De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis

De Molen Hel & Verdoemenis

Style: Imperial Stout

Alcohol Content: 10%

From: Bodegraven, Netherlands

Purchased from: Beer Geek, Prague, Czech Republic

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/

Brouwerij De Molen is a small craft brewery, distillery and restaurant located in Bodegraven, the Netherlands.The brewery, whose name means "The Mill", is located inside a historic windmill building called De Arkduif, which was built in 1697. Having started out as a homebrewer, and after stints at several small breweries, head brewer Menno Olivier worked professionally at Stadtsbrouwerij De Pelgrim in Rotterdam prior to founding De Molen in 2004. The capacity of the brewing system is 500 liters per batch, with annual production averaging a total of 500 hectoliters.The subject of this review is their Imperial Stout, aptly named Hel & Verdoemenis (Hell and Damnation). Lets hope I survive to tell the tale. 

Colour: Pours a thick, oily black topped beautifully by a thin layer of tan coloured foam. Once settled, this foam soon disappears into the murky depths below. 

Aroma: Most imperial stouts ozees notes of dark chocolate and bitter dark chocolate. Whilst the dark chocolate notes are definitely present, Hel & Verdoemenis presents not one single note of coffee. This surprises me greatly as I love the blending of those two elements in an imperial stout. Oh well you can't have it all! After a few minutes in the glass, the chocolate notes begin to fade and hints of smoky peat and sweet molasses begin to appear. This drink smells divine! I can not wait to jump in and try this beer!   

Body: As you would expect, this Hel & Verdoemenis is extremely viscous. It's almost like drinking a pint of silky chocolate sauce. This thickness encourages you to drink this stout very slowly and ensures you savor every last sip.

Taste: Well, this has to be the most rounded Imperial stout that I have ever drunk. The nose translates into the taste with the dark chocolate notes blending perfectly with hints of rich, sweet molasses. Here the coffee notes finally make an appearance, offering a mellow bitterness to help cut through the sweetness slightly. The aftertaste reminds me slightly of oak aged Bourbon as its quite warming on the tongue. That being said, the high ABV is very well hidden and it could be quite deadly given the size of the bottle (750ml). Perhaps I should of shared this bottle with Emma (or perhaps not as its far too nice to share). A lovely drink that I will return to again and again.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/harveys-imperial-extra-double-stout.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/camden-town-brewery-indian-hells-lager.html

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New Holland Brewing Dragon's Milk

New Holland Brewing Dragon's Milk
Style: Bourbon Barrel Stout 

Alcohol Content: 10%

From: Holland, Michigan, United States

Purchased from: Great British Beer Festival

http://newhollandbrew.com/

Being deeply in love with someone means that you take on a little bit of them, and in my case, their interests and love of craft beer. And this is how I now find myself, spending my rainy bank holiday Monday getting rather excited about cracking open a bottle of bourbon barrel stout. It's certainly not something that I would of caught myself doing a year ago, I can tell you!

Just over a week ago, we spent a boozy (yet well-paced) day at the Great British Beer Festival. We sampled many a delicious beverage and I decided to bring back little treat for myself for later. Having a particular penchant for the darker, more alcoholic varieties of beer, I settled on a bourbon aged stout called 'Dragons milk' from New Holland Brewing. I squeezed the little bottle into my purse and dreamed of day i would enjoy the beverage. Yum!

However, upon delving a little deeper into the secrets of this Dragons Milk- it turns out that I haven't brought back an authentic Dutch beer at all, but a US beer from Holland in Michigan State! Kevin always said I never was any good with geography! This little beauty has been brewed by a couple of American chaps who first met in college and had a passion for their own home-brewed beer. After graduating, they formulated a solid business plan which attached the attention of some investors which eventually led to the opening of New Holland Brewing in 1996. The site now includes the microbrewery, along with a distillery, speciality brew house, restaurant and a pub! Sounds like our kind of place Kev! Nudge nudge wink wink!

Colour: This drink pours jet black complete with a deep tan coloured head that dissipates in a flash. It's thick and dark, with deep claret shades when held up to the light.

Aroma: As a lady with a vast collection of perfumes, ill tackle this question like I would any scent. Top note: Cloves. Middle notes: Vanilla, milk, a tumbler full of grandad's scotch whiskey Christmas 2002. Base notes: Marmite.

