7.8

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

Hazy IPA with blueberries, the third Kristonian beer, realised at Tall Poppy in Kontich near Antwerp; only 400 liters made apparently so many thanks to Tony (the man behind Kristonian) for the bottle! Egg-white, creamy, frothy, mousy head lacing in shreds over a hazy, almost brownish-tinged, warm ruddy amber beer. Very fruity aroma of mango flesh, guava, sweet red onions, dried out orange flesh, some toasted garlic, soggy sandwiches, sweet red apple and a sweaty note, yet hardly any recognisable blueberry. Fruity onset in a cleanish, 'organized' manner, lychee, guava and tangerine but all relatively subdued for the intended style, softish carbonation, very soft and creamy, silky mouthfeel. Soggy biscuit- and very lightly caramel-like malt profile with indeed, at last, a certain blueberry effect, in the form of tannic astringency linked to the seeds and skins of the fruit, albeit in a very subtle, well-dosed way that matches perfectly with this drying, mildly but unmistakably spicy hop bitterishness, stretching out long over the back of the mouth whilst releasing lovely retronasal impressions of sweet onion, dried citrus peel and a dash of olive oil. The blueberries have, in all, remained very subtle here and I probably would have kept guessing into infinity hadn't I known there were in here, but I wonder if any more blueberry character would have actually made this beer better: instead it seems it is the subtlety of the fruit that made it better, since this accent does fit in very well with the overall malt and hops profile. Not a 'true' NEIPA at all - if anything, this comes closer to East Coast IPA if the fruit is ignored, or an undefined class of postmodern IPA of its own; quite unusual in the present-day IPA pool of Belgium - a country obviously not known for IPAs - but regardless of style intentions, an extremely drinkable, well-measured and crafty beer without a doubt. If this is the direction Kristonian is now heading for, then I can only hope Tony will come up with a lot more of these in the future. Well done, even if that 20 IBU, as indicated on the label, is very likely a typo...