Karthuizer Ipso Facto
Brouwerij De Drie Kruizen

 

 

Bottle has a mark that is in between 2002 and 2003, and i cant tell which year they meant.

Pours out a dark dark brown, pretty much black with brown glowing on the sides of the glass from light. Practically no head, small ring on the side.

Smell. malty and sweet like sherry. Alcoholic cherry smell too. Lots of red wine aromas as well, full cab. smell. smells more on the complex side.

Taste. Instant deep roasted malts and grains. is a tad sweet at first, but then turns instantly dry. Very mild flavor, not at all harsh as what i was expecting, but i guess the aging did its job. small tastes of cherries and grapes. a little earthy and a little leathery like a dubbel. A slight alcoholic aftertaste and still dry.

Mouthfeel is medium to thin for the style. Low carbonation, close to none. but a good balanced beer.

Overall this is the smoothest tasting 10.5% beer i've had. The low carbonation helps that, but i think it is highly drinkable for the high alcohol. one i wouldnt mind having again.

Deep cloudy brown body, murky even. Small off-white ring. Very high yeast density. Very malty of course, chocolate chunks, toffee, coffee flavors. Rather tart on the tongue, woody, chocolatey, coffee-ish. I’d expect more complexity from a 10%+ belgian ale. Strong taste though, creamy, but a bit stale. Rather high carbonation, medium bodied. Seemingly bitter, but that’s more a yeast/spice effect. Not quite satisfying, disappointing in fact, more after every sip and I didn’t get much more than 4 ounces.

Pours a brown soda-like with a thin cover- in fact, the absolutely best description I can give this beer is a fizzy Coke. Aroma is semi-sweet malty, candy-like, chocolately coffee, and some soda like effects (is that left over from the appearance in my head?). Flavor is not too sweet, with alcohol on the tongue, roasty overlain with mellow hops. Caramel, and some off-flavors. A big astringent back end; improved as it warmed.

I expect I tasted this one too late- I found it at a somewhat dodgy liquor store off the beaten path, and didn't realize until after I got it home that it's best-by date (I think- it may have been a vintage date) was sometime in 2003 (I couldn't tell when) and I drank it in 10/04. Oh, well- it wasn't completely off, but I suspect it was on a downward slide...

Strong nosed with a dark malty character. Cola or door-knob brown, nearly opaque. Should have poured it slowly as I ended up with a chunk of yeast in the glass that broke off from bottle’s bottom like a large piece of jigsaw puzzle, and the yeasty stuff sure looks ugly. No real head or lace.

This beer is strong and malty with a musty, almost swampy bouquet that I actually enjoyed. It is a full-bodied, heavy brew with a dominant malt profile. Has a solid bite of alcohol taste towards the end, though it still finishes clean. There is some serious yeast sludge at bottle’s bottom.

The beer I drank indicated a 2003 vintage on the bottle which would have made it about a year old when I sampled it. It’s a decent beer now, though not exceptional. Might be a good beer to cellar for a few years.

11.2 oz bottle on a cold winter's day..

Pours out raisin brown. Smell is quite reminiscent of a barleywine, with some Belgian dark overtones as well. Taste is malty like a barleywine, a little sour on the edges, with a hint of that breadfeel a Belgian has. Note quite sure what to make of this one. Nicely drinkable, but not something I'd come back to a lot...

Now here’s an interesting beer I came across earlier today. I have drunk this before and I distinctly remember the experience, such was the quality of the beer. Interestingly, “Drie Kruizen” is (or rather was) listed a Brewery in the BA Database. As BFG I just altered this. Drie Kruizen has had their beers contract-brewed for some years, and most recently at Deca Brewery in West Flanders, a brewery I visited at Easter 2000. Indeed, even Tim Webb’s latest Guide has this “brewery” listed under “Brewers without Breweries”. So it is now listed as a Beer Marketing Company until I informed otherwise.

Presentation: A rather simple looking 330ml (11.2 fl.oz.) brown glass bottle with an obverse label that has a sepia colored picture of the inside of an old Monastery and the word ‘Karthuizer Ipso Facto’. The years 2001 through 2004 are printed on the left hand side of the label, which is nicked near 2002. Curiously listed as 10.5% on the bottle, but 10% on the website. Additional label text goes on to explain that this is an unpasteurized top-fermented Dutch Abbey Ale

Appearance: Pours a murky turbidicious brown color, exactly how I remember it when I had this last. A ¼” clinging light tan head formed during the pour but slowly melted away to reveal a thin broken covering. A strong looking ‘bubbly’ halo head remains which acts as an anchor for the broken surface covering that masks 60% of the beers surface.

