“Maple & Pecan is a rich Imperial Stout with the addition of pecan, maple syrup and blueberry puree. The beer offers a complex flavor profile with sweet notes of maple, roasted pecan, subtle blueberry, and caramel. The deep flavors are balanced by a soft roasty finish for a refined experience.”

Glassware: Snifter.

Appearance: Solid black pour with a fizzy dark tan head. It slowly retracts and forms a collar with decent lacing on the glass.

Aroma: We were kinda thrown off initially as we were expecting big, rich notes of maple and pecan so when we copped whiffs of tart and fruity blueberries we’re like wtf?! But in very small text on the label it does mention that there’s a “blow of blueberry puree”. We’re unsure what they mean by “a blow” but in their measurements it must mean a lot coz it makes up around 75% of the aroma. The maple and pecan unfortunately are mere bystanders.

Flavour: Thank goodness we’re tasting a lot more of the maple here. The pecans, in their somewhat buttery and nutty nature, creep in softly too. They’ve managed to correct the dominant blueberry here as the tart sweetness integrates nicely into the rich maple and nutty pecan. What seems to be MIA now is any sign of their base stout. It seems very pedestrian as it all finishes on a mild roast, subtle maple and nutty malt.

Mouthfeel: Fairly light for 10% ABV. It’s good and bad as it’s easily smashable but we were hoping for a bit more body and grip.

Overall: Not sure what’s going on with this one. We recall De Molen informing everyone that they were closing their doors last year so they’ve either been bought out and operating under new owners or they’re having one last (quite average) crack before they bow out.