Struise Blue Monk Special Reserve (Bottled)

Blue Monk Special Reserve 2013 is a quadruple which has been aged for 3 years in red wine barrels from Château Haut Breton Larigaudière in Margaux ! It is dark brown in color with a beige frothy head. According to Struise, it has an aroma and bouquet of a complex red wine, with a soft taste of spice, berries and black cherries. The flavour is enriched with touches of caramel, fine chocolate, toasted nuts and soft hints of smoke. The fruity elements of red and dark fruits comes from the aging in barrels fine from Château Haut Breton Larigaudière in Margaux. These flavors are adding a slight vanilla note and some refined wood tannins. The finish is soft and smoky with a soft fruity accent and a mild hoppy expression in the most interesting and long aftertaste.

3.9

341 reviews

Oostvleteren, Belgium

Community reviews

3.7 Bouteille de 33 cl trouvée à Chênée Beerlovers. Couleur brune, petite mousse. Nez vineux, de chocolat, de malts rôtis et de fruits noirs (mûre, myrtille, framboise, cerise). Bouche fumée mais douce car caramélisée, plutôt plate ; aux saveurs de malts torréfiés, de vin rouge, un peu de chocolat, de fruits noirs + des épices. Petite carbo, petite rondeur, alcool fort présent -un peu trop présent- sous la forme de vin, à mon avis. Un bon produit mais un peu écoeurant !

4.1 33 cl bottle from the back of the beer fridge. Vintage 2013. Pours dark, almost muddy brown with a slight orange hue and a light brown head. Fairly complex with notes of raisin, prune, chocolate, molasses, wood, sherry, and toffee. Drinks nicely, not overly boozy; however, you can tell this is a full bodied sipper of a beer. Tasty stuff.

3.6 Robe brune profonde, trouble. Mousse éphémère (plus une pétillance forte comme du cidre qu'une vraie mousse). Le nez est très marqué sur le cacao et le café. En bouche, l'ensemble est fort riche, avec une attaque sucrée, suivie par l'amertume légèrement torréfiée, un goût de café et de chocolat suivis par un côté légèrement vineux. L'alcool s'exprime bien et le tout est assez lourd, bien que riche. L'amertume tend à se sentir de plus en plus, au fur et à mesure de la dégustation, et l'alcool chauffe la gorge.

3.8 Bursztynowe. Piana jest, ale redukuje się z czasem do zera. Aromat wędzonki połączony z białymi i czerwonymi owocami, trochę przyprawowości. W smaku głównie wędzone, nieco karmelowości, beczka słabiej zarysowana. Alkoholu nie czuć. Fajne.

3.9 330 ml bottle at home, vintage 2013, courtesy of Sander, many thanks! Pours a chestnut brown with a quickly disappearing beige head. The aroma is malty with notes of toffee, nuts, chestnut, dark fruits, cherries, raisins, mild wood, red wine - nice smell. Medium-full body with a very soft carbonation a light to medium sweetness and a light to medium bitterness. The flavor is again dominated by the lightly roasted malt with more wood compared to the smell - caramel, cocoa, raisins, nuts, wood, red wine, tannins. Finishes with hints of roasted malt, nuts, wood, some tannins. Overall very smooth with a nice balance between the malt and the barrel notes and a nice complexity. Aroma: 8 Appearance: 4 Taste: 8 Palate: 4 Overall: 15

3.7 Butelka. Aromat suszonych owoców, karmelu i przypieczonego ciasta. W smaku wytrawnie, trochę suszonej śliwki, sporo naprawdę sporo czerwonego wina.

3.7 Pours brown with a small head. Chocolate aroma with toffee, caramel, burnt sugar and dried fruit. Tastes chocolatey with caramel, toffee, burnt sugar, dried fruit, whisky and wood notes. Medium body+

4.0 Bottle from Chez Marie in Ypres. Deep brown in colour, white foam. Lovely rich malty beer, warming but in no way hot or boozy, with an interesting woody, treacle, almost herbal note to finish. Super stuff.

4.2 From latiendadelacerceza. In Grimbergen glass. Playing Avernum 2. Should be illegal to hide abv so well, be careful as affects head plenty. Original belgian quad with a pleasantly soft smokey twist

3.6 Vintage 2013. Bottled 12.10.2013; BB 11.01.2029. Dark, head dissipates fast. Really delicious caramel and smoky aroma; tastes excessively sweet with the same notes, warm of the booze, somewhat sticky and yet dry, carbo soft. Nice sipper. Underwhelming though, especially considering the 7-8 € price tag.

