I’m not even going to lie, when I received a direct compliment from the De Struise Brewery on my review of their Pannepot, my head got a little enlarged. It’s a compliment to hear from the brewery that you’re reviewing. They liked the way I described and reviewed their Pannepot, which is a beautifully complex Belgian-style strong ale. Well, I hate to say it, but they’ve gone and done it again with this insanely deep and complex Belgian Royal Stout called Black Albert. How that’s exactly different from an Imperial Stout I don’t know. Maybe I shouldn’t care. What I do know is that this HUGE monster (sitting in at 13% ABV) is really one amazing beer. It drinks more like a 9% – 10% stout. Perhaps it’s that I found this thing on a whim, or perhaps it’s just that it’s so damn easy to drink at this high of an ABV that it just makes you scratch your head. Either way, this is very deserving of a high score. With as much flavor as you get out of this beer, it just seems to balance everything very well. But, you know what? At the end of the day it is 13% and you can feel it by the time you’ve drained this small bottle of stout goodness. This Belgian brewery really does things well. And this is no exception.
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This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Jóhann Jóhannsson
Brewery: De Struise
Beer: Black Albert
Style: Belgian Royal Stout / Imperial Stout
Location: Oostvleteren, Belgium
ABV: 13%
Rating: 95/100
Posted by Big Mike on February 3, 2010 at 7:51 AM
I’ve seen this one in the store. I may have to try it out. I drank two beers yesterday on tap that I know you would love. They were both by Founders. One was their Whiskey barrel aged rye porter. and the other was the Black Biscuit which is aged in maple syrup barrels. Both were awesome. Anyway, thanks for another great review.
Big Mike
Posted by thehopry on February 4, 2010 at 10:48 AM
Damn, that Black Biscuit sounds amazing. I haven’t even heard of that one, but they are easily one of my favorite breweries. So I bet it’s very good. I had their regular Porter last night at the Flying Saucer and it was really good…
Posted by Michael on February 9, 2010 at 11:10 PM
I adore big, dark beers… Black Albert, Peche Mortel, etc. I adore Founders… and enjoyed the Whiskey Rye that Big Mike was so fond of. But i have to say, Black Biscuit was a wash… unrestrained, cloying sweetness. Half a glass in and my taste buds were shot… completely unbalanced. Fortunately I was able to wash it down with a Pliny
As to De Struise, they’re easily one of my all time favourite breweries. Black Albert is a beautiful take on an imperial stout with a pleasant Belgian vibe keeping it interesting and memorable. My only problem is price… here in Philly, a single 12 oz bottle is 10-12 dollars, which is simply ridiculous. My local shop has had bottles of Tsjeeses, which I’ve never had and would love to try, sitting there at $10 a pop for a while now, and I just can’t bring myself to try one with so many other great beers out there at half the cost or less.
Speaking of expensive… my Allagash addiction is killing me, too… and they’re domestic!
I think one of my favourite imperial stouts out there right now is Old Rasputin. Fantastic beer, and even here in one of the most expensive beer markets in the country, you can get one for $2-3 a bottle. Maybe not as creative or outlandish a brew as some, but beautifully done none-the-less, holds it’s own against these exotic offerings, and affordable enough that I can actually enjoy one whenever I want, instead of once a leap year.
Posted by thehopry on February 10, 2010 at 9:37 AM
I agree. The De Struise beers are very expensive. Definitely not something I drink on a regular basis that’s for sure.
Pound for pound, the Old Rasputin is unquestionably one of the greats. And you’re in luck because Friday I will be posting a review of the Old Rasputin XII. As much as I absolutely love Old Rasputin, the anniversary version is mind melting.
Posted by Michael on February 10, 2010 at 12:53 PM
I keep hearing great things about the XI, but not so nice things about the XII. I’m curious to try both. Again, not wallet friendly beers, but hey… every beer is worth trying once, (almost) regardless of price.
