Struise Tsjeeses Reserva (Bourbon Barrel Aged)
De Struise Brouwers

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Sigmund from Norway

330 ml bottle, a gift from gunnar, many thanks! ABV is 10.0%. Very cloudy brown colour, big off-white head. Strong sweetish aroma of Belgian ale yeast and a complex symphony of spices, also notes of honey and dark dried fruits. The flavour is fairly sweet with notes of spices, brown candi sugar, caramel and oak. Good stuff!

Jan 28, 2022

3.71/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
by stevoj from Idaho

33cl 2016 bottle from Homebrewstuff. Mahogany pour with a few bubbles. Malty aroma, raisins, prunes. Taste is more of the pit fruit, sweet, malty notes, alcohol heat and barrel notes arrive at the finish.

Jan 24, 2022

3.49/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
by REVZEB from Illinois

Cellared bottle. Dark bubbly opaque brown with a tan cap that quickly fades into a collar. Bourbon booze is strong in the nose with belgian yeast, earth, apple and dark wood, little unbalanced given the strong booze. Taste has big booze too, char and licorice with belgian yeast all kind of muddle together with some apple lingering, messy and unbalanced. Clearly age took away the pleasing sweetness. Feel is hot, malty and yeasty without being heavy or big. Needs refinement and balance

Aug 20, 2021

3.97/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Bluecrow from New York

-this was bottled 5.5 years ago I’m not sure what conditions it experienced during that time.
The bottle pour is mahogany colored with a moderate haze and a thin ring of beige foam that dissipates quickly.
The aroma is of tart apple cider, some vitamin K and a hint of whiskey and wood. There is a sweet hint of candi sugar too
The flavor is vinous complex. Oak and earthy aspects with brighter acidic notes make a unique quaff.
The mouthfeel is a bit slick, but the acidic tartness cuts it and it is easy to take the next sip. There is a boozy influence that presents late.
I enjoyed the X-mas version of this at Ebenezer’s in ME before I was a BA, on a snowy December evening. I remember it as transporting, with a rich, Saison Noel flavor.

I like this rare treat more now than I would have those years ago.

May 05, 2021

3.43/5  rDev -15.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
by Alieniloquium from Florida

330 mL bottle. Murky brown body. Smells of bourbon, fruity yeastiness, alcohol, and oak. Tastes quite fruity and bright, despite a hefty bourbon flavor permeating. The bourbon is corn-heavy, too. Oak and some alcohol and astringency. Oaky and bourbony finish. Heavy, boozy, slow to drink. My description sounds like a train wreck, but it somehow comes together pretty well.

Mar 16, 2021

3.8/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
by Captain69 from Illinois

strong belgium ale - great in the cod of winter

Dec 02, 2020

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Greywulfken from New York

9/11/16 bottling - didn't realize it was old - lol - but it seems no one has it fresh? This poured a deep amber - nearing brown, with a ruddy tone - finger of tan head in the tulip glass; slimmed quickly to a sparse collar... beneath the elf on the label, bottle says "Belgian X-Mas Ale Bourbon Barrel Aged"

Very tangy - almost sour - apple impressions - woody tannins air things out - sweetness is moderate, no real bitterness - maybe this is a sour - it has lots of tang and tartness, no real bourbon comes through - and I'm not getting the richer-sounding fruits like raisins or dates or sweetness like molasses or honey and stuff I read in other reviews, nor is there anything of a vanilla to this - closer to a Flanders red or brown - well, maybe a bit richer and fleshier than that - hopefully this was a design choice and not a bad beer lol - seems I'm the only sampler so far... *pressure*

Well, enjoying it, but as a sour-ish ale, not what other reviews have had from other years - can't really know whether or not to recommend it though...

Nov 24, 2020

4.46/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
by arzt from Russian Federation

Vintage 2014, bottled 09/11/2016
Awesome beer.

Jan 01, 2020

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by Cuervo_PCB from Florida

Bottle 9/11/2016; Enjoyed 12/20/20
Reddish, hazy, booze, little to no head.

Dec 21, 2019

4.25/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by GuyFawkes from Illinois

Bottled 2011; drank 3/9/14 @ the Yarchives.

Opaque ruby hue.

Off-white head; strong lace.

Apple cinnamon nose; smells like a cookie!

Thick, creamy mouthfeel.

Creamy oats, fresh apples & a nice cinnamon bite. Sweet & rich but not cloying....great balance!

Perfect for a winter night around the fire. Age hasn't hurt this beauty.

Oct 28, 2019

4.59/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
by KooVee from Finland

2014 vintage.

Clear amber, moderate lace.

Drive-by aroma is apple...with a bit of vanilla hinting at barrel.. and smooth alcohol. Oven-baked apples.

