Aardnon / Earthnun
De Struise Brouwers

330 mL bottle. Aardnon 2009, Cask Strength Blend in Barrel Limited Edition. 7 years? Some punctuation would be great. Pours murky brown with almost no head. Smells of figs, oak, brown sugar, some cherry, wine. Tastes of oxidation, oak, red wine. Light acidity that gradually builds into a dry, vinous finish. Has some caramelized sugars that never really come off as sweet. This took a bit for me to come around to, but in the end I'm really enjoying it.

2009 bottle hanging around a reno bottle shop for 12 bucks, never seen or heard of this one, but old de struise is fantasy camp for me, so this was a no brainer, love these dusty old belgian bottles. this is apparently aged seven years, and in some real heady french red wine barrels at that. the pour is deep mahogany to brown colored, viscous and intimidating, nearly still, leggy, deep reddish in the right light, some gloss. the nose on this is wild, old as heck but not oxidized, heavy red wine, rich port wine, definite sweetness, tannins, and oak all through this, hints of dry cocoa, vanilla, and red wine vinegar, there is a fruity sharpness to this, more bacterial acidity than funk, but some of both, heavy long boiled malts, quad-esque without the estery yeast, dates and raisin, rum and cognac, musty, subtle black olive, black tea, and raspberry, tobacco and old leather, walnut and black pepper, this is mighty dynamic, smells stronger than it is listed too, definite alcohol warmth here. the flavor is super complex, starts like its going to be an acid bomb, but its shockingly tempered, black cherry and red raspberry fruitiness along with a ton of wine character, almost a brown ale type grain base, definite cocoa, cola, light smoke, tons of body, especially in the absence of any real carbonation activity. awesome fruitiness, neat tang but not overly acidic, wood all through it, light anise, pipe tobacco, and prune at the end, and it warms up really well. wildly complex with the grain layers, the long ageing, and the wine. one of the few almost uncarbonated beers out there that i think i actually prefer it, it slows this way down and lets all the little nuances come out to be appreciated. really lucky to have found this, a very special blend, nothing else in the world like this. so unassuming too in this little bottle. amazing!

 

De Labirratorium. En copa Teku. Con palomitas. Jugando a Ori and the Will of the Wisps. Curiosamente una de las birras de struisse en las que menos esperanzas tenía puestas y de las que más me han gustado. La acidez es comedida, y la malta hace un agradable acto de presencia, especialmente en nariz

Pours a dark mahogany coloration with a tiny, fizzy head. Smells of bready, caramel malt and strong dark/red fruit notes of raisin, plum and cherry, as well as hints of vanilla and tannic oak. Taste is an excellent balance of rich, sweet, bready, caramel malt and distinct dark and lighter red fruit, with raisin and plum being especially prominent and lighter fig and cherry, as well as some brown sugar and rather pronounced sour, vinous, tannic and woody oak notes, with hints of balsamic vinegar, chocolate, vanilla and clove. Finishes with a medium sourness and some dark fruit and tannic oak lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and low carbonation.

This one-of-a-kind brew makes for a very unique, drinking experience due to its incredibly rich and complex, yet sublimely balanced flavor profile that combines the sweet, fruity and somewhat spicy notes of a Quadrupel with the sour, vinous and woody notes of an Oud Bruin and while all of these notes stand out luxuriously, they never get into each other's way, really coming into their own without overshadowing one another. A truly superb brew where you can really taste the 7 years of aging in wooden barrels and additional 4 years of secondary fermentation in the bottle, while this never feels overly oxidized, syrupy sweet or too boozy.

 

A 330ml bottle, bottled on 18th February 2016, with a best before date of 17th February 2021. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.

Appearance: Deep dark brown in colour with a ruby hue and a one fingered tanned head that had decent retention and faded to a ring but left only sparse to no lacing.

Aroma: Light roast, cherry, chocolate, coffee, lightly tart, grape gummy candy, fig and plum.

Taste: Sweet and tart, plum, cherry, fig, grape, blackcurrant, jammy berries, with hints of vinegar, wood, light roast and chocolate.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.

Overall: Excellent, great aroma and flavours. Good complexity and extremely balanced.

Aardnon - 2009 - Earthnun a BA Blend.

9 years old beer this is the oldest beer I've had to date. It spent 7 years in the barrel and 2 years in the bottle.

It pours a still dark brown

Toffee and vinous notes in the aroma, some candi sugar, oak

Great complexity with a lot of vinous notes : berries and leathery notes. Nuts and dark fruits like dates. Candi sugar and cereal notes. A certain sourness is present, a bit lactic

Some astringency, low carbonation

Overall a classy oud bruin

 

 

 

Aardnon 2009 Earthnun. Garnet black with a finger of beautiful tan head. Good lacing. Delicate aroma of chocolate, red wine, some floral hops. Sweet tasting, largely following the nose. Slightly sour, puckering, semi-dry finish. Medium bodied with decent carbonation. A touch creamy. Nice cross of styles: quad, sour, oude bruin. Delicious.

Poured from bottle.
L: black with a weak white foam head.
S: sourness, dry wine. Pleasant.
T: berries red ones, wine again,
F: nice aftertaste, full body and soft carbonation.
O: amazing Belgian.

 

This is for the 2009 vintage released in late 2016. This spent 7 years in the barrel.

Fizzy tan head. Dark caramel brown color.

This one is very sour with vinegar notes. Oaky with dark fruits, cherries, molasses, and caramel. It is a blend between a quad and a flanders oud bruin and both are fairly present. Some vanilla and toffee. Wine and sherry like notes.

Medium bodied. Ends with some tannins.

A very unique beer. This one will definitely get some mixed reviews.

 

11oz bottle poured into a tulip appears dark brown to almost black with a brown head a finger strong.

The aroma contains minerals and cirus with dark fruity character akin to raison. Some soy evolves as it warms. Once beyond ideal temp its quite vinous.

The taste is sour with an earthy mineral inclusion, cider, earth, oak and vanilla/caramel with quite a savory thing going on mixed with oxidation thats leafy, vegetal and somewhat vinous. There is vinegar to be had across the back.

This is light in body and modestly carbonated. The minerals dominate with roast and its age being quite prevalent. Not a bad brew by any stretch but certainly different.

 

 

Bottle at home. Finally I get to try this beer. Looks really good. Small label with all important information. Beer in the glass deep black, small head. Fine malty-sourish aroma. Starts intense malty, roasty, notes of plum, some nuts. Earthy notes. More and more sourish hints, cherries, not too intense. Finish less sourish, malty-stouty notes. Well balanced. Quite drinkable. Love that combination of sour and stouty notes. Really good!