19/VIII/23 - 33cl bottle @ Gents Bierfestival (Gent), BB: n/a (2023-484) Thanks to all for sharing today’s beers!

Clear red brown beer, small creamy beige head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: funky, swimming pool, some caramel, a bit malty, very yeasty. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sourish start, sweet, a bit malty, grains, some chocolate, caramel, a bit yeasty. Aftertaste: weird, sourish, a bit oxidized, some dried fruits, a little bitter, decent.

Special version of De Meester's Retrorik, thanks to the brewery for the sample. Pale yellowish beige, thinnish and open, lightly lacing head, misty dark chestnut brown, almost black with burgundy edge. Aroma of brambleberries and passionfruit, treacle, pear syrup, caramel, soggy brown bread. Essentially sugary onset, cloying, pear syrup- and candied date-like sweetness penetrated by a blackberry-like tartness; fizzy carbonation, supple, full mouthfeel, caramelly and somewhat chocolatey, nutty with an effect of sugared soy sauce, while that initial soft sourness continues. Ends sweet and sourish with lingering sugariness and a bready yeasty effect. Apparently the sourness was intentional, but it fails to balance out the overdone basic sweetness of the Retrorik and I honestly would not be surprised if this is just an infected batch of Retrorik they are trying to sell as 'experimental' in view of the popularity of sour beers these days; that said and if this would be the case, I'd say this is quite a happy accident, as the end result is enjoyable apart from the underlying sugary cloyingness. In any case a notably weird beer for sure, like some other De Meester's creations.