The newest addition to the Barbãr brand, still a honey beer, but turned into a typical Walloon 'rouge' - strong sweet red fruit beer. Note that the iconic warrior figure on the label has been made female (with implied cleavage, if you don't mind me noticing), right in a time when sexist marketing in beer is something of a hot issue abroad... Swingtop bottle from Fontana, Sint-Niklaas. Very mousy, creamy, tightly membrane-lacing, medium thick, pale lilac-pinkish head, clear deep ruby red robe with fuchsia hue and very lively sparkling throughout. Aroma of red Haribo candy and 'dropveters' as feared, strawberry-flavoured bubblegum, candyfloss, raspberry ice cream, sweet honey, grenadine, lemonade hint, bread pulp and white sandwiches, green apples, banana, the sourish smell of strong carbon dioxide, something dusty and something vaguely rubbery, background whiff of soapy coriander. Very sweet onset as expected, very sugary and explicitly red candy-like (something I passionately hate), candied cherries and candied strawberry in an industrial, bubblegummy way, hints of banana and apple in the background, mild sourish note, lively carb; round, slick mouthfeel, cereally malt base with remaining bubblegummy edges and a rather simple and basic honey flavour at the back, even a very light touch of grassy hop bitterness all the way in the tail, with a soapy coriander and very faint orange peel aspect - all covered under a thick layer of ongoing red candy sweetness, turning even more artificial and annoyingly 'rubbery' in the end, while the sugar sticks to the teeth. The youth of especially Wallonia and northern France is apparently still sufficiently interested in this kind of bullshit products to prompt Lefêbvre to add another one to the already existing range of Gauloise Fruits Rouges, Cherry Chouffe, Kasteel Rouge, Delirium Red and so on; Lefêbvre has only very rarely produced interesting beers in my opinion and this one clearly does not bring up the average in my book. A disgusting mutant of an already bland honey beer, this product went right down the drain with me.

16 February 2019. At Cambrinus, Bruges. Cheers to the family! So Lefebvre needed a strong Fruit Beer and this is what they came up with. Funnily enough, I didn't even realise this was a new beer when I saw it on the list, just because the 'Rouge' label already feels worn. Pours hazy, but actually clear, red with a lasting, thin, frothy, pinkish head; little lacing. Aroma of 'poepegatjes' or red candy, cherry & strawberry jam but in an industrial way, red yoghurt, wheat, dough, dark honey. Taste is heavy sugary sweet, pure red candy, sugary cherries, honey & kids' yoghurt; light fruity sourness provides at least some balance, with raspberry, faint wheat, some dough & a vague bitter note of cherry pit & orange peel. Sweet, candy-like finish, more cherries, yoghurt, sugar, faint wheat, and a dash of fruit jenever-like alcohol but not even that obtrusive. Medium body, syrupy/sticky texture, fizzy carbonation. Come to think of it: Delirium Red, Cherry Chouffe Rouge & Kasteel Rouge all have 8% ABV. Barbar Rouge fits perfectly into that list, too sweet & shallow, offering nothing worthwhile to the Belgian beerscape, but is perhaps slightly more agreeable to drink.