De Molen Cuvee #3
A special blend for the 7th anniversary of Monk’s Café Sweden.
This is a blend of several of our beers, barrel aged in all kinds of oak barrels.
This is a blend of several of our beers, barrel aged in all kinds of oak barrels.
3.9
160 reviews
Bodegraven, Netherlands
Community reviews
Bottle, bottled 27.03.2015. Pours black, with almost no head. Aromas of bourbon, vanilla, oak, smoke, and chocolate. Taste is moderately sweet, with well marked bitterness. Moderate to low carbonation, oily texture. Very complex beer.
Bottle. This is a rich smokey and mysterious brew. A lot going on and very exciting to imbibe.
330ml bottled 2015.03.27, pours black with zero head. Nose is awesome, bourbon up front with vanilla, raisins, and chocolate. Flavour is very complex, changing throughout enjoying the glass as it warms. Again with the bourbon though port sweetnesss jumps out, along with hints of red wine, plums, and chocolate. Rich and velvety, I will be picking up more of these to enjoy over time. Yum!
Bottle @ Ebenezers. Black in color with just a thin ring of khaki foam. Huge bourbon/whiskey, chocolate sauce, and vanilla. The carbonation here could really be better, but good body. Has a touch of smoke to it. Plenty of chocolate, molasses, caramel, and toffee. This is some intense stuff, but pretty solid. Just a bit of coffee, and definitely some ashy undertones. Really intense and interesting, though maybe too booze/barrel forward for some.
330 ml bottle. Pours black with short tan head. Aromas of molasses and treacle, licorice and spice, a bit of green oak, and syrupy sweet roasted malts. Flavors of dark nutty chocolate, kahlua, dark vanilla, graham crackers, sweet molasses, licorice, and lots of dark sweet malts. Hot. But Great.
Bottle from Supermarket Liquor, Fort Collins. Pours near black with a modest tan head and a massive chocolate and treacle aroma. There is a full-bodied dark molasses flavor with some chocolate and a strong oak finish. A great sipper.
Rating #1832 - 2015.07.18 - Bottle from CBI. Big bubbly black pour with a tan head that erupts from an aggressive pour. Aroma is heavy oak, mild peat, mild tannic, sweet caramel,mild vanilla. Taste is roast malt espressoey bitterness, medium-heavy alcohol character, but well tempered with the luxurious toffee sweetness. Impressive.
Appearance: Pours like oil. Black with very thin layer of beige head
Aroma: Oh you know this is good stuff right away. Aroma of Calvados apple brandy. Tons of toasted brown sugar, soy sauce,
Taste: Very rich and complex. We’re talking caramelized sugar, fudge, tobacco, soy sauce I know a number of barrels were used but the most prominent seems to be coming from Cognac.
Overall: Quite heavy but an amazing sipping imp stout with tons of barrel aged flavor.
330ml bottle from Park Royal (thx, JameyW!). Pours a very dark brown with a beige head. Aroma and taste are very rich: sweet, marshmallow, licorice, grassy, chocolate, a little bit boozy. Very good.
The third installment of this Cuvée series by De Molen, for the seventh anniversary of Monk?s Café, bottled 27-03-2015 so one and a half year old, and "best before 27-03-2040" because they had to find a date somehow, I suppose... Loose, greyish beige, milky, bubbly head needing some force to develop but thinly retaining on the edge of the glass after that and even leaving a little bit of lacing here and there; black colour with burgundy red-brown edges (only visible in the very end or under bright light). Strong, noble, ?old? and very complex aroma of bitter chocolate, kahlua, coffee liqueur and coffee grounds, very old madera, marzipan, brown rum, raisins, candied fig, pipe tobacco, toffee, caramel candy, tawny port, liquorish, beef broth, Belgian chocolates, cognac, cinnamon, bayleaf, brown sugar, molasses, black olives, dried mushrooms, toasted brown bread. Candied sweetness (fig, dates, brown sugar sweetness) mixed with meaty umami in the onset, some deep underlying sourishness further balancing this, flat carbonation just like the #4, impairing drinkability and thinning the body. Thick, syrupy, oily mouthfeel, deep layers of caramelly and chocolatey sweet malts with a bitter toastedness in the end as well as a subtle coffeeish touch, spicy notes here and there, peppery hop accent in the finish providing long and late bitterness, very vinous finish with a lot of warming, rum- and sherry-like booze, but no real alcohol burn. Thick sweet molasses, bittersweet malt, lingering beef stock-like umami, lingering (and even somewhat sticky) candi sugar sweetness all soaked in this alcohol warmth fill the throat. Complex and warming sipper, very sherryish like the #4, doubting somewhere between imperial stout and barley wine and to be enjoyed slowly in small quantities. As with the #4, however, I find the carbonation just too flat and the mouthfeel too sticky, both of which decrease drinkability making it hard to pour down an entire bottle. Interesting for sure, just not my personal thing, I?m afraid, certainly in comparison with dozens of other Molen beers. How did they come up with this anyway? Is it a means of getting rid of leftovers from other beers? I cannot help but feeling this was the intention of this series... Nothing wrong with that as such (this approach has given the world great things like Bruery’s Melanges or Lost Abbey’s Deliverance, after all), but just randomly throwing together a bunch of leftovers from great beers will not automatically lead to a new great beer and in this case, the result seems a bit messed up, frankly. Same for #4.
