REVIEW #112: Bloed Zweet & Tranen (Brouwerij de Molen)

Pours a shade off black with a huge, frothy dark beige head that leaves loads of lacing behind. Aromas of peat, chocolate and sour apple burst forth from the glass. Upon tasting, milky, stout-like, bready malts mingle with pervasive, but not overpowering, peated whisky and plum-laden port notes. The smokey peat is significant whereas whisky flavours are relegated to more of a base note detected along with roast cereal bitterness. Sharp dark chocolate and sweet lactic malt combine in a lengthy finish. The beer is medium to firm of body and the strong ABV it possesses is well disguised by its bold flavour profile. This is a very full and satisfying smoked beer in the vein of a porter - bordering on stout - and one I would certainly recommend. A perfect winter beer to drink in front of a roaring log fire.

This beer is remarkable in that it contains both an English peat smoked malt as well as a German (Bamberg to be precise) smoked malt - a rauchmalt. Its name means 'blood, sweat and tears', a term coined from the fact that this is what it cost Menno Olivier and co. at De Molen to achieve balance with these two smoked varieties in the final beer, and is of course a nod and a wink to the past animosity between England and Germany. All beer under the bridge! See reviews #37, #48, #49 and HTH#6 for more examples of products from this world-class brewery.

• MALTS: pale; chocolate; smoked; cara; whisky; roasted barley; wheat
• HOPS: SLADEK
• IBU: 29
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY: 1.074 (18'PLATO)
• ABV: 8.1%
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HEAD-TO-HEAD #6: De Molen's Engels vs. De Molen's Amerikaans

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Brouwerij de Molen need no introduction so I'll get straight on to the beers. Engels is an English style bitter dry-hopped with Sladek hops whereas Amerikaans is an American style pale ale dry hopped with Amarillo.

I'll start with Engels as this should be less hoppy and intense being based on an English style - in theory. It pours a dark honeycomb colour with a dull white head. Deliciously pungent orange honey marmalade nose. Unexpectedly dry up front with soft citrus (especially lemon), pear, hop resins and tongue tingling bitterness. Engels' becomes sweet and sappy.in the finish but remains distinctly bitter. The body is medium with a slightly oily consistency.

Amerikaans pours a paler hue than Engels with a similarly frothy, off-white head. The aroma of this one features more floral (carnations?), sherbert and lemongrass accents. Soapy lemongrass, lavender and violets up front. It finishes much the same with some pine notes coming through. This one is a sweeter and surprisingly less bitter beer than Engels, despite its American title and its high alpha-acid aroma hop. The body is much the same as Engels but with a foamier consistency.

• MALTS: ENGELS =PALE, CARA / AMERIKAANS= PALE, CARA
• HOPS: ENGELS = SLADEK & AMARILLO (BITTERING) + SLADEK (AROMA) / AMERIKAANS = SLADEK (BITTERING) AMARILLO (AROMA)
• IBU: ENGELS = 30 / AMERIKAANS = 30
• ABV: ENGELS = 4.5% / AMERIKAANS = 4.5%

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REVIEW #54: Stouter Port Stout (Marble Brewery)

Pours deep black with a faint hint of ruby red. It has an orangey tan head that persists well. There's a Turkish delight thing going on in the aroma along with a medicinal menthol note; fairly unique. A thin, slippery mouthfeel was the first thing I noticed upon drinking. However there's plenty of toasted grain notes up front and quite a sharp pine/aromatic hop hit too... a lingering charcoal, fruity (damson or port) and bitter hop finish. This beer is a little eccentric but I think it would be a grower (luckily I have half a 75cl bottle left in the fridge!). Nb. The added port became increasingly noticeable the more I drank and lends a phenol & dark fruit aftertaste which is a nice touch.

Marble Brewery is a secretive little brewery but is currently making waves on the UK craft beer scene. It doesn't have a proper website, rather a photo of naked men standing outside a brewery! It seems to be based at 2 sites; one at the Marble Arch (brew)pub and another elsewhere in Manchester. Stouter Port Stout is a twist on their regularly brewed Stouter Stout. The brewery also do a Christmas special called Vuur & Vlaam in conjunction with Menno Oliver's Brouwerij de Molen in the Netherlands. That's one I really need to check out!

• MALTS: ?
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 5.1%`

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REVIEW #49: Rasputin (Brouwerij de Molen)

Pours deep black with faint red tints when held to the light. It has a caramel coloured head which seems to be permanent (a de Molen trademark) and leaves very nice lacing up the glass. Very pungent nose with cocoa and rich blackstrap mollasses. Wow, this is possibly the most full-bodied imperial Russian stout I've tried (and I've tried a few!). Richly aromatic tobacco, cocoa and roast coffee beans in the mouth; full of woody esters. Its a surprisingly refined blend of powerful malts that's held in check by strongly bitter hops. Many imperial stouts can be quite crude but this one is on the smooth side. The finish lingers on... and on... and on. It is dominated by sticky malts that paint the palate in combination with strong alcohol vapours. First class!