Nose: Bloody great. Wow, it has a very rich Rum & Raisin Devon toffee aroma at first. Other odors include honey, oranges, hot melted New Zealand butter, toasted malts and some Brandy traits. A fantastic rich nose.

Taste: Fantastic rich, deeply luxurious, smooth and creamy – this beer is a sipper for sure, yet it has such quality as to bombard the senses with the most complex tastes in even the smallest sample. Rum and Raisins, Brandy, Fusel Alcohols and Mature Ethanol, Thick Rich Devon Toffee, Amontillado Sherry, Dundee Cake, Dark Fruits, Cadburys Rum & Raisin Milk Chocolate coated Malts. Surreptitiously awesome. This one’s a winner.

Mouthfeel: Incredibly smooth, a powerful 10% alcohol mouthfeel that is perfectly balanced and immensely aided by a superb level of conditioning that is created by millions of tiny carbon dioxide bubbles. Creamy and Rich.

Drinkability: Oh yeah, a 10-percenter that drinks incredibly well, don’t you just hate these sort of beers?!! It’ll put you to Bed early for sure.

Overall: Labeled by the “Brewery” as a Barleywine, which may be a little strange for some, as it certainly has all the Mature characteristics of a fruity Belgium Strong Ale. Style quirks aside, this is an Absolutely Excellent Strong Dutch Abbey Ale that is well worth seeking out. I will certainly pick up some more of these the next time I have the opportunity to do so.
*Highly Recommended*

‘Ipso Facto’, is Bloody Good, “it’s a Fact”!

Aged 3 years or so. What is wrong with you people!? This beer rocks. A dark golden liquid with a small white head. The aromas are of sherry, port, berries, sugar, malt, yeat, and hops. The taste is light and fruity. 10.5%ABV? Wow! you could have fooled me. The mouthfeel is very light and fluffy for a high abv beer of this style and the finish is greatly boozy and warming. The drinkability is also wonderful for such a big beer. A+

This was definitely a sipping beer at 10.5%ABV.It poured a small sized tan head that consisted of fine-medium bubbles that was mostly diminishing.The body was carbonated and opaque with a dark brown hue.The nose was that of alcohol and some malt.The flavor was a bit sour and bitter that left a lingering aftertaste.The mouthfeel was tingly, bubbly, smooth and a bit on the watery side.It was a medium bodied beer that had a fair amount of lacing.

Outside of Grolsch and Heiney I honestly dont think I have had that many beers from Holland.This is great stuff!!!!!!!!!!!!Pours a beautiful dark reddish color with no head whatsoever.Has a strong aroma of black currants/raisens with a touch of alchohol.At times reminds me of incense burning in a far off room.A very complex taste that brings to mind malt,black cherries,licorice,and cardomon.Theres a trace of alchohol burn in there too.A big beer that goes down quite easy actually.A perfect night cap in my mind-Ipso Facto-its a fact!!!!!!!!!!

It is a fact! indeed what a beer, looking forward to my next right now!
pours with a bit of head but nothing big, it stays like a halo around the beer but did fade to next to nothing. it keeps a wreath of lace around the glass. the color is dark brown and opaque with perhaps a tint of dark amber. there is a load of sediment.
the smell is malty and burnt with heavy leather, detritus and very ripe fruit, bordering with toffee and coffee. it's a very alluring scent for those of us who enjoy this style.
dark flavors all over, dark nuts (walnuts, brazil nuts maybe the skins of peanuts-i dunno...), ripe fruit, dry chocolate (coco) and espresso bitterness interrupts and pervades as the flavor develops on the palate. the whole show is on a canvas of delightful malt.
mouthfeel on this changes through the experience, it seems more like wine toward the end when the sediment is more of a factor, but like a beer at the begining. in fact, i feel, the whole beer changes throught the experience, it's head dissapears, and every aspect of it seems to become more like a homemade wine my pal dre makes. it's like a yeast smoothy. it burps very nicely. over all a nice experience but for special occasions, not really a beer i'd like to get drunk on for some reason, although one of them will warm you up plesantly. i will drink these as often as the mood arrives.
shit, thanks for reading my review.

A long cellared and very carefully poured bottle delivers a surprisingly clear orangeish body with a reddish cast. The creamy off-white head drops readily but maintains a creamy collar and leaves some nice lace.

When raised to the nose tangy fruit candy, actual citrus fruit (some orange, some lemon, some grapefruit), red wine, a sugar-drenched nut mix and a mild caramel combine in an unusual nose. That unusual quality is taken a step further with the first sip... it's much more malty than the aroma suggests! Intriguing, complex AND deceptive! Hmmm... ...

