Bottle shared with Maakun. AMber color, small white head. Note btw: light gusher! Aroma suggests bretty, red wine barrel influence and wood. Flavor confirms. Kinda weird flavor but not unpleasant. Light to medium tart with an underlying base of malt and dried fruits. Odd but not unpleasant.

Bottle shared thanks to Benzai. Slight gusher. Bit hazy dull amber. Some red wine, sweet malt, yogurt, marzipan, bitter dry oak, grassy, yeast, quite some spices. Medium sweet and bitter. Full bodied.

Fles 33cl thuis. Fruitig, hout, vineus, zuurtje, rode druif, wat toffee, wat caramel, fruitig, redelijk koolzuur, zoeten, lichte bittertonen. (29-6-2024).

Dark amber colour, white foam. Malty, biscuits, herbal and floral with tart vinous fruity nose. Sweet and vinous, not bad!

Roodbruin erg levendig bier met veel schuim. Smaak is vrij droog en ietwat bitterzuur met iets van druiven, wijn en wat appel.

Dul Meesterke, one of the older Meester beers and a strong Belgian amber, aged in red wine barrels - I was not impressed with the regular version, but Belgian strong ales tend to behave decently when given the wine barrel treatment (wine barrel aged tripels are still a largely unexplored territory in my opinion) so let's give this one a chance. Thick and foamy, egg-white, pillowy, membrane-lacing, dense and regular, stable head, hazy orange-glowing peach blonde with vague amberish tinge. Aroma of ripe nectarine, white grapes but more grape skins, old wood, rosé wine, red apple slices, coriander seed (strong still), soap even, cold wholegrain pasta, lilacs, sawdust, Cantaloupe, orange zest, cherimoya, mandarin touch, tulips, hint of armpit sweat. Fruity onset, estery with lots of peach and apricot, next to banana, red apple and pear, sharply carbonated (stinging even) with a sourish edge; minerally notes from the sharp carbonation accompany an otherwise smooth, rounded body, made up of brioche-bready, rusk- and cracker-like malts with biscuity edge - even a tad toasty-bitterish somewhere, while spiciness grows and culminates in slightly astringent clove, coriander and white pepper aspects. Meanwhile a dry rosé wine-like grape effect manages to establish itself, quite subtly so but still convincing, adding a bit of depth to the finish, where tannic woody notes also become noticeable, paired with a drying, floral and slightly leafy, lingering hop bitterness. The toasty side of the malts helps too at this stage but fruitiness prevails, albeit not in a very obviously wine-like manner; I tend to advise against too much leftover booze in barrel aged beers, but in this case I think I would not have minded the wine to take over in a more thorough and persuading way. This is just that dull Dul Meesterke with a twist, all things considered. Not bad at all, do not get me wrong, but Meester has - every now and then - proven that they can do better.

Bottle from Beerbox.be. Hazy amber, stable, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of ripe red grape, red apple, pear, brioche, caramel, wood, rosé wine. Taste has sweetish apple, pear & red grape, sourish berry note; brioche maltiness carrying herbal & somewhat spicy clove accents too. Earthy hoppy finish offering soft woody tannins and red fruit, but also a rather harsh chlorine-like bitterness. Alcohol remains well hidden. Medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Not unpleasant in the end, but it lacks structure.