7

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Can 33cl. from a AH XL in Muiden @home poured into a teku glass. Opaque amber brown, good frothy tan head, mostly dissipating, light lacing. Aroma toasted malt, caramel, some liquorice, cherries, raisins, brown sugar, touch of alcohol, herbal hops. Taste medium sweet and light bitter, malty, caramel, red fruits, herbal notes. Mediumbody, oily texture, average carbonation, sweetbitter aftertaste, malt and fruity notes, quite fruity for a bock, very nice.

7

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Blik 33cl thuis. Caramel, citrus, sinaasappel, rozijn, zoet, zacht, fruitig, earthy, wat chocoladetonen, rogge, maltig, bittertonen. (15-11-2025).

7.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

I love beer traditions and one of those is about the only Dutch one still surviving to this day: the bokbier season, once derived from German Bockbier but deviating a bit from there since the 19the century and several decades ago, the starting point of the Dutch beer revival. This revival has ultimately proven to be quite spectacular even compared with other western countries that underwent the great craft beer movement, and one of its proponents is of course De Moersleutel in Alkmaar in the north - so the educated beer lover should be curious about how they interpret the genre it all began with in the early eighties... Can from the Jumbo supermarket in Ghent (I think). Medium sized, tiny-bubbled, dense, pale greyish white, irregularly shred-lacing, stable head on an initially clear, warm caramel-bronze coloured robe with fiery vermillion glow. Quite earthy aroma of dry old caramel, tea bags, dry autumn leaves, lightly toasted grey bread, nutmeg, medlar straight from the tree, salsify, spongy dark plums, raw green kale leaf, parsley, beetroot, dust. Mildly fruity onset, spongy plum and halfripe medlar again, hints of apple peel and green pear, sharpish carb but okay for this style, smooth and essentially soft mouthfeel; rounded caramelly malt ensue with a brown-bready edge yet not descending into really 'deep' maltiness in spite of feeling more genuine and layered than the average 'macro' Dutch bok. Chestnutty sweetness hovers over it all, accentuating the autumny feeling that penetrates this beer, a feeling further deepened when the Tango hops arrive, not in their usual citrusy IPA way, but exhibiting their more piney and herbal (sage) side, albeit subtly so. They provide little bitterness, so this element comes from the toasty side of the malts more than the hops, although a 'deep' herbal bitter aspect of dark green tree leaves and forest weeds does linger. Earthy phenolic touches (nutmeg) colour the finishing stages along with this soft malt bitterishness and those herbal elements. Not a typical Moersleutel offering at all - which may explain the relatively low scores here - but if you think about it a bit more, this Geitenbreier (?) does take the general Dutch 'herfstbok' theme to a slightly different level without deviating from it too much. I think Moersleutel tries to prove here that they are perfectly capable of honouring their own traditions and what came before them without trying to usurp them completely - and for me they succeed. This is one herfstbok you can put in a tasting of classic congeners: it will not break out and do something so different that it can hardly be called a bok anymore, yet it does behave in a noticeably distinct way. Interesting way of balancing things - especially when coming from an established all-craft brewery like Moersleutel, which is better known for more 'elaborated' postmodern formulas. I like revisiting an old beer tradition every now and then and Moersleutel allowed me to do so with this one, even if it contains a hop variety marketed only in 2020...

6

From can at Remko's Bierproefavond. Didn't take notes, just enjoyed nice beers and good company. What I do remember: Caramel malt, boring.

6.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Can van de lokale Albert Heijn. Robijnrood bier met mooie schuimkraag. Smaak is bitterzoet en licht fruitig met iets van appel en een beetje kruiden. OK.

6.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Can from a local bottle shop. A typical Moer take on Bock, the Tango hop gives it a noteable fruity character. Malty backbone with toasty notes and caramel. Some more citrusy/tropical notes from the aromahop. Blasphemous but likeable.