Looks like the 🇱🇺 beers don't really exceed 8 %. At least not much. So, I went to the guy behind the counter and asked for anything barrel aged, imperial stout, barley wine, old ale, strong ale, whatever that would give my tastebuds something to remember. This is what he recommended. Well. The Luxembourgish Totenhopfen is a collaborating brewery here but the main culprit is Dutch. Damn. I wasn't looking for a Dutch beer. Anyway, that's what I got. Here we go. The beer wears an opaque, extraordinarily deep dark ruby gown. Looks almost black or at least very dark brown. The head is oppressed, pale fawn as to the color. Dies fast. Nobody feels sorry. The scent gives me mint. Or eucalyptus. Or both. Weird. I can't get anything that would even remotely remind me of barrel aging. Or these guys have really sick barrels. A bit fruity scent but impossible to say which fruit or fruits. The olfactory line is straightforward and one-dimensional. This is not impressive... The flavor cocktail is composed of dark chocolate, cacao nibs, roasted malt, and... that strange minty component. This is Madeira barrel aged, which sounds like a good idea to a nutcase like myself. Syrup is fairly lofty on the tastebuds and it's escorted by a whisper of date. Just a whisper though. Pity. The body is full. The finish is the first time (or place) where I can sense something that would suggest that this beer has undergone barrel aging. Cacao but no chocolate, syrup, dark malt, perhaps marginally roasted, or not. And that stupid minty slam. Well, not a slam but a subtle touch anyway. Get up, time to release the beast; get up, everybody get up. The mouthfeel is mellow, soft, smooth, lip-glueing, even modestly sticky, a bit barrel aged and even a tad desserty. Relatively decent although I want more from 10.2 %. Additionally, this is not predominantly Luxembourgish. 😕 I'll be back.

Kuohkea 2 sormen paksuinen vaahto mustassa läpinäkymättömässä, täyttävässä ja lämmittävässä oluessa. Valuu kuin synteettinen öljy kannusta, maukas paahteinen Madeira viskitynnyreissä kypsytetty Collaboration olut Van Molli:n jaTotenhoppenin kesken. Aavistuksen makea, siirappinen ja kuiva. Alkoholi ei tule läpi, vain lämmittää suussa. Mallasmainen, paahteinen ja siirappimainen.