7.5

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

1 March 2020. At Dok Brewing Company, with the lovely Anke. Hazy dark brown, blackish, lasting, thin, foamy, tan head. Aroma of chai, cinnamon, cardamom, dried banana, ginger, raisin, caramelised peanuts. Taste is a sweet nutty & caramelly profile with dried, dark fruits, but dominant are spicy cardamom, cinnamon, ginger & herbal, albeit sugared green tea. Dryish, herbal hoppy finish, more sweet & spicy chai, caramel & nuts. Medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Hard to call this a Stout still; maybe it's 'not done' anymore to deliver such a spicy beer but it's cleverly made. Guilty pleasure for me, I admit.

7

Cardamon, gember, drop.

5.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Keg at the brewery 2020-02-25 Gent AR: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper AP: cream brown head, dark mahogany colored body F: cloves, cinnamon, ginger, pepper, warming feeling - to much cloves for me to appreciate this brew

6.9

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

The newest Dok beer to date, a dry stout spiced with chai spices, which in a Dutch context refers to a blend used in Indian 'masala chai' tea, including (except for the tea itself, sugar and milk) cardamom, ginger, pepper, cinnamon and clove (and in this case, apparently, fennel seed as well). Densely creamy, thick, regularly shaped, pale yellowish beige head on a very dark chocolate brown beer, close to pitch black but with a ruddy tinge to it. Aroma indeed very spicy, with especially cardamom dominating, while - in descending order - clove, ginger, black pepper and cinnamon are also noticeable; next to that, impressions of black chocolate, hard caramel, nutmeg, coffee, candied dates. Sweetish and cleanly fruity onset, dates and figs, bit syrupy with softish carb; slick, oily, full body. Hard-caramelly and slightly chocolatey maltiness with a toasty bitter edge, a bit resinous, drenched in excessive, ethereal spiciness, again with cardamom strongly dominating over ginger, clove, pepper and cinnamon. Spicy hop bitterness adds dryness and accentuates the spices, while the caramelly sweetness lingers a bit as well and some warming alcohol is palpable. Overly spicy - almost like some old Belgian Christmas ale - but since that was clearly the intention here, it is difficult to hold that against it; in its core, technically very well executed, though I would probably be more interested in tasting the actual dry stout shining underneath this truckload of spice.

7.8

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

2/II/20 - on tap @ DOK Brewing Company (Gent), BB: n/a (2020-114)

Clear deep reddish brown beer, small creamy dense beige head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: nice roast, some alcohol, coffee, some cinnamon, spicy yet very subtle and gentle. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: malty, some chocolate notes, caramel, bit of ripe banana, cinnamon, vanilla, coffee. Aftertaste: mocha, soft roast, bit spicy, sweet, malty, grains, some cow fodder, grains, caramel, little nutty, cinnamon touch.