A SHOT IN THE DARK, A HOLE IN THE HEAD: DE STRUISE "TSJEESES"

Since I've only ever tried less than 10% of the commercially-available Belgian beer imports out there, I like to roll the dice on something appealing-sounding, and/or with a funny name, or just something totally obscure and unlikely to be discovered again. I'm a wild man that way, hunh? I've found that that's made for some pretty killer beer discoveries in the past. Alas, one takes a shot in the dark, one also ends with a hole in the, uh, wallet. Thus it was with the $6.50 I spent on a tiny 'lil glass of DE STRUISE TSEJEESES at San Francisco's Toronado the other evening. I believe it was served in an 8-ounce glass, some fancy-schmancy Belgian glassware the likes of which I've never seen before. I always see these little glasses as a curse and a blessing - I'm bummed because it's such a small amount of the given beer, and yet I'm heartened because it means I can order (one) more beer and still drive home without a heavy load on.

Cutting to the chase, I did not like this beer. It's a pale orange, chalky, earthy beer - and man is it strong. Bourbon is what it tastes like - a serious bourbon-barrel beer, minus the barrel. Extremely high carbonation. Tastes of white grapes and a little - very little - bit of funkiness. That chalky flavor is really off-putting, as is the high ABV that boldly shows itself like a flasher at the Methodist Church ladies' auxiliary meeting. Just flat-out did not come together for me, and is not something I'd recommend. 5/10.