Black Damnation X - Double Wood
De Struise Brouwers

 

Løkken 6/7 2023. 33 cl bottle from Kvickly, Østergade, Middelfart. A ominous Skull surrounded red and orange ornaments in Struises usual Black Damnation design.

Pours opaque dark brown with a mid-sized beige head. Bubbly. Settles as a thin rim of foam running along the sides of the glass. No lacing.

Aroma is fairly intense with a strong sweet potent odor of dark fruit and caramel. Plums and raisins. Dark sweet alcohol. Saturated wood.

Light carbonation. Medium thick, oily, slightly viscous, soft, almost flat texture.

Flavor is intense with a rather strong sweetness followed by a medium strong rough bitterness. Aftertaste is bitter with a distinct boozy undertone. Finish is dry and unforgiving.

Rough, potent and wooden Imperial Stout.

A 330ml bottle, bottled on 4th May 2021, with a best before date of +5 years, poured into a snifter glass.

Appearance: Black in colour with a thin beige head that dissipated into a ring around the glass, while leaving tiny spotty lacing.

Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, coffee grounds, dark fruit, raisin, fig, whisky, light notes of caramel and vanilla, and a touch nutty.

Taste: Caramel malt, roasty, chocolate, black coffee, whisky, dark fruit, plum, fig, wood, and some lingering char on the finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall: Despite the high ABV%, it wasn’t noticeable and it was just an enjoyable sipper with great aromas and flavours.

An 11.2oz bottle gifted to me from my great friend Thijs. Lot #20210018, bottled 14/04/2021....

Poured into one of my many sniftahs....
It is an opaque, dense, extremely dark brown. Has a nice covering of creamy, beige foam, with decent lace. Nose has some caramel and roasty, dark choco, along with subtle whisky notes. Feel is rather smooth, with a medium body.

Flavor also has a nice malty character. Has more dark choco, some cocoa and a hint of molasses. Has a slightly fruity lean to it, with a little black cherry and dates mixed in with the slightly noticeable whisky. Finish is pleasant, with a smidge of earthy, floral hopping.
Solid!! Prosit!!

4.17/5 rDev +2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

2408

Bottled and bottle Conditionied and delivered via Otter’s tears
Pours a jet black body with good tan head into a Westy XII quad glass
Aroma is roasted foamy funky sourness
Flavour is oaky treacle

 

Poured from just under fridge temp. Pours pitch black with a little bit of tan head. The nose is fantastic. Scotch, black licorice, toffee, chocolate, and a bunch of roasted malts. A bit of smoke comes through, which is really nice. Very inviting. The taste is wonderful. So full of flavor. Roasted malts, charred wood, dark chocolate, black licorice, molasses, and burnt toffee. The barrel adds such a wonderful dimension. I love Scotch, so this adds a great taste. The Scotch taste is significant. The mouthfeel is pretty thick and viscous. The aftertaste is dominated by Scotch and roasted malts.

 

A - Pours the classic dark deep Ebony colour with a thick Beige head that reduces quickly.
S - Molasses Vegemite and oak in large proportions
T - Bitter on the start before the Brown Sugar and vanilla takes over. The finish is rich and oaky.
M - Full mouthfeel and low carbonation
O - Always a pleasure to taste beers of this ilk. Not complex enough to be A Grade

Got this from the Duvel Guy in Utrecht.

From bottle into a snifter
Best Before April 2026
Belgian Royal Stout aged 2 years in Balvenie whisky barrels

APPEARANCE: Murky dark brown pour yields a 1+ finger, medium looking, slightly creamy, off-white head with decent retention. Bistre brown body with no real carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a half wisp and ring. Slight ring remains but leaves no lacing down the glass as it empties.

SMELL: Lots of dark fruits, grapes and raisins, red wine, whisky, oak aromas and booze on the nose. Bold and alcoholic.

TASTE: Dark fruits, raisins and grapes, brown sugary sweetness, with oak, red wine and boozy whisky up front and into the swallow. Bold and boozy finish of oak, red wine, dark fruity sweetness, caramel and butterscotch, whisky, and some boozy alcohol linger on the palate.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Creamy enough on the palate, especially for the higher ABV, goes down fine with a decent burn at the swallow and finishes somewhat mouth-coating. Decent heat lingers.

