Saturday, 28 November 2009

De Molen Tsarina Esra Reserva

The second De Molen beer that Rick from Bier & Co. sent me a couple of weeks ago, along with the Kopi Loewak, I was eager to try De Molen Tsarina Esra Reserva as I'd heard friends such as TheBeerNut singing it's praises.

Let's do the De Molen stats rundown: brewed on the 19th of February 2009 and bottled on the 8th of October, this has 11% ABV, 388 EBC (that's bloody dark!) and 92 IBUs. Made using Challenger hops for bittering and Saaz for aroma, the beer was then aged in oak (Bordeaux?) casks.

This is dark, no doubt. The aroma initially wafts out alcohol, a big vanilla oakiness and a cherry-like fruitiness. The impression on first sip is smooooooth. Smoother than it has any right to be at 11%, the mouthfeel is big and soft. There's a surprisingly fruity character to it, with stone-fruits and cherries dominating the middleground, but it's just a supprt for the big bitter chocolate and espresso roasiness. There's figs, caramel, and an almost peat-like smokiness deep down. The big malts keep a wonderful balance with the roasted bite and the robust hop bitterness. Wonderful stuff! The finish is almost sherry-like, with a nice hop tingle, a slight metallic edge (that actually works), and a surprisingly dry, moreish feel to it. Dried fruits, espresso, chocolate and a peppery spiciness linger. Pure drinking pleasure. It's so drinkable it's scary!
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5 comments:

  1. Anonymous28 November 2009 at 21:35

    Nice beer! Think it was aged in Calvados casks when I had it? Great beer tho.

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  2. Barry M28 November 2009 at 21:39

    Definitely! The label is in Dutch, but it does say "Gerijpt op Bordeaux vat", which my bad German tells me should be "matured in Bordeaux cask". I wonder was that adding to the fruitiness.

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  3. Bionic Laura29 November 2009 at 01:28

    I had this at the British Beer Festival. It's a cracking beer but the festival was the wrong occasion for it. I imagined it would be wonderful if you'd come in from a days hike in the cold and thick fog. Then you'd sit down at a real fire and drink a snifter of this. Not too much mind. You might also have changed into an outfit involving some tweed.

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  4. The Beer Nut29 November 2009 at 11:43

    It's one of those flavour tick-list beers: Figs? Check. Chocolate? Check Peat? Check. Pepper? Check.

    Love it.

    He blended this with a couple of other Imperial stouts to make the even-more-intense Cuvée No. 1. Lots of people liked it but I thought it ruined the fantastic equilibrium of Tsarina Esra.

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  5. Dominic, Marble Beers29 November 2009 at 14:13

    A super, super beer from what must be one of the world's most inspirational brewers! I'm so pleased I have a bottle.

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