Category Archives: 4 – Good (buy)

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XXIV – Octopussy

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1275/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders aged in Octomore barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1275/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 23rd March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin half finger brown head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, peat, leather, whisky, chocolate, leaning sweet from the dry dark fruit, prunes, raisin.
Taste: Light to medium sweetness, whisky, peat, roasted malts, chocolate, candied prunes, brown sugar.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Generally, Octomore is among my preferred whiskeys, and it showed up nicely in the aroma. In the flavour, the peat was not coming through as strongly as compared to the aroma, although I’m not entirely sure if it’s because of aging as I did not take notes when I tried it in 2018 and 2020. It’s still an enjoyable sipper and among my favourite Black Damnations along with Coffee Club and Hollow.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Oxbow Brewing Company, USA

Oxbow Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale

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Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: Barrel-aged farmhouse ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Barrel Aged Farmhouse Pale Ale is an American-hopped mixed-fermentation saison aged in American and French oak barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 7th June 2021, and poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice hazy golden straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that had good retention while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy, lemon, lemon zest, lime, oak, dusty, vanilla, brett, light funk.
Taste: Light sour, lemon, lemon zest, lime, peach, with light oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, refreshing, and really easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Nøgne Ø, Norway, Stout - Imperial

Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 7 Barrel Aged

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Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway
ABV: 16%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: Coffee, Chocolate, Licorice. Bottle# 0587/7750

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Dark Horizon series from Nøgne Ø is unique. 15 years after we launched the first version in 2006, we are proud to present Dark Horizon 7. This barrel-aged version of Dark Horizon 7 has spent up to 3 years in barrels that have previously contained cognac, aquavit and whiskey respectively.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 330ml bottle in a nice looking circular metal case, bottle# 0587/7750, bottled on 25th August 2021, with a best before date of 4th July 2031. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a nice one finger brown head that had decent retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, dark fruit, licorice, brown sugar, whiskey, cognac, boozy, oak, with light notes of coffee.
Taste: Moderately sweet with a light bitterness, roasty, coffee, chocolate, licorice, whisky, cognac, boozy, brown sugar, oak, molasses.
Mouthfeel: Boozy, full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Definitely a sipper, but a good one. The booze is noticeable, and at 16%, it’s not surprising. Not too sweet, which is good, and on top of the alcohol, there’s lots of nice chocolate, coffee and licorice.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XX – Ma Boule

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 1555/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders, matured in Calvados barrel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 1555/2000. 2012 vintage, bottled on 26th March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with pretty much no head and no lacing.
Aroma: Roasty malts, calvados, apple peel, chocolate, oak, with notes of dark fruit, plum, prunes.
Taste: Lightly sweet and bitter, roasty, chocolate, caramel, calvados, dark fruit, plum, toasty wood, with a spicy herby note.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I’m not big on calvados, but I tend to be surprised by how much I enjoy calvados barrel aged imperial stouts. For some reason they just work, and this was no exception with good balanced flavours, and just a very good sipper on a night where temperatures are going down again… strange for an April in Hong Kong.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Russian Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation XVI – Ivan The Terrible

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Bottle 979/2000, 2012 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A massive stout from Flanders, matured in Glenlivet barrel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml bottle, number 979/2000, 2012 vintage, bottled on 31st March 2017. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin brown head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Roasted malts, chocolate, whisky, brown sugar, with light caramel notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet, chocolate, roasted malts, whisky, oak, some fruity maybe apple sauce notes, caramel, toffee, and maybe a slightly burnt like moderately bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Slightly boozy, medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper, maybe a bit boozy, but it’s got good sweet and bitter balance, and nice whisky notes.