OVERALL: A solid brew for sure. It’s certainly a Belgian style stout, which means it’s a little light in the looks but is full on the body and flavor. It’s also a spicy, dark fruit style imperial stout as opposed to the American chocolate, coffee forward interpretation. I like it but if you’re not into the Belgian style, it might not be your thing. Like many in the Black Damnation series, it’s well worth the effort. Check it out if you see it. Cheers!

 

 

 

330 mL bottle. Not quite black in body. A little bit brown. Smells of toasted bread, roasted malt, fruity notes from the barrel. Tastes of sweet sherry, light medicinal notes, dark fruits, brown bread, and roasted malts. Back end has lingering oak. A little boozy and a little sweet. Medium heavy. Fascinating barrel character. A lot of sherry comes through. Really nice.

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Pitch black, even held right in front of a halogen lamo zero light gets through. Pours with a 2mm mid tan head that dissipates swiftly. ps@+5mins. Fades to a narrow edge-ring; but this high ABV doesn't sustain foam at all.
S- Rich, pungent and with a whisky note.
T- Ooph-boom! Mega whisky note! My palate is in a bit of a state of shock. It's also deeply roasty and has a hoppy-dry finish that parallels the big and quite rich main taste aspect. I expect there is more detail in here somewhere but TBH I think the whisky note might obscure it.
F- It's big and rich but it's not at risk of veering into sweet territory. It's big and bold for sure. I notice the Description below now saying it's 15%, it's relatively subtle for that, it comes over as more of a 10% or so. I get zero burn from this, which can happen at those levels...
O- Firstly and it needs to be said, the whisky note is the one BIG thing here so it'll help if you enjoy it! I'm 'ok' with whisky and to me this aspect rather over-dominates. They've done a decent job getting to 15% without it being a fully blunt instrument. Interesting to try but perhaps a bit too limit-pushing, too 'BIG statement' and $$ to wish to try again.
Review1944/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the lables to see what I missed! ==> Vintage 2018, unfilt/unpast. Bot-con. 'A Belgian Royal Stout from Flanders aged for 2yrs in Balvenie whisky barrels'.
330ml bottle BB: '04/05/2021 +5yrs'. £7.10 Bought from TremblingMadness, York/UK as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a medium, fluffy, quickly receding head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt, chocolate, dark fruit, with notes of raisin and fig, as well as hints of vanilla and charred oak. Taste is an excellent balance of roasted, caramel malt, distinct milk chocolate and lighter dark fruit and spice , with notes of raisin, plum, fig and clove, some licorice and hints of red berries, vanilla and charred oak. Finishes bittersweet, with a light/medium bitterness and some roasted malt, chocolate, dark fruit and spice lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and light/medium carbonation.

This is probably one of my favorites from the Black Damnation series because of the distinct barrel character that some of the other variants are kinda lacking, to be honest. With this one, you can really tell it was aged in Balvenie Double Wood casks because of those fruity berry and sweet vanilla and honey notes from the Sherry and Bourbon barrels that complement the dark fruits and spice of the base stout rather well, while the chocolate and licorice notes are still dominating as per usual with Black Albert. While it feels just a tad boozy, it's really not troo bad for the 15% ABV, while the overall balance of sweet, roasted and bitter notes is superb here. Overall, this makes for quite a complex and well-balanced barrel-aged stout that's rather rich in character and best sipped in front of a roaring fireplace.

 

 

Urbain shared BD 5, 6, 9, 10 next to each other. Shit man! Pour is jet black and completely opaque with a tan head and tight bubbles. The nose is huge, a fair bit of roasted malt and light peat notes, a bunch of bitter chocolate with whiskey taking over. Huge barrel component in this one extremely well done and interesting. The taste is rich and syrupy. Light earthy peat notes, some chocolate cherry syrup as whiskey again takes over and dominates behind. There is some light sour cherry, akin to sherry in there. There is a lingering roasted malt flavor that sits with the heat for a while on the palate with a full body, viscous and thick. A little heavy and chalky with a high carbonation and dry finish. Extremely complex with a lot going on, interesting take as it was intended to show more spirit qualities and does it very well.