The body is medium and it's creamy in the mouth due to an exceptionally fine carbonation which leaves it velvety smooth across the palate!

The flavor is rich and exceptionally complex. It starts with a rich note of scortched caramel on the tip of the tongue, but quickly displays some sharper fruitiness. And although the expected tart character of the citrusy fruit is not present, the overall flavor remains (along with some watermelon and a touch of grape) and carries into the finish. Some mild spice (clove and gentle black pepper) appears mid-palate - probably coming from the alcohol (although the alcohol itself is well hidden). A distinct nuttiness emerges and lingers on the tongue throughout most of the goblet. It's very much like sugar-coated cashews; although there's a little bit of almond character there as well. In fact, the bitterness is similar to the skins of some nuts (walnuts, for example) - definitely present, but far from obtrusive.

It finishes with a wash of fruity alcohol similar to a light red table wine, followed by an emerging sweet note of molasses and buttery toffee that lingers seemingly forever. Throughout the glass, the bitterness builds on the palate; but it never really imposes on the flavor - it just increases in the lingering finish.

A really interesting beer that's exceptionally complex and very well done. Well worth trying!

Appearance: Despite my gentle pour, the dark brown body is extremely murky and opaque. There's no head at all to speak of, just a small ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.

Smell: Has a sweet aroma with suggestions of dark fruit, licorice, chocolate, and toffee. A touch of alcohol.

It goes downhill from here...

Taste: In a word: strange... It starts off somewhat sweet, with a touch of licorice and toffee, then completely changes character and heads to a fairly astrigent, bread-soaked-in-alcohol flavor. I taste a bit of roasted coffee, but it's faint. Finishes with a touch of acidic sourness, as well as an earthy, dirt-like taste.

Mouthfeel: Thin and watery with a dry mouthfeel. The yeast sediment tries to thicken it up, but fails miserably...

Drinkability: Not worth my time...

Murky brown body, filled with chunky sediment even after a careful pour. Thin, cream-colored, bubbly head. Decent head retention, but minimal lace. Rich and malty aroma (caramel), cherries, and a faint scent of burned sugar. Absolutely creamy caramel flavor, very sweet, with hints of cherry. Surprisingly, I never noticed the presence of alcohol in the smell or taste. Full-bodied, rich, and creamy mouthfeel. Almost chewey. Very good beer, but not nearly as interesting as barleywine should be.

This beer pours a very slightly hazy dark reddish brown with a moderate tan head and a slight effervesence. The mouthfeel is firm. The smell was a not unpleasant combination of malty and piney. The taste is mild malte with a slightly stronger piney flavor going into a sharp peppery alcohol. Although there is a rather strong alcohol taste, the flavor does not suggest the high (10.5%) alcohol content. Quite tasty.

It's a darker shade of yeasty murky brown. A moderate fluffy head forms and reduces to a nice lace. Aroma is strong of malts, caramel, and toffee. Flavors in this beer are malt dominated as well. Some nuttiness and ripe fruits come through among the caramel malts. Some bitterness comes in welcomed on the finish. This is very enjoyable. The alcohol is evident and warmingly enjoyable. This is worth a try.

A very slightly hazy, dark reddish brown Dutch Abbey Ale with a moderate, tan, slightly effervescent, head. The smell reminds me of Madiera, and has a slight nuttiness to it. The taste is smooth and malty, slight piney, sweet, and finishes with a mild amount of pepper. It is body is firm in my mouth. Overall, it reinforces how much I enjoy Abbey Ales. This beer is somewhat deceiving though, the taste does not seem to reflect the 10.5% ABV.

(source: Paradise Alley; Jacksonville, FL)

Dark brown/ruby in color with a thin head. Some sediment. Aroma is rich with a toffee-like maltiness, highlighted by dark fruity esters and a surprisingly light alcohol nose. Malt dominates the flavor as well, with figgish notes throughout and a slight hop bitterness to the finish. The alcohol is surprisingly understated in the flavor as well.. Medium-full body, with a smooth, understated malt-sweet aftertaste. Quite a nice beer for sipping before bedtime.

Pours a deep somewhat murky purplish-red color, the head is impressive, creamy, long lasting, sheets of lace that cling to the glass, until the very end. Nose is malt, brandy like, bubble gum, hints of fusel alcohol, earthy, "WHOA NELLIE"; I am going to like this one. Sweet front, the top is reedy; the finish is vinous, meaningfully hopped, potently acidic, and a "Big Time Belly Warmer". I have had this on tap, and it is truly a "Hoot", well worth your effort to find and sample.