Willy Tonka - Tonka & Licorice
Brouwerij De Moersleutel

Pastry, very liqurice.

L- Black, vast pillowy head.
S- Aromatic
T- BOOF! What is it? What ever they tell you.
F- Deep, thick, pungent.
O- I really don't know, challenging, but is that per se good?
440ml can from TremblingMadness/UK £6.99/440ml BB: 09/24

 

Pours a pitch-black coloration with a large, creamy, dark-brown head. Smells of roasted, caramel malt and a strong tonka presence, with that odd but wonderful earthy/herbal vanilla note, as well as some chocolate, coffee and licorice. Taste follows the nose, with a great balance of roasted, caramel malt, a strong tonka presence with those earthy, herbal vanilla notes and certain woodruff character, some dark, bitter chocolate and coffee, as well as somewhat lighter licorice and tobacco. Finishes with a medium bitterness and some tonka, chocolate and coffee lingering in the aftertaste. Full mouthfeel with a rich body and medium carbonation.

First off, I think that the licorice is a bit subtle here for a stout brewed explicitely with it, just like it was with their Berliner Weisse that had it added. Moersleutel always tend to have a certain licorice quality to their stouts simply from the malts and I can't say that it is significantly more pronounced here. Nevertheless, this is certainly a wonderful beer that is a lot more focussed on the tonka than the licorice, which is not necessarily a bad thing! The tonka really unfolds marvellously here in all its glory, while being accompanied very nicely by some chocolate, coffee, licorice and tobacco. This never becomes to sweet or boozy either despite the 13% ABV, which can be an issue with De Moersleutel, featuring a wonderful balance of sweet and roasted/bitter notes. I think that the licorice is actually coming through a bit more as this warms, adding a bit of sweetness, which still isn't too bad though. While I still think that De Molen hold the number one spot when it comes to stout-focussed NL breweries, De Moersleutel is certainly a worthy runner-up.

 

Got this from the Duvel guy in Utrecht

From a 44cl can into a snifter
Imperial stout with tonka beans and licorice

APPEARANCE: Black pour yields a 2+ finger, thicker looking, creamy, dark tan head with great retention. Jet black body with no carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a full, thick, creamy cap and clings to the sides of the glass. A faint wisp remains leaving lots of nice lacing down the glass. Solid color and great head on this one. A touch blacker for top scores.

SMELL: Big nose of tonka beans, vanilla cream, milk chocolate, tobacco and anise aromas, some roasted notes and pure, bitter cacao powder as well. Bold and aromatic. Lovely.

TASTE: Tonka beans, vanilla cream, milk chocolate some light anise flavors, then a roasted and somewhat boozy assault at the swallow. Bold finish of roasted malts, tonka beans, anise, tobacco and leather flavors, some bitter pure chocolate and roasted coffee character, as well as a decent dose of alcohol linger on the palate. Big, roasted and flavorful with plenty of bold character all over it. Really good.

PALATE: Full body and medium levels of carbonation. Creamy and smooth on the palate, a bit slick, goes down slick and smooth, finishing somewhat mouth-coating on the palate. Some heat lingers. Thick, heavy, silky, creamy, and surprisingly smooth for the style. Excellent.

OVERALL: This is impressive. Very impressive. Sometimes tonka beans and licorice can be off-putting when done excessively, but this one is balanced just right. The look is top notch and the feel is absolutely outstanding as well. Really, really impressive engineering on this one. This was excellent and shows again why De Moersleutel is the best imperial stout brewer in the country at this point. Top quality stuff that comes highly recommended. Would love to this beast put into a barrel at some point. Cheers!