3.8 From Le Palais du Houblon in Nivelles >> Bière brune à la robe marron ocre. Nez vineux, chocolaté et boisé fort torréfié. Attaque ronde caramélisé aux arômes chocolaté discret accompagné de saveurs vineuses fruitées au raisin. Je note une touche acidulé qui apporte pas mal de fraîcheur. Milieu bouche alcooleux ample à la texture sirupeuse aux arômes complexes de vieille barrique qui livrent des saveurs épicées intenses de cardamone, vanille et coriandre. Ce bouquet épicé réhausse le maltage par trop pesant vineux et boisé à la finale sèche. Comme toujours chez Struise ça tire dans tous les sens

4.2 Barwa bardzo ciemna, rubinowo bordowa, raczej nie jest klarowna. Piana średniej wielkości, jasno brązowa. Aromat to kawowa paloność mieszająca się ze słodyczą i delikatną kwaskowością ciemnych owoców. Cały bukiet zapachowy tworzy coś w rodzaju kawowo owocowego likieru. W smaku podobnie, kręgosłup tworzy likier kawowy i owocowy, smażone ciemne, owoce, tak te słodkie jak i kwaskowe. Na finiszu kawowa goryczka, nie jest imponująco wysoka ale dodaje charakteru. Alkohol lekko rozgrzewa i przywodzi skojarzenia z dobrym likierem. Wysycenie niskie pasuje. Piwo nie jest bardzo tęgie ma jednak miękką, aksamitną fakturę.

4.5 (nez cendré, cacao-camphre, polypod yeast, corps sublime f(um)ée (cara, cerise, tourbe, tiramisu, porto), ∞-délice)

3.9 33 cL bottle. Pours dark brown, nearly black, with a medium, frothly, tan head. The aroma is sweet cherries, milk chocolate, molasses, dust, leather, black pepper, and light anise. Sweet and spicy, with a light, sharp bitterness, and some good esters. Medium to heavy body, with a creamy, lightly astringent, and effervescent mouthfeel. This is a lovely, syrupy, and deep beer. Lots of complexity and easy to drink. Hard to nail down, but just nice.

3.9 Colore marrone scuro, schiuma quasi inesistente. Aromi di uvetta, legno, prugna, zucchero candito. Al palato uvette, frutti di bosco, note vinose e affumicate. Corpo medio, carattere dolce e leggermente astringente. Una birra complessa, liquorosa con un retrogusto vinoso e affumicato evidente, che ricorda lontanamente anche una scout.

3.6 Een super bier, daar ben ik van overtuigd. Helaas houd ik niet van dat rokerige.

4.3 Bottle. Color: Black, very thin light brown head. Taste: Complex mix of medium sweet roasted malt, fruity notes of dark red fruit, cherries, milk chocolate, wood and hints of nuts, vanilla, smoke and spices. Light hopbitterness. (Maybe a bit too) vinuous and boozy. Complexity stays at long lasting finish. Rather dry mouthfeel. Full body, slightly below average carbonation. Very nice beer for a relaxing slow sip on a cold evening.

4.0 33cl Bottle @ LaBIRRAtorium, Madrid, Spain. Brown colour with a medium size tan head. Aroma is malt, dark fruits, caramel, oak. Taste is malt, caramel, brown sugar, prunes, oak. Medium body, average carbonation.

4.3 Aroma - Dark fruits, malt, some smoke Taste - Dark fruits, berries, malt, chocolate, coffee, smoke, Belgian yeast character, hints of tannins

4.0 aroma caramel, chocolate, coffee, roasty, herbs, clove, smoke, smoke, appearance brown, sparkling, frothy, taste dry chocolate black coffee treacle bit sour long sweet caramel finish nice beer

4.0 330ml bottle 2013 vintage pours cola brown with a small ring of brown head. Nose is sweet pit fruit roast malts peat smoke some belg candy sugar spice. Taste is more of the nice peat light smoke some pit fruit sweetness leather very complex.

3.1 W aromacie suszone śliwki, trochę innych owoców, karmel, trochę aromatów winnych, beczkowości. Zapach bardzo przyjemny, całkiem złożony. W wyglądzie ciemny bursztyn, przepuszcza jedynie światło. Niestety, trafiłem na piwo przegazowane, wyskakujące z butelki, co bardzo mocno odbiło się na smaku - zbyt mocno jest czuć alkohol, za mało innych nut smakowych, choć czuć trochę owocowości, winności, trochę drożdży. To wszystko zalega niestety w przełyku, co bardzo osłabia ocenę tego piwa. Szkoda, bo liczyłem na coś fajniejszego. Z drugiej strony - pewnie spróbuję tego piwa z, mam nadzieję, lepszej partii. I mam nadzieję, że wówczas będzie lepsze.

