6.6

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

750ml bottle. Earthy, roasty and burnt malty with some chocolate, hints of molasses and syrup. Decent.

7.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Strong stout made with mussels – a variation on the near-mythical oyster stout theme I assume; not many may know, but this is not even the first Belgian mussels stout, with Relatiebrouwer’s Black Cauldron Spit (originally an oyster stout) still being made this way for years now. Bottle from the BXL Beerfest pack, split with Johan. Membrane-lacing, irregularly shaped, pale beige, largely stable head, ink black robe. Aroma of indeed – much more obviously than in Black Cauldron Spit – salty fresh mussels, coffee grounds, dry earth, bitter black chocolate, zinc, toasted brown bread, bladderwort (probably the saltiness of the mussels again), black tea, damp tree leaves, dry beef stock cubes, black olives. Vaguely sweetish dried fig aspects in the onset, outspoken umami (beef stock, dried bladderwort) and indeed that salty mussels hint but less explicit than expected based on aroma (luckily, perhaps), fizzy carb, full mouthfeel; toast- and walnut-like maltiness with bitter chocolatey edges in a somewhat ‘diluted’ way, quickly shifting to bitter roastedness (old black coffee) with earthy, chicory-like aspects. Earthiness and roasty bitterness dominate the finish with nutmeg-, bread crust-, tree leaf- and dried porcini-like hints, herbal hop bitterness and warming, gin-like alcohol. The mussels are clearly there in the nose, less so in the mouth which is probably a good thing; bit weird, very earthy and somewhat rough on the edges, this – like many Siphon beers – needs more cleanness, a more focused profile and less earthiness. Still very enjoyable, though.

7.2

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

0,75l bottle at home. BB 04/2024. black color, medium big tan head. smells earthy, roasty, coffee, tobacco, bit breadish, spices, some cocoa. nice smell. full body, soft carbonation. tastes of bitter chocolate, earthy, bit roasty, some marzipan, some cocoa, nutty notes, lactose. finishes light to medium roasty bitter with notes of bitter chocolate, cocoa and some nutty notes. very nice one, lovely creamy mouthfeel, very good to drink. good one.

6.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Dark brown to black, tan head. Aroma of coffee, cacao, roasted malts, bit metallic, malts, caramel. Light sweet malty flavour, bitter cacao, quite bitter. Metallic note. Bitter finish, caramel, cacao. (from 75cL bottle shared @ Tim's place)

8.4

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

Imported from my RateBeer account as Siphon Mussels In Brussels (by Siphon Brewing):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 5/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4.2/5

29/VIII/19 - 75cl bottle from BXL Beer Fest (Brussels) @ home, BB: 22/IV/24 - (2019-1333) Thanks to Tinus for sharing the bottle!
Clear dark brown to black beer, big creamy beige head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: lots of chocolate, malty, some caramel, vanilla notes. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: very malty, bitter, some dark chocolate, slightly sweet, some caramel, alcohol. Aftertaste: more roaste, alcohol, very malty, bit metallic, grains, hay, very bitter, dry, coffee, grit, nice stuff.

7

Bottle. Pours black with light brown head. Aroma and flavor are sweet and bitter, roast, coffee, sugar, malt. Overall: nice, but too sweet.