Hazy brownish color with tan head. Aroma has toasted malt, balsamic vinegar, wood, funk and some caramel notes. Taste is sour, quite acidic but not very harsh, woody with toasted malt. Medium minus body with medium carbonation. Quite nice with complex flavors.
Dec 07, 2018
Dark Horse Reserva from De Struise Brouwers
Beer rating:
89 out of
100 with
31 ratings
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