La Recevresse Gabriel IPA

Troebel geel bier met mooi stevig schuim wat lang blijft staan. Smaak is bitterzoet en enigszins kruidig met wat gras, hars en wat sinaasappel.

Fles gekocht tijdens vakantie bij Delhaize Bertrix.
Goudgeel troebel bier met mooie stevige schuimkraag.
Aroma van hooi.
Smaak is heel bitter en wat houtig.
Nasmaak is heel bitter maar het wrange toe.

Sampled at Brassigaume 2021. A hazy yellow golden beer with a white head. Aroma of stone fruits, mild tropical fruits, pine. Taste of citrusy bitter hops, pine, grapefruit, lime, long bitter finish.

'Belgian style IPA' (I seem to be the top rater here of this somewhat odd and, frankly, limp category) from a new microbrewery in the Gaume region in Belgian Lorraine, the southernmost tip of the country. Intricately 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, medium thick, stable, fine-bubbled, egg-white head on an initially clear, deep orange-hued 'old gold' beer with an amberish tinge and visible, but quiet sparkling, shifting to a misty peachy-orange and eventually even somewhat 'muddy' look with sediment. Aroma of dried orange peel, mandarin and candied orange (quite strongly so - almost reminiscent of e.g. Troubadour Magma but less expressive), green banana, soggy peanuts, fresh lemonbalm in spring, vague hint of sourdough somewhere, old biscuit, dried rosemary, minerals, hints of roses, ripe peach, cooked red apple, glazed carrots, old potato mash, pear, honey, ginger, vague clove, sweaty touch (sweaty feet even - luckily tucked away deep in the background). Fruity, sweetish onset, mandarin and red apple mingled with pear and peach, lively carbonated but in an acceptably 'mild'-ish way, typically 'Belgian' let's say; smooth, full body. Rounded dry-biscuity and sweet-bready maltiness with a caramelly edge, even a very slight nuttiness, quickly and fairly strongly aromatized by very citrusy hoppiness, lots of orange peel, grapefruit pith and perhaps a faint dash of dried lemon zest powder, also bringing a spicy, grapefruity bitterness to the finish, where some 'Belgian' spicy phenols and fruity esters play along too. Ends quite (peppery) hop bitter, a tad astringent even, reminiscent of the IPA standard (also the 'Belgian' way) from before the haze craze came along; rooty, but spicy and colourful, with some vague alcohol appearing to accentuate both the fruity sweetness and hoppy bitterness - but then disappearing again, as it ought to be. Bready yeastiness, with all its fruity and spicy effects, certainly lingers, but so do the old-fashionedly citrusy hops, so this one indeed very much qualifies as a Belgian IPA if this must be a category of its own; heck, along with Troubadour Magma, De Plukker's All Inclusive series, Senne's Schieven IPA, Kerkom's Hopverdomme and others, I could even use this one as an example of the concept of 'Belgian IPA' as a style category - if I ever needed one. In all: delivers exactly what it promises in a correct, tasty, very enjoyable way. Much better than I anticipated, to be honest, I will probably watch this brewery a bit more attentively from now on, now that I know of its existence...