Préaris Belma

Bottled@Cambrinus, Bruges. Hazy orangeish yellow colouw with a small white head. Aroma is fruity, floral, nutty along with some mild toffee. Flavour is wheat, mild herbs, some sygary notes as well as mild grassy and grainy notes. Flavour failed this beer...

Vliegende Paard’s standard witbier, no idea why this brewery is aiming at the umpteenth Hoegaarden epigone... Pours an initially cristal clear but eventually cloudy, deep and sunny yellow golden colour, looking like a golden ale at first, under a medium thick, very stable, moussy, lightly yellowish white head. Aroma of lots of soapy wheat indeed, apart from cider, pear, sourdough, light cheese, unripe gooseberry, flour, white pepper, white grape peel, calvados, field flowers, artisanal limoncello, dried ginger, a ton of drying lemongrass, lots of dry, almost musty coriander seed and clear, in the end even overpowering curaçao (dried bitter orange peel) - in all, the classic witbier bouquet, but with a floral hoppiness piercing through it which is not at all custom for the style; it has more ’actual’ spiciness to it than usual as well. Restrainedly sweetish onset, bit peachy, bit applish, sour berries, soft carbo, lightly oily but slick mouthfeel, minerally accent, changing to a deep, ’dull’ and soapy wheat sourishness quickly, aided by a velvety oat graininess; curaçao is evident, with a resinous, bittering and very lightly souring effect. Coriander invades towards the finish in a less than courteous way, drying the palate with a wave of bittersweet resin; some malty juiciness creeps through, and fortunately there is a certain amount of unexpected hop bitterness coming to the rescue: this one exhibits a fair deal of deep, earthy, long but still relatively pleasant bitterness, lending the finish more body than usual for the style and indeed lasting longer than usual, albeit in a ’deaf’ kind of way. Still, I find the resiny, drying, spicy coriander seed way too overpowering in this one; the overuse of coriander is exactly the reason I’d prefer any Weissbier above most witbiers. This one seems a bit more daring than usual in the style, but it still falls into the coriander - curaçao trap - and even crudely so, the bouquet only releases a ton of mouldy coriander after a while, along with a dried lemon peel freshness, admittedly. Still, why did this otherwise interesting brewery think it needed a witbier in whichever form is completely beyond me. If it were toned down on the coriander, which basically ruined this beer for me, it might just be able to spark a return of an old school beer style nobody cares about anymore.

33 cl bottle @ Cambrinus, Bruges. BBE 24.06.2016. Aroma has fresh soapy citrus and mild fruit candy. Flavour has gooseberry bush, grass, some minerals and some sticky malt. Foamy palate.

Medium to good lightly yellowish head over very lively carbonated, faintly veiled golden beer. Dull spicy nose, dull gains’ aroma, bit grassy, some citrus. Coriander, lightly bitter spices, finish is sweet pale malt. Again pretty dull. Wheatslickness; lively, spritzy carbonation; light to medium body. At least it didn’t turn out as coriandersoup, but the coriander increases in power warming up, destroying the enjoyment more and more.

330ml Bottle - Hazy golden with a foamy white head. Lemon, peach and spice in the aroma. Crisp and refreshing taste with lemon, coriander and some slightly soapy notes.

33 cl bottle. Pours hazy yellow with a small white head. Mild fruity. Light citrusy. Estery, mild banana note. Bitter, estery and medium dry. Dry and bitter finish.

Draft at BBF ’15. Pours hazy pale golden with an off white head. Aroma of herbs, yeast, light fruit and caramel. Flavor is light moderate sweet and bitter. Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

33cl bottle from speciaalbier, Leiden. thick fluffy white head. Pale hazy golden pour. A nice refreshing wit beer

Almost clear pale golden colour, small creamy white head, recedes slowly with good lacing. Aroma wheat, lemon/lime, grapefruit, yeast, some coriander, floral hops. Taste citrusy fruity sweet and sour, light hoppy bitterness, bit peppery. Medium body, oily to sticky texture, soft carbonation, finish fresh and fruity as in the taste but with more bitterness, pepper and coriander notes. Not a middle of the road witbier, special because of the hoppy character, very good.

33cl Bottle from Prik&Tik Pauwels. Slightly hazy bright golden yellow colour, white head. Aroma of mustard, light garlic, light hoppy, light spicy, some wheat, hint of lemon. Flavour is light to medium-sweet, wheat, spices, light hoppy, lemon, citrus, light soapy. Light-bodied. Decent, easy, slightly different Wit.