And it’s not that I’m unwilling to see a great beer for what it is just because of the price tag… a beer should be reviewed for quality independent of price point, But as someone who hasn’t been into craft beer for that long, I see myself going through the phases. And for a while, I had the Pokemon mentality of going after all the hard-to-get beers because they were the “best” beers… why would I drink that Dead Guy swill when I could drive out of my way and pay 3 times as much for the John John? It’s barrel aged!
But recently I’ve been let down by a lot of the highly rated limited edition beers. At the end of the day, a good beer can be had at any price point. It’s easy to say “let’s just brew a great beer the way we know how to and forget about how arduous the process is or how few bottles we’ll actually be able to make”, but it’s much harder to figure out how to brew that great beer using efficient enough techniques to where you can make that beer readily available, and it takes a great brewery to pull that off.
Call me crazy, but I’d be happy with to be stuck on an island with cases of Rochfort 10 and Old Rasputin instead of Westy 12 and Kate the Great. Sure… Kate’s great, but mostly… Kate’s just hard to get.
Incidentally, I had some 2007 Weyerbacher Insanity the other day and apparently I was expected to like it… it’s barrel aged and cellar aged! What kind of palateless beer-reject am I to not appreciate the universally innate goodness of those processes, anyway?
Not intending to hijack the thread… just in a phase
in any case, back to Black Albert. As much as I’ll whine about price, De Struise deserves your dollars. Everyone reading this go out and buy one of everything of theirs you have access to. Might be the only ones your wallet will ever let you drink, but you’ll be better off for having done so.
Posted by Big Mike on February 10, 2010 at 2:09 PM
I just splurged and picked up a bottle of this. At damn near a dollar an ounce it’s definitely a little pricey. But hey, it’s only money right!
Posted by Big Mike on February 10, 2010 at 2:15 PM
Hey Michael. I live right outside of Philly so I feel your pain on the price issues. Mark couldn’t believe I paid $8 for a peche mortel shen he paid I think $4.99. Do you live in the city or burbs?
Posted by Michael on February 10, 2010 at 3:18 PM
Burbs. I’m a Capone’s junkie and he keeps a stock of Peche Mortel on hand at $8… very hard to pass up, but I always do.
I’m enjoying being snowed in… makes for a great beer day.
Posted by Big Mike on February 10, 2010 at 3:22 PM
I live across the street from Capone’s. With in walking distance. I love that place.
Posted by Big Mike on March 12, 2010 at 6:37 PM
I finally “busted the cap” on this bad boy tonight. All i can say is, Thank you Mr. Starr for introducing me to such a “glorious” beer. I’ve never tasted anything like it. The espresso, the chocolate, the blueberry, the old world Belgian yeast flavor. As you would say, “This beer is really a good time.” Man, i really want another….
Posted by thehopry on March 12, 2010 at 8:22 PM
Awesome…glad you liked it. What’s funny is that I literally just bought two of these today because I’ve seen them dwindle quickly and wanted to make sure I had a couple for when they did.
Posted by Phredrik on April 27, 2010 at 9:21 AM
Hej Mark
Great reviews you got going on there, I really enjoy the variety of styles and brewers that you put up. And also, I think it is great that review so many really good and well-renowned beers
In spite of the very high quality of your reviews (not a complaint at all) I just have a small correction. The Black Albert is not on the Ratebeer top 100. It has a overall percentile of 100, and a style percentile of 97 (of the imperial stout style). The weighted scort is 4,09.
I tried it recently and I just loved it. Really, really big beer, very complex and a perfect imperial stout to sit and enjoy with a lit fireplace and a nice record on the player.
Cheers from Denmark
Fredrik
Posted by thehopry on April 27, 2010 at 9:39 AM
Hi Fredrik – Thank you for the comments. Glad you enjoy the site and reviews. As for the Albert on the RateBeer list…in going back to the list I initially referred to, this beer was #4 overall. That was from the 2008 list, though, which is my mistake. However, in looking at the current 2010 list, this beer is still on there at # 36. Below are the links.
2008 (#4)
http://www.ratebeer.com/ratings/BestBeers_012008.asp
2010 (#36)
http://www.ratebeer.com/RateBeerBest/bestbeers_012010.asp