Zombination III - Urbi et Orbi (Octomore barrel)
De Struise Brouwers

8cl Struise Black Damnation glass enjoyed during a share of the entire 6 bottle set.
The 3nd of the peated ones in the set for us and the one i was dreading the most as Octomore is notoriously heavy peated. Urbs did a stellar job on this one as it is once again very well balanced. The peated whiskey works well with the sweetness of the honey and doesn't hit you in the face like so often. Mouthfeel is verry thick. A beast of a beer and pretty similar to the other two peated variants, L.E.M.M.Y.i and M.A.L.I., but this is my favorite of the three stange enough.

 

 

 

I received this 750ml bottle, the 3rd variation out of 6, from my Belgian friend Joost while meeting him in SEP18 in Antwerp. Bottle 704 of 900.

Poured out some into my trusty Smutty snifter.... It looks like motor oil coming out; a deep, opaque, dark brown liquid, with basically no head at all. There are a few bubbles at the rim, but that's it, with no lacing either. . The aroma is of rich, dark chocolate, prunes and raisins, plus some mild whiskey notes. The body is a bit more than medium, and it is silky smooth on the tongue; it has basically no carbonation at all.

The flavor is luscious, with lots more dark choco and plenty of dark fruit. Has a healthy dose of raisins, prunes, dates, currants and some molasses action. It is rather sweet, almost to the point of being cloying, but never gets that far. Also has some peaty, smoky characteristics, a result of the Octomore aging, I reckon. Very surprisingly, this beer is not "hot", even at 17% ABV. That's scary! This a very, very solid offering from the gang at Struise and their collaborators. Thnx, Joost! Prosit!

4.34/5 rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

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