6

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6

One of already several beers by this brand new Brussels microbrewery, bottle from Fermenthings, with a simple, plain hangtag instead of a fixed label. Milky, pale greyish white, medium thick head quickly settling as a firm moussy ring around a practically open middle, cloudy (if not murky), ruddy-bronze brown robe with ochre-hued edges. Aroma of plum wine, walnut liqueur, brown candi sugar, banana mush, toffee, very strong clove-like and even medicinal ('band aid') phenols, dusty old coriander seed, gravy, wodka, fruit bread, damp tree leaves, parsnip, shoe poliush or even varnish, earth, mud, some wet dog, old gingerbread, sweaty horse saddle. Sweet onset, lots of brown sugariness, balancing on the edge of unpleasant stickiness, fruit bread-like banana, dried plum and raisin, sourish undertone, medium carbonation with minerally effects; slick but full mouthfeel, toffeeish maltiness with brown bread crust- and eventually very lightly old coffee grounds-notes but the candi sugar- and caramel-like sweetness prevail, heavily drenched in a strong spicy and medicinal phenolic effect, lingering banana ester and, more than anything else, an ethereal, methylated spirits-like booziness burning already from the middle phase onwards and heating the chest in a wodka-like way. Bready yeasty notes linger along with the sweetness, all drenched in this overt alcoholic effect. Even at this mighty ABV, the alcohol should have been much better hidden (see 'Westy' 12, Rochefort 10 and the like, guys!), this is just way too boozy; feels a bit 'messy' and dirty as well, especially with this overdose of band aid-like phenolicness. A brave attempt at an altogether challenging Belgo-Dutch beer style, open to a lot of improvement; reminds a bit of Mareklop's quad and other 'new' beers in this range. Probably a bit (too) young, but cellaring this will not take away its flaws and tuning down the ABV to, say, 9% or so could possibly result in a much better balanced beer. I miss the connection with the hoppy, modern quenchers often brought forth by the rest of the new Brussels microbreweries, too, but then I apparently have a series of other "Beer & You" brews to try before I can formulate an opinion on this brewery's general approach and house style.