Tag Archives: port barrel aged

De Struise Black Damnation I – Blackberry Albert

Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: Stout – Russian Imperial
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Royal Stout ale from Flanders matured on black currants & Red Port barrels.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 9th November 2022, with a best before date of +5 years, poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin beige head that had pretty good retention and dissipated to a ring around the glass while leaving small spotty lacing.
Aroma: Light roasty, chocolate, sweet berries, blackberries, woody, nutty, with light caramel notes.
Taste: Sweet malty, light roast, berry sweetness, blackberries, blueberries, chocolate, coffee, boozy, a touch nutty, and some bitter notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: A very enjoyable sipper with restrained sweetness, and balanced aromas and flavours.

De Struise Pannepot Special Reserve Cask Strength Port BA

Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10.1%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: 27 IBUs. Cask strength limited edition with medium carbonation

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our barrel room is housing more barrels each year. As our team does not grow as quick as our barrel total, it is needless to say our barrel aged beers are also aging longer. This batch has 5 years of Port barrel aging. Enjoy!

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

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2011 vintage, cask strength limited edition, bottled on 15th November 2016. Poured into a De Struise tulip glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a very thin beige head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Dark fruit, plum, prune, raisin, dates, port, oak, strawberry, chocolate.
Taste: Light sweetness, dark fruit, plum, prune, raisin, port, mixed berries, slight booze, with notes of caramel and chocolate on the backend.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: It’s not the first time that De Struise has mentioned ‘medium carbonation’ when in actuality it is either soft or really close to no carbonation. In this case, while I would prefer more carbonation, the soft carbonation is not so bad. It’s a good sipper with lots of good port notes.

Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille Barrel Selection Oude Pijpen

Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: 2017 vintage. Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our “oude pijpen” are old barrels of 650 liters that are used for Lambic for generations. The barrels were used to transport port wine by boat to Belgium and were purchased by Lambic breweries. These barrels are between 60 and 120 years old and give a character of old wood combined with expressive flavors of traditional Lambic.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.45
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 20th November 2037. Poured into a Cantillon gueuze glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Lemon and lime peel, citrus rind, funk, wet wood, straw, hay, and a touch of apple.
Taste: Sour, funky, musty, wet wood, oak, green apple, with a tart lemon lime finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice easy drinking gueuze, with a good balance between the funk, oak, and tart citrus.

Amager Gone Porto

Brewery: Amager Bryghus
Country: Denmark
ABV: 10%
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Other Notes: Port Wine Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. Malts – Pale, Warminster Low Crystal 50/100, Warminster Crystal 70/140, Warminster Crystal 400, Roasted Barley, Black, Warminster Crystal Rye, Demerara sugar and White sugar. Hops – Hercules, Chinook and Cascade

Brewer Description: (from bottle) [in Danish] Gone Porto er en helt ny langtidskogt Imperial Stout fra Amager Bryghus, som vi har lagret i umådelig lang tid på store Niepoort portvinsfade. Det er der kommet en pænt saftig sag ud af. Helt uigennemsigtig sort med et cremet, lysebrunt skum. Duften er sveskeagtig og tydeligt oxideret – akkurat som en god årgangsportvin, mens smagen rummer både kakao og chokoladenoter, som leder frem til den varmende alkohol i finishen. Gone Porto er en hygge- og nydeøl til de stille, eftertænksomme timer. Alternativt kan den anvendes som standardøl til familiefesten i Tårnby Selskabslokaler. Se DET ku’ blive en fest…

[Translated to English as best possible] Gone Porto is a brand new slow-cooked Imperial Stout from Amager Bryghus, which we have been storing for a long time in large Niepoort port wine barrels. The result is a nice juicy case out. Completely opaque black with a creamy, light brown foam. The scent is pruny and clearly oxidized – just like a good vintage port wine while the taste contains both cocoa and chocolate notes, which lead to the warming alcohol on the finish. Gone Porto is a fun and enjoyable beer for the quiet, thoughtful hours. Alternatively, it can be used as a standard beer for the family celebration in Tårnby Selskabslokaler. See it could be a party…

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 500ml bottle, batch no. 648, with a best before date of February 2020. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with an almost one finger dark tanned head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some spotty lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, dark malts, coffee, chocolate, port, red wine, oak, raisin and prunes.
Taste: Roasted malts, coffee, light bitterness, prunes, plum, dark fruits, raisin, sourness, port and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Interesting flavours of roasty coffee and chocolate and dark fruits. Port isn’t one of my preferred drinks though.

De Struise Tsjeeses Reserva Port Barrel Aged

Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: 2013 Vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Belgian X-Mas Ale.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 330ml bottle of 2013 vintage, bottled on July 2014 with a best before date of 15th August 2019 and poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy dark orange bronze colour with a fluffy two finger light tanned head with good retention that leaves nice spotty lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and fruity plum, apple, grape, fig and red wine with hints of caramel and vanilla.
Taste: Sweet apples, orange, port, grapes with oak woody notes and caramel malts.
Mouthfeel: Very rich, medium bodied with medium but strong prickly carbonation.
Overall: I wish I had the original non barrel aged version of this to compare to. However, this Port BA version is very good. Even at 10% the alcohol is well hidden and being Port BA I was a bit worried that it would be too sweet but its actually at a good level. A great barrel aged Belgian Strong Pale Ale that I would get again next year!

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struise tsjeeses reserva port barrel aged 4