Rasputin has had a few names in the past including 'Cease & Desist' and 'Disputin'. The latter only in America due to a trademark dispute over the name 'Rasputin' with California's North Coast Brewing, who brew a beer called 'Old Rasputin'. The beer's name comes from the the mystic/prophet Grigori Rasputin (1869-1916), a mysterious character who was advisor to the Romanov court in Russia. He is thought to have exerted influence over tsar Nicholas II and tsarina Alexandra. He may even have had a hand in convincing them to try their first Imperial Stout! This one is brewed by de Molen as a limited edition once or twice a year.

• MALTS: pale, chocolate, cara

• HOPS: PREMIENT, SAAZ (BOTH FOR BITTERING ONLY)
• IBU: 46
• ABV: 10.4%`
• BOTTLE-CONDITIONED

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REVIEW #48: Geboren & Getogen (Brouwerij de Molen)

Pours a cloudy but brilliant orange with a ridiculous amount of carbonation - it went everywhere as soon as I uncapped the bottle! The aggressive CO2 means the pure white fluffy head remains at least a finger thick throughout. A lemony, apple & raspberry aroma greets the nose - careful with pouring too, else some very pungent yeast will also lend its flavour to your beverage. It is medium dry (never really crossing into sweet), slightly tart, with apple and watermelon notes up front preceding a surprisingly bitter bite in the finish, which also has a slight sawdust accent. Smoke is plainly there in the background; it has been used judiciously however and blends very well with the bitter hop (single hopped with a European variety similar to Saaz). Malt is also their to lend balance to what is without doubt a hop-focussed beer. Nice stuff; a really refreshing pale ale. Would be lovely on a Summer's day!

De Molen seem to have discontinued Geboren & Getogen ("Born & Raised") as its not part of their website's 'beerography' any longer which is a shame because of its uniqueness. English birch smoked malt is an unusual ingredient. German rauchmalt is generally beech wood smoked. Schlenkerla of Bamburg produce both beech wood & oak wood lagers which are both delicious but have a much more assertive smoke presence than this beer. This is probably due to the types of wood used as well as the longevity of mashing. Producing a range of beers using different wood-smoked malts would be an interesting direction to take, but is perhaps not so commercially appealing for most breweries. De Molen really need to be commended for creating unique, challenging and - most importantly - sublimely drinkable craft beers!

• MALTS: english birch smoked malt, CARAmel malt

• HOPS: SLADEK (BITTERING & AROMA/FINISHING)
• IBU: 32
• ABV: 4%`
• BOTTLE-CONDITIONED

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REVIEW #37: Bed & Breakfast (Brouwerij de Molen)

Pours a hazy honeyed gold with crisp white head with excellent retention due to some vigorous carbonation. Curiously mute scents of honey and citrus hop meet the nose. Even more curious in the taste! Spicy, peppery hops impart a complex flavour along with dryness and bitterness. The finish is very dry with a brazen burnt coffee taste like overcooked espresso (or spent grounds) that really smacks you in the face! A slight malt backbone tries its hardest to soften the bluntness of the coffee, without much joy. This is a beer nearly totally devoid of sweetness and has a level of bitterness that defies its IBU of 35. I like it and I think this strange hybrid of a beer will appeal to a cross section of drinkers: It has elements of a quality Czech pilsner, an American blonde ale and an IPA. I just hope you like your coffee strong and black!

Brouwerij De Molen ("The Mill") is based in a picturesque Dutch windmill, much like Brouwerij t'IJ of Amsterdam. The mill itself is called De Arkduif, referring to the fabled dove of Noah's Ark. Despite being founded in 1697 De Arkduif only acquired its name in 1957 as the result of a competition run by a previous owner. The brewery was set up a lot more recently in 2004. De Molen was rated as the tenth best brewery in the world by Rate Beer in 2010! Bed and Breakfast is unusual insomuch as its a pale beer yet contains coffee. I don't think its an unsuccessful experiment however, quite the opposite in fact, with hop and coffee bitterness working in tandem to create a very bitter brew. I'd just like to mention the Sladek hop variety, which is a Czech hybrid partly deriving from the English, Northern Brewer variety amongst others. It very closely resembles Czech Saaz in character; hence is spicy, earthy and peppery. Amarillo on the other hand is an American hop imparting citrus and orange notes.

• MALTS: pale, cara 

• HOPS: SLADEK (BITTERING), AMARILLO (DRY HOPPING)
• IBU: 35
• ABV: 4.4%`
• DARK CUBA COFFEE ADDED!

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REVIEW #12: Abel Imperial Stout (Mikkeller)

Pours pitch black with a beautiful bronze head which didn't last for long enough but left plenty of lacing in its wake. The nose is of toasted bread, port and cocoa. Bonfire toffee, espresso, sweet butterscotch and bitter roasted malt flavours flow from the beer when sipped. These are underscored by strong alcoholic solvent notes. It possesses a huge body coupled with a consistency verging on treacle, little in the way of carbonation and only a faint trace of hop. Balance is not Abel's strong point, its intense flavours on the other hand make this beer a real success. It is also devilishly drinkable contrary to its 11.5% ABV.

Mikkeller is a Danish brewing company initiated by two young home-brewers. Now one has left, the other, Mikel Borg Bjergso, is an itinerant brewer who drifts around the world brewing his beers at other breweries. Abel, for example, is brewed at Brouwerij De Molen in Holland.

• MALTS: ?
• HOPS: ?
• IBU: ?
• ABV: 11.5%

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