Nose strengthens the above, especially the alcohol, but not in a coarse way. A fine marriage of apple and alcohol, stronger than cider...and when you think about it a bit more... calvados. That's what this reminds one of, only milder and subtler.

Mouthfeel is oily, which is a very positive statement in this context. As the beer warms, apple is joined by a bit of pear and associated phenols. Some better saisons and some rye-heavy innovative brews have this aspect stronger -- here it serves to make things even more interesting. Alcohol maintains its warming presence as the beer opens up, but never distracts. And reading from the label the barrels were bourbon .. it fits, but is not intrusive or obvious. Same goes for spices. Hard to dissect those.. grains of paradise is my bet, but not much else, maybe star anise? Subtle. Which is good. Very good.

Overall a sui generis at least when comparing against the progeny and type casting. Absolutely recommended.

Feb 15, 2019

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by keithmurray from Connecticut

2014 Vintage

Appearance - auburn body with eggshell white head

Smell - honey, apple, hint of bourbon, brown sugar

Taste - apple, honey, hint of bourbon, molasses, brown sugar

Mouthfeel - medium bodied, medium carbonation, honey upfront, bourbon on the back end

Overall - nice Belgian ale that was enjoyable - the barrel is present but doesnt overwhelm.
Price Point - $5.99/11.2 oz bottle

Jan 18, 2019

4.21/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by RMW66 from Australia

A very good full bodied Christmas ale with nice vanilla and bourbon notes from the barrel aging process. Probably the best Christmas ale I have tasted to date. Would recommend.

Dec 23, 2018

4/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by janubio from Spain

Vintage 2011. Served in a trappist glass. Poors a brwon colour, small head with short retention. No lace.
Aroma of dried fruits (raisins, figs or maybe dates), caramel, molasses, barres is noticeable, alcoholic.
Medium body, creamy texture, flat carbonation. Liquor finish.
Taste of dried fruits, bourbon, caramel, molasses.
Definitely, what you can expect for a good barrel aged beer. Warming and alcohol feeling.

Dec 19, 2018

4.05/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by StonedTrippin from Colorado

2013 vintage here, shared generously by my neighbor this weekend, and consumed right along side the regular version from 2012. the barrel aged version to my surprise here is quite a bit more clear and bright in the glass, a shiny reddish color to it and a head with better retention on it. aroma is far sweeter, with the sweet part of the oak and the vanilla and maple notes of the bourbon combining with the big grain bill here to make this smell like a sweet barleywine, well aged, mature belgian yeast and a little oxidation only flatter it. the brewed with spices part is curious to me, outside of maybe a little coriander, and anise hint, and perhaps a little orange peel or something, im not sure i taste the usual holiday spice profile here at all, possibly faded being five years old, but maybe a more subtle or different mix. there is a little bitterness as the end, balances some of the sweet, but this is still pretty sugary. i also dont get as much oak here from the bourbon barrels as i thought i might, more of a whiskey flavor without the wood to me, perhaps lost some to all the grain. in the end, i think, at least at these vintages, that i prefer the non barrel aged, the extra sugar is a lot here, and some of the complexity of the belgian yeast is lost to that, but this is still an awesome beer by all measures, and was an awesome addition to our holiday beer lineup. it fits the season uniquely. id love to try these fresh!

Dec 05, 2018

4.17/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by Buck89 from Tennessee

2013 vintage poured into a snifter. Muddy copper brown color with a soapy tan head. Nice lacing. Aroma had raisins, caramel, toffee, vanilla, and bourbon. The taste was slightly tart with some cherries and the other notes from the aroma. A nice floral estery finish. Not quite full bodied and on the thinner side and dry on the finish. Flavors melded. Great beer.

Apr 18, 2018

4.16/5  rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
by dcotom from Iowa

Poured from 33 cl bottle into a glass tumbler. Vintage 2013, bottled 07/2014, sampled 01/02/2018. Pours a hazy, deep reddish-amber color, with a dark orange highlight here and there. Thick eggshell-colored head that settles into a thin ring with a wispy cap. I can't say what this is like fresh, but it's mighty fine at three and a half years. The bourbon barrel character is muted, allowing the many other flavors to take center stage. Big aromas and flavors of molasses, caramel, dark bread, and dark fruit, with a hint of tart black cherry. There is a touch of astringence on the tongue, with some alcohol warmth that is quite pleasant. Medium mouthfeel, with quite a bit of carbonation. Finishes with some lingering sweetness, some roasted-malt bitterness, and a bit of oaky sourness. This would be a worthy candidate for a multi-year vertical. I'll be looking for more of this vintage to cellar.

Jan 03, 2018