Hopverdomme
De Struise Brouwers

 

On tap at the Apex in PDX the other day. The most interesting thing about this beer (IMHO), is how De Struise was able to make a fairly decent, 15% abv. beer that doesn't taste all sweet and boozy. While there's some sweetness on the mid palate, there's more than enough hoppy bitterness to counter it. Also,while you can tell the abv. is up there a bit, there's no way I would have guessed it was s15%. The beer is actually a bit thin on the palate, which is not something I normally expect in a 15% abv. beer. Otherwise, the beer has a decent amount of pine, light ginger, and some light earthiness on the palate that is pleasant and enjoyable. The finish is long and fairly bitter, as you would expect in a well made DIPA.

Shrug. A decent beer for sure, but given the price point (it's a bit spendy) and the abv., I doubt I'll be revisting this again any time soon.

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at Max's (from notes).

A: Cloudy amber brown with no lacing.

S: Weird, but mainly pine. Just a bit of a floral scent.

T: Weird pine. Not that great, but no alcohol burn. Lots of malt.

M: Quite smooth with just a bit of coarseness.

O: Doesn't taste like an IPA. It was good with no burn, but it wasn't what I was expecting at all.

 

Poured into 8oz snifter at Local Option

A: hard to see in the dim bar but looks like a dark ruby color. Might be the neon lights above me but this one almost seems to glow.

S: Smells mostly like apple juice, pineapples, and a bit like spent grain.

T: this is hard to describe. At. 15% you would expect a whallop of flavor up front but this is actually very mellow. Starts off with a load of apple juice and a bit of bitterness, which quickly fades and leaves a very very pleasant sweetness in your breath. Never had anything like it before.

M: this is the best part. Super smooth, very little carbonation, medium body. The aftertaste is the best though.

Overall a very interesting beer that I'm happy I noticed in the menu. I'd definitely order this again if I had the chance.

 

 

 

I had this one pored in by the master-brewer Urbain himself during the Alvinne Craft Beer Festival. What a great moment.

A - A dark brown/yellow fluid with an off white/yellowish head. I know it sounds a bit strange, but than again it is a strange brew.

S - What a floral scent.

T - This is pure hop oil, sweet and floral. No alcohol to be discovered what so ever!!!

M - The aftertaste is real good and doesn't linger around to long. The carbonation is soft and pleasant.

O - This is hop syrup, brilliantly done.