4.4 Deep brown-black pour with a thick tan head. The nose is great. Intense dark fruit and cocoa with a rich cooked fruit nose. There's a bit of plum and date along with an intense cocoa and red fruit backbone. There's a little bit of softness and a bit of intense tobacco and fruity sweetness. Chewy and a little bit earthy with a bit of dark malt. Sweet but balanced. Baked raisin and brown sugar tarts. Amazing beer.

4.2 Piwo koloru brązowego z rubinowymi refleksami, beżowa, nietrwała piana. Po otwarciu prawie samo wyskoczyło z butelki. W aromacie świeże czerwone owoce, rodzynki, figi, daktyle, karmel, trochę wanilii, drewna, delikatne nuty przypieczonego ciasta biszkoptowego. W smaku przede wszystkim czuć czerwone wino. Są też orzechy, karmel, drewno, trochę nut opiekanych, lekka przyprawowość. Ogólnie piwo jest słodko gorzkie, na finiszu delikatnie kwaskowate i ściągające. Bardzo bogaty i złożony trunek. Jestem pod wrażeniem.

4.1 10%ABV. Belgian strong ale. Nose has peat, wax, oil, wood smoke, hint of yeast. There is also a broad fume-like hit of aged cheese in the background as a basenote. Mouthfeel is watered honey. Palate has dark fruit, honeyed dates and honey. Dry woody flavor. Woodsmoke. Peat and plasticine with some oily flavors. Finish is dry with a woody bitter flavor.

4.0 Bottle (2013). Hazy brown beer with average beige head. Aroma of dried dark fruits, raisins, apples, caramel, red wine, light vanilla and wood. Taste is medium to heavy sweet and light bitter, very light tart, of dried dark fruits, raisins, apples, plums, dates, caramel, light spice, with notes of wine, vanilla, wood, alcohol. Sweet and slightly woody finish with notes of dark fruits. Medium to full body, average carbonation. Great flavour depth. Very mature and elegant beer.

4.2 Aromă plăcută, dulcie, cu mult malț ușor prăjit și dulceață de zahăr brun ușor ars, ciocolată cu lapte, ceva miere și dulceață de fructe negre, nuanțe de alcool. Gustul e excelent, foarte plăcut și, în același timp, foarte ușor, dulceață plăcută de zahăr brun ars, fructe negre și puțină caramelă, mult malț, ceva alcool, dar foarte puțin, pierdut undeva prin dulcață, ceva arsură în postgust. Foarte bună.

4.6 (612 napja palackozták) Sötétbarna szín közepes, tartós, világosbarna hab. Karamelles, aszalt gyümölcsös, csokis, pörkölt malátás illat. Karamelles, aszalt gyümölcsös, csokis, kakaós ízvilág, pörkölt malátás alapon, határozott, barikolt vörösboros aromákkal. Hajszálnyit füstös, testes, közepesen szénsavas, közepesen keserű, amit főként a pörkölés ad. Érezni a korát, az ízek tökéletesen egymásba simulnak. Nagyon finom, tökéletes arányokkal rendelkezik. Igazi kortyolgatós sör.

4.0 Very complex aroma and taste. Aroma distinctly smokey, lightly sour, vague fruityness, alcohol. Taste light vanilla, red wine indeed, sweet malts, red fruits, alcohol,... too complex to notice it all in a way... Some tannines, especially in the aftertaste. Aftertaste very pleasant and lingering: nostalgic. Alcohol too dominant though and maybe the smokeyness as well. As the beer warms ( or maybe I learned to drink it slower... ) the alcohol becomes softer and the vinous character stronger. Mouthfeel: creamy but also a ( borderline burning ) dry and sandy alcohol feel on the tongue. As with many Struise beers it's a shame the alcohol couldn't be more suppressed.

4.6 2013 Vintage L: -pours the darkest of brown with mahogany tinges and a small to medium,foamy,beige head S: -licorice,raisins,syrup,chocolate,caramel,vanilla,coconut T: -raisins,chocolate,coffee,tobacco,bready,grainy,syrupy F: -medium carbonation -medium body -slight alcohol noticeable O: Great Quad.Not as heavy of a Cask influence as other De Struise Beers. This is also surprisingly bready on the Finish for a Belgian Quad.