Session # 197
De Struise | Black Damnation IV
Imperial Stout | Oostvleteren, Belgium | 13% ABV

One year ago: Founders Canadian Breakfast Stout

When a stout coming from Belgium clocks in at 13% you know you’re going to get something massive. That’s just exactly what I got from this iteration of the great Black Albert from De Struise. What the fine gentlemen from this brewery have done is taken their Black Albert Imperial stout and created numerous variations of the beer. There’s the Mocha Bomb, Black Mes, and Coffee Club to name a few. Today we look at the Coffee Club (aka IV). It poured so dark that I didn’t even have to hold it to the light. I knew nothing would come through it. A nice chocolaty head formed on top and started to unleash some rich coffee aromas into the air. After digging further, miles of dark roasted malts and deep dark burnt caramel followed. The flavor was pretty much the same with tons of bitterness from the coffee that even finished a bit tart like espresso. The chocolate and burnt caramel soon followed and left my tongue on the side of the road for dead. Another huge stout from Belgium. If you like them big, you’ll probably like this one.

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
Listening To: Joni Mitchell “The Hissing of Summer Lawns”



Let us know your thoughts by rating and commenting on this video.

Session # 112 | De Struise | Black Damnation | 13% ABV
Russian Imperial Stout | Oostvleteren, Belgian | Rating: 91/100

It’s a great day when you receive feedback from a Belgian brewery that your reviews are enjoyed by the brewers themselves. It’s an even better day when they show you how much you’re appreciated with a beer package directly from the brewery itself. That’s the case with De Struise Brewery out of Oostvleteren, Belgian (courtesy of Urbain and Carlo). The first beer I’ll be sharing from this package of stouts is the Black Damnation. It comes in at a whopping 13% ABV, and I think you better know that I put my big boy pants on before recording. What pours out is an insanely black beer that looks like squid ink topped with a tan frothy head. It smells like…well…black damnation. You get miles and miles of intense complexity that brings dark chocolate truffles, coffee, and tons of dank caramel. The taste is just as insane, which may be its only drawback. While I love an intense beer, this one is almost bombastic on the palate. It’s definitely one you’d want to end a tasting with because I can still taste this beer over a week later. Not really, but kinda. It’s still a touch young (if it would even ever mellow) and doesn’t bring subtlety in any way, but if you like the big boys this is one you need to look for.

Up Next: Weyerbacher Merry Monks’ Ale

Others: De Struise Black Albert, De Molen Hell & Damnation, FFF Dark Lord

Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states (Not available in the US).
On the iPod: Neon Indian “Deadbeat Summer”



Thank you for your continued support. Please tell a friend…

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.

For a larger HD experience click here.
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

Boy do the Belgians make great beer! I guess tradition proves that you should never mess with a good thing. And Pannepot from De Struise is a prime example of this. The complexity of this beer just goes on for days and days. Every time I drink it I pull something different out (either in the nose or the taste). And then there are the accolades: Draft Magazine rated this as one of their top 25 Beers of the Year in their Jan/Feb 2009 issue. I, too, would say this is in my current list of top 25 beers. Although these can be a bit tough to find, you should be able to get a hold of one if you look in the right spots. The good news as well is that if you can find it, chances are you will see their Imperial Stout called Black Albert sitting next to it. These two beers alone will be worth the price you pay and will prove to you that Belgian beer is still one of the best things in life.

For a larger HD experience click here.
This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Brewery: De Struise
Beer: Pannepot
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Location: Oostvleteren, Belgium
ABV: 10%
Rating: 95/100

Also, here is the info on the wine shop I mention in this session:
33 Wine Shop & Tasting Bar
1913 Park Ave. in Lafayette Square
St. Louis, MO 63104