Black Damnation II - Mocha Bomb - De Struise Brouwers

jampics2

Ohio

3.95/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 5 | overall: 3

Thanks to the wonderful folks at De Struise, I was able to try a beer I only thought was available through that horrible auction site at a very pretty penny. But for just around $10 this gem was shipped to my house straight from the brewery! Thanks so much, Struise!

Into the snifter, this beer is a beauty to behold. It's pitch black with one of those rocky Belgian heads that every brewer should strive for. Just incredible head retention and lace, this is a perfect looking double/impy stout.

Smell is nice, lots of bourbon and coffee. Malt is sweet and gives some caramel and sugar notes. Just a hint of noticeable alcohol is well covered by the freshness of the coffee beans and dark chocolate. Some noticeable bitterness as well, this beer is complete, extreme and well constructed.

Taste is nice, but I think a few American coffee/bourbon stouts do a better job of integrating the bourbon and barrel. Coffee is actually more subdued that I thought - it's there, but gets hidden in the roast. The malt is roasted, scratch that. burned and gives dark chocolate notes. There's some oak and bourbon. What I'm missing is a smoother edge, like some vanilla or sweet malt to balance. This is good but not exceptional.

The mouthfeel, however, is. The carbonation is active but comes across as lush and inviting, never too sharp and biting. The body is creamy and smooth. For a 13%, this has that lighter milkshake feeling that few can pull off. No syrup feel at all, thick and smooth, with slight lingering stickiness and roast. I would drink this again in a heartbeat. And, as I worked my way down the snifter, it became more inviting. This was sampled with Black Mes and Cuvee Delphine, and, while Delphine probably scored a touch higher, this was in a photo finish to be the best of the bunch.

Serving type: bottle

09-02-2010 14:00:06 | More by jampics2

jkane101

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

06-05-2013 22:44:42 | More by jkane101

AngusOg

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

05-24-2013 15:01:17 | More by AngusOg

BierMeJohn

Germany

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

05-04-2013 20:45:54 | More by BierMeJohn

ADTaber

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

04-28-2013 14:35:32 | More by ADTaber

Beerandboards

New Mexico

4.33/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

11.2oz bottle

A - inky black with an enormous amount of loose tab foam. 3-4 inches. Takes at least a couple minutes to dissipate. Actually takes a while to pour due to the amount of head. Pretty impressive.

S - baking chocolate, coffee, vanilla, milk chocolate

T - leads with bitter dark chocolate, coffee, vanilla, milk chocolate. Really rich blend of flavors. Very very well done.

M - the carb is higher than I'm used to in this type of beer, but can't say it's bad, just unusual. Thick and rich feel.

O - this is a high quality beer to be sure. A lot of flavors and presentations that I've seen before, but not in the well put together manner like they are here. All of the coffee chocolate and bourbon barrel are there, but they all work together well. Really nice beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 00:52:59 | More by Beerandboards

cadaugherty

Illinois

4/5  rDev -6.1%

04-12-2013 03:53:09 | More by cadaugherty

Sparky44

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

03-24-2013 01:41:42 | More by Sparky44

CheapBeerBuzz

California

4.25/5  rDev -0.2%

03-01-2013 04:55:22 | More by CheapBeerBuzz

arash1000

California

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

02-27-2013 17:53:13 | More by arash1000

Beerstorian

District of Columbia

5/5  rDev +17.4%

02-15-2013 15:21:51 | More by Beerstorian

sjrosen

California

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

02-11-2013 16:07:13 | More by sjrosen

TheSevenDuffs

Ontario (Canada)

4.38/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to Gord for this bottle.

A - Dark ink black with one finger of medium brown head that quickly reduced to a ring around the glass.

S - Massive coffee aroma up front with some chocolate notes also present. Fairly one dimensional nose.

T - Sweet, syrupy taste at first that immediately gives way to a bitter roast presence that provides good balance. Coffee, cocoa, molasses and roast are the dominant flavours. The bourbon barrel shows up in the background adding bourbon and toasted oak flavours with a hint of vanilla. Remarkably drinkable for 12%.

M - Full body. Thick and sludgy. Light carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2013 03:13:14 | More by TheSevenDuffs

eduardolinhalis

Switzerland

4.89/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

330ml bottle served in a snifter.

A: Pours an absolutely oily black color forming a big bubbled and creamy beige head. Good retention but only few lacings left in the glass

S: Sweet and roastd malts, mainly, with special touch of wood, dark chocolate and coffee. A bit fruity and a little bit spicy too. Some earthy yeasts. Damn good in the nose

T: Just perfect. Slightly sweet upfront. Strong taste of roasted malts, dark chocolate, and coffee. Very woody. A bit spicy. Great bitterness. Excellent bittersweet balance

M: Heavy creamy and molasses perfect body. Medium to low carbonation. Bittersweet roasted and coffee aftertaste

O: Perfect drinkability. Perfect beer. The best of the three BD I've had so far

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 22:43:00 | More by eduardolinhalis

yourefragile

District of Columbia

3.75/5  rDev -12%

01-18-2013 02:00:25 | More by yourefragile

aflyershckyfan

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

01-13-2013 01:11:29 | More by aflyershckyfan

JRod1969

New York

4.5/5  rDev +5.6%

01-09-2013 01:10:05 | More by JRod1969

jrpapajcik

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

12-28-2012 05:02:23 | More by jrpapajcik

jacob4999

Michigan

4/5  rDev -6.1%

12-28-2012 03:11:05 | More by jacob4999

klipper

Michigan

4/5  rDev -6.1%

12-25-2012 02:58:56 | More by klipper

Pinknuggets

Vermont

3.88/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle to Lawson's sniffer

A: pours dark brown to black with small mocha head completely opaque dark as night

S: definitely a smell of coffee but not pungent also smells smooth, rich, and maybe roasted malt smells like a stout for sure.

T: the first thing I taste is sweetness and even hints of dark fruit which is not bad but somewhat surprising. The coffee flavor is there however, not strong but there. There is some bitterness and roasted flavor but the fruit is what really comes out in the end. It's tasty but not as advertised maybe from the BA parts being dominant flavor because there was some alcohol whisky oak flavor so i guess its not balanced but like said not bad

M: it is smooth and oily with no carbonation. It's thick but not chewy but an alcohol burn

O: first if all why this is called mocha bomb is beyond me there is very subtle coffee flavors the main flavor with dark fruit like figs which isn't bad a little over powering but nothing as advertised not bad but not great and I don't understand the concept

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2012 19:55:03 | More by Pinknuggets

BartMcStout

Belgium

4/5  rDev -6.1%

12-17-2012 20:15:08 | More by BartMcStout

BeerHunter76

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

12-04-2012 03:53:48 | More by BeerHunter76

Texasfan549

Texas

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

12-04-2012 01:49:33 | More by Texasfan549

randylangford

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +11.5%

12-02-2012 18:15:14 | More by randylangford