Struise Black Albert

Before leaving Monks on saturday Per suprised me with an excellent beer.

Struise Black Albert (bottle) 13%
It poured a pitch black liquid with a small brown foam that left a little bit of brown lacing on the side of the glass.

It had a very strong and complex smell. Lots of different flavours where tugging at my nose. I found some chocolate, nuts, wood, yeast, soy sauce and something burned. It also had a spiceness to it that I couldn't quite put into place. Very nice so far and I have to admit my expectations where rising.

I tasted it and it was smooth and dry, it also had the complex taste similar to the smell. A mix of chocolate, smoke, nuts, wood, something burned and some liqourice fudge at the end. It also had this spiceness which I couldn't quite put words into. It had a long aftertaste and I could feel it even as I was sitting on the subway home. The alcohol was very well hidden and I almost choked on some beer when Per told me it had an alc of 13%. A very complex, well balanced and interesting beer.
Total: 4,4/5