Body: This beer is every bit as dark and delicious as I had hoped! Unlike other stouts, this one has a full bodied mouth feel and coats the back of the tongue nicely. Hmmmmm! A wave of alcohol comes through on the aftertaste, giving that warming feeling that is nice when you're tucked up indoors and its all grey and misty outside (like today). The beer has that pleasant champagne-like effervescence to it which helps it slide down nicely!

Taste: With a smoky and spicy depth to it, this beer is a real winner. Every sip should be savoured as to really appreciate that bourbon edge. Flavours of cloves and cinnamon combine with a more delicate and floral note when I swill it around my mouth. I couldn't help but think that this beer is a perfect match for GU chocolate soufflé - both of which would just melt in your mouth. Soon after polishing off about half the bottle, the marmitey richness tends to sharpen and the alcohol content becomes more apparent. This is a drink that you only need one bottle of, or maybe that's just me. It's density and richness puts it up there with one of the hits of this years Beer Festival! Fullers Vintage 2014.

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/weird-beard-brewing-company-chinook.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/gambrinus-excellent-11.html

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Emelisse Blond

Emelisse Blond

Style: IPA

Alcohol Content: 6.8%

From: Kamperland, The Netherlands

Purchased from: Real Ale Shop, Richmond-Upon-Thames

http://www.emelisse.nl/

I love stumbling across new breweries. Every time I visit a bottle shop I will always try and buy a range of different styles from range of breweries across the globe. So upon my visit to the Real Ale shop in Richmond last February, I realised that my shopping basket was lacking a Golden Ale or Blonde. Whilst scouring the shelves I came across a beer called Emelisse Blond. Naturally with the word blond in the title I thought I was on to a winner. A few months later it was Emelisse turn to have its time to shine in my glass. As soon as I popped the cap, I realised that all was not as it seems. Rather than being a blond, this drink turned out to be a dark potent IPA. A brunette rather a blond so to speak. So let's see what this wolf in sheep's clothing has to offer. First some notes on the brewery itself.

Back in 1998, A keen home brewer by the name of Fre Buizze formed the Emelisse foundation. The foundation had one simple goal, brew a beer using locally grown malting barley. Fre approached De Halve Mann brewery in Hulst to help him in his quest. The beer was such a roaring success that by 2004 the foundation decided to strike out on its own and move to their own premises in Kamperland, Holland. Head brewmaster, Kees Bubberman is a keen innovator and often visits other brewery to share experiences and gain valuable insights. One of these successful visits to Manchester based Marble, produced a Earl Grey IPA, which I had the pleasure of trying a couple of years ago. Currently the brewery outputs around 2000 hectolitres per annum with some of their production outsourced to Proefbrouwerij in Hijfte.

Are you wearing a wig?

Colour: Pours a light chestnut brown with a thick head of foam. The foam will dissipate slightly as you drink but the remnants lace the glass beautifully. It was here that I thought to myself this is definitely not a Blond beer. This looks more like an archetypal IPA.

Aroma: Big bold tropical notes of mango, pineapple and citrus will fill your nostrils straight away. An underlining sour citrus note follows, which will initially take you back but eventually mellows as the drink warms. After a few minutes in the glass, the sourness resembles notes of blackberries mixed with a sensation of sweet caramel and crumbled biscuits. These notes are very faint and took a lot of sniffing to get to the bottom of.

Body: This beer is hopped heavily with the Nelson Sauvin hop. To me, this hop helps to create a wine like mouthfeel to every drink it's added to. It coats the back of your throat and can be quite unpleasant if you don't like wine. After you swallow the drink, your mouth will feel very sticky and dry.

Taste: After a pleasant start of notes of smooth, sweet caramel, a brutal hit of almost pure alcohol will knock you off your feet. This IPA holds no punches nor makes no attempt to mask the high ABV. The drink feels so potent that it unfortunately takes away some of the character after of this beer. My advice would be to let the drink warm in the glass for a while as this seems to mellow the alcohol slightly. The warming also changes the character slightly, as the beer becomes more Sauvignon Blanc like. Not my favourite beer, but worth trying if you want something different.

   

Similar to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/rogue-juniper-pale-ale.html

Different to: http://beefsbrewery.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/blanche-de-bruxelles.html

For the latest news on reviews follow me on twitter @beefsbrewery or like me on Facebook at Beefsbrewery