Bottle from De Caigny. Silly trying to cash in on the popularity of heavy top-fermented sweet ’krieks’ based on (usually dark) Belgian ales - a popularity most apparent in Wallonia and - luckily - much less so in Flanders or elsewhere, I hesitate to add. ’Membranous’ lacing, disperse and irregular, pale greyish to almost off-pinkish beige head leaving a firm rim on the edge but dissipating quickly in the middle; deep bronze-ish cherry red robe, completely translucent and clear. Aroma is heavily dominated by red candy (the dreaded ’poepegatjes’ I already hated as a child, cuberdons, red lollipops) as well as ’bessenjenever’ (in combination with the alcohol), drawing a thick, sickly sweet curtain over much more subtle hints of caramel, hazelnuts, beef stock cube, soggy tea bags (the hops, I suppose), fig. Expectedly very sweet candyish onset, red candy all over, cloying but still not entirely obliterating some oppressed fruity esters (apple, very vague peach, redcurrant) with a lemonade-like ascorbic acidity only adding to the drama; fizzy carbo, slick but sticky mouthfeel, rounded caramelly malt core underneath all this sugary violence is still palpable. Both the sickly red candy sweetness and the artificial ascorbic sourness continue till the very end, but then, all the way at the back, a herbal and earthy hop bitterish accent pops up, even an echo of toasted malt bitterness perhaps, with a somewhat drying effect. It is, however, unable to stop this onslaught of cloying red candy literally sticking to the teeth and palate, but I must admit it does at least attempt to provide a bit of balance. A glow of warming, ’jenever’-like alcohol is unmistakable as well. This seems to be a derivative of Silly Scotch, which indeed seems like a good basis to violently rape with artificial red candy sweetness if you want to please the young Wallonian audience with a beer in this particular substyle. Alcopop for teenagers seeking to get drunk - childish and merciless at the same time. I hold a deep grudge against this trend and frankly, I do not understand why Silly does not invest more in actual craft beer - after all, they do own a classic, albeit very atypical saison, for example, and I have recommended them to elaborate more on this, but apparently to no avail. This is definitely not my beer, but if I have to compare it with its congeners, I’d rank it above Waterloo Strong Kriek and Gordon Xplosion Red Fruit, at roughly the same height as Gauloise Fruits Rouges, and below Kasteelbier Rouge or even Delirium Red. I am aware of the fact that all these products are based on very different basic beers (the Gauloise is a ’kriekefied’ tripel for example and the Gordon is even a strong lager), but I don’t care: they can all go to hell as far as I’m concerned. Please make this stop and learn young people to enjoy the wonders of pure craft beer without brutally violating it like this!

Bouteille 33cl, BB 03.05.2017. Apparement la Silly Scotch avec du jus de cerise ajouté. De couleur pourpre voire acajou, col épais crémeux rosé. Nez met de suite l’accent sur une cerise intense sauf que le tout est bcp trop sucré et surfait, rien de naturel. Retrouve un rétro malté caramélisé plus en retrait et quasi rien des traces de la Scotch. Palais est malté, finement biscuité avec un sucre résiduel bcp trop dominant et qui demeure à chaque gorgée. Cerise est présente mais contribue plus au sentiment d’épaisseur et de sucré. Sans être mauvaise, c’est juste surfait, et ok pour utiliser en cuisine comme sauce, le profil liquoreux est trop gênant pour vraiment donner à la base une place appréciable. Franchement, je m’attendais à nettement mieux, et en fait, je retrouve une version Silly de Délirium, de Kasteel qui ne propulse pas les bières belges au-delà de cette vieille image manquant d’innovation.

Imported from my RateBeer account as Silly Rouge / Red (by Brasserie de Silly):
Aroma: 3/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 4/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 6/20, MyTotalScore: 2/5

17/XI/15 - on tap @ Horeca Expo (Gent) - BB: n/a (2015-1595)

Clear ruby red to dark amber beer, creamy irregular off-white head, stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: very sweet, sugary, nothing but artificial candy smell. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: sourish start, bit lemony, lots and lots of fruit candy, artificial flavouring. Aftertaste: very sugary, candy.

At horecabeurs 2015. Pours deep red/purple. Small white head. Smell is pure ’poepegattekes’ Taste is very sweet, over-intensified poepegattekes. There will be a crowd for this, I’m sure, but I am just not one of them.