Dark brown with beige head. Nose is bourbon, dark dried fruit, baker's chocolate, and dark dried malt. Flavour is ashy burnt oak, and tobacco up front but the finish is softened by raisin, caramel, vanilla, and roasted malts. Full body. Very interesting and awesome compilation!
Bottle, shared at game night. Very dark brown with copper highlights and a low ran head. Ashy burnt malt with loads of raisins and prunes and soy sauce, strong woody undertones. This was all over the place, a real mess that didn’t come together for me.
330mL bottle, pours black with a tiny beige head, hinting at low carbonation. Aroma is huge on the bourbon upfront, with loads of vanilla, a little liqueur, maybe some vinous notes, and chocolate. Flavour is certainly complex and very multi-dimensional, with notes of bourbon, red wine and various liqueur barrels, along with a pronounced miscellaneous spiciness, some roast and chocolate. There is a fairly apparent tartness on the finish that seems like it’s from red wine barrels rather than any sort of infection. Seems like a random blend that they haphazardly threw together that works fairly well to some extent, but it’s not on the top tier level of some De Molen’s other impie stouts. Very nice experiment for what it is.
Black with virtually no head. Aroma is chocolate, liqueur cherries, liquorice, leather, dates, raisins, balsamic reduction, fig jam, overripe plums, hint if red wine. Full bodied, velvety mouthfeel, rich and complex on the palate with a warming finish and a touch of tannin in the aftertaste. Taste is port, figs, plums, chocolate, raisins, dates, touch of Dutch liquorice and leather. Delicious.
2018-01-04, bottle from BCL, Park Royal, West Vancouver, bottled 27-03-2015, 2 years old, 7-4-8-4-15=38
It pours black, oily, with no carbonation. Aroma of dark caramel, dark malt, tar, a bit of iodine, phenol, red wine, hint of cheese. Full bodied; the very low carbonation gives a slightly oily texture; the dark caramel dominates, with notes of red wine and liquorice. The alcohol is quite well masked, some wine barrel seems particularly evident in the final.
Very good, but not exceptional for complexity or harmony.
2016-06-26, bottle from BCL, Park Royal, West Vancouver, 7-4-7-3-14=35
Black color, not much head. Aroma of dark malt, alcohol, red wine, rubber. Strong body; dark caramel and some roasted malt flavor, with moderate residual sweetness; the alcohol is very evident; there is some liquorice, tobacco, bourbon, wine, dark chocolate. Everything comes through in a very chaotic way.
A good beer, but very messy.
33cl bottle, red wax, via Etre. It pours a deep dark brown almost black color with a minimal mocha head. Aroma is a nice blend of rosty, sweet and funky rant notes with notes of roasted coffee, dark chocolate, vanilla, whiskey, Brett funk, tart raspberries and sea salt. Taste is also a mixture of sweet roasty and funky tangy notes. More coffee beans, dark chocolate, vanilla, whisky, Brett funk, salty chocolate tangy cherry. Medium bodied with lively carbonation. Overall, very tasty and complex
330 ml bottle at home from trade with Douberd. Thanks Christos! Dark brown black color with beige head. Malty aroma, roasted, chocolate, coffee, licorice, dark dried fruits, wood, vinous, alcohol. In the beginning there are some medicine and plastic notes. Sweet and bitter lcoholic taste like aroma. Medium to full oily body with soft carbonation.
F: thin reddish film quick diminishing, no real head.
C: dark, opaque with red tones against the light.
A: roasted malt, cherries, liquorice, vanilla, Porto vine, oak wood, hint of tobacco, leather, burn sugar, hint of smoke, alcohol, complex.
T: roasted malt, fruity dark red tones, then vanilla, chocolate, expresso, molasses, brown sugar, dark fruits, vinous, smoked meat, blue cheese, leather, light oily mouthfeel, complex, great IS sipper, worth to try, 0,33l bottle, 27-03-2015, from Malting Pot in Brussels.
Bottled 27-03-2015, not sure where i got it from. Opaque dark brown colored, no pressure upon opening, very small beige head. Beautiful whisky/bourbon nose, roasted malts, caramel, molasses, wood, peat, vanilla. Tastes very much like it smells, although sweeter than i thought it would be, thick mouthfeel, vanilla and wood more pronounced, with a bittersweet finish. Very good brew.
0.33 l bottle from ’De Bierkoning’, bottled in March 2015. Clear, very dark red to black with a thin, soapy, tan layer. Very intense, sweetish, slightly roasty, smoky and a little boozy aroma of vanilla (bourbon), iodine, charcoal, dark chocolate, red wine and cognac. Sweet, smoky, moderately boozy and slightly roasty taste of iodine, vanilla (bourbon), red wine, cognac, some charcoal and dark chocolate, followed by a rather long, slightly peaty, rather boozy and slightly warming finish. Medium body, slightly oily mouthfeel, flat. Heavy barrel-notes and thus not too much left of the base beers, also rather thin, but nevertheless a decent sipper.
Bottle. Murky darker brown pour with minor head. Awesome rich oaky aroma and taste. Some dark fruit, roasty malt, a little boozy. Excellent.
Bottle. Fumey nose of dark fruit, sourish prunes, and chocolate. Rich dark fruit initial, lightly phenolic, small bit of pepper. Thin-medium body, warming. Good solid fruitiness, a bit thin for all the alcohol.
Bottle. Nose is marmite or Japanese Nato. Soy, apple, cocoa, cherry. Flavor os cocoa, plums, more like Japanese pickled and slated plums, peat, some band aid and chocolate. Light and a bit thin. Fun. Good but not great, and not as nice as the #4.
Bottle brought back from a trip to Amsterdam. Pours black with a rim of beige froth. Quite a boozy aroma with bourbon notes especially. The taste is the taste is quite vinous with vanilla, wood, smoke, banana, liquorice, leather and light spice. Quite a pleasant sipper.
Pitch black, almost no head. Aroma contains bourbon, raisin, plum and other sweet dried fruits, molasses, tawney port, slight yeasts, roasted malts, a bit of chocolate, coffee, nuts, oak, vanilla, citrus fruits, cola, peat, apple, licorice and faint smoke. Massively complex.
Flavor is light acidic, then sweet and finishing in light bitter. The sweetnes is a bit out of balance (too strong) pushing aside the bitterness and the roasted tones a little. Bourbon/whiskey is quite strong but I like that.
Body is medium to full with creamy texture.
All in all not perfect but still an amazing blend.
Robe brune dense, peu de mousse. Nez puissant et complexe sur des notes de cerise au chocolat, de fumé, de fûts, sur un fond de vieux balsamique et de bonbon au café, pointe lactée. Bouche à l’attaque ronde, une touche de café et de chocolat à l’attaque, bulle assez discrète et finale crémeuse sur une note lactée et amère. Je suis curieux de la laisser vieillir pour voir son évolution.
Back of the bottle reads 27 MRT 2015 (March?, I think).
This was poured into a snifter.
The appearance was a black as night color. It poured like ink out of the bottle and left no head.
But the aroma made up for everything. A fully combined rich sweet and roasty chocolate covered sour fruity (leaning to cherries, slightly). Dry oakiness.
The taste had the rich and roasty cocoa bean dryness really coming across in the aftertaste. Light sticky to dry finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium in body. Good sipping quality created due to the dryness. Carbonation feels fallen off due to the age, I’m guessing.
Overall, I’d say this was a pretty good Double/Imperial Stout that I would have again.
On draft at The Festival 2015. Pours a deep black with a tan head. Nose is roast, chocolate, vanilla, earth, coal, and licorice. Flavor is similar with roast, vanilla, coal, chocolate, earth, and oak. Medium in body and a nice stout overall.
Bottle, 0.33l. Pours pitch black color with thin creamy light brown head and average sparkling appearance. Aroma of oak, dark fruits, alcohol, roasted malt and licorice. Taste starts with moderate sweet and sour licorice, follows by roasted malt, chocolate and herbs with warming alcoholic mouth feel and mild bitter finish. Full body, creamy texture and average carbonation in palate. Complex and barley wine-ish imperial stout...
Solo due parole per descrivere questa birra: pura poesia! Marrone scuro impenetrabile, schiuma color nocciola chiaro, non molto abbondante e persistente. L’aroma come il gusto sono unici: estremamente liquorosi, intensi e piacevoli. Mix di liquori, soprattutto Porto, Rum, Cognac, Calvados e una punta di Whisky. Poi frutta passita, come prugna e una. Tanto cacao, cioccolato e caffè. Insomma, non è assolutamente avara di emozioni. L’alcool è forte, ma non dà assolutamente alla testa. L’unica nota negativa è che non hanno fatto bottiglie da 75 cl...con quelle da 33, finisce troppo presto! Imperdibile per chi piacciono le birre complesse e liquorose.