7.8

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

@ Gist. Hazy blond colour, fruity, dried fruit, marzipan, wood, some vanilla. Not a bad BA blond.

6.9

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bouteille 33cl, huge gusher dès ouverture, je n’ai pu sauver que 8cl dans mon verre. Deuxième du jour avec le même effet. Score final reflète ce soucis, impensable de vendre cela en distribution alors que ce problème doit être connu à la brasserie.
Couleur orangée, col blanc-cassé très épais mais retombant immédiatement.
Arôme sur des effluves qui annoncent déjà un petit côté ‘funk’ qui augure une présence de bretts rappelant presque une DLS avec en rétro-nasal des pointes plus marquées de rhum.
Palais est encore correcte, malgré le ‘gusher’, boozy mais avec un volet rhum plus dominant avec un léger retrait du whisky, je trouve peu d’impact du Bourbon. Autant au nez, je notais un côté funk, niveau dégustation cela passe plutôt bien. L’étiquette indique un style de ‘quadruple’ alors que je n’en ressens pas le style et pour moi plus penchant vers une Belgian strong. Fini assez sec, poussiéreux, sur les grains concassés avec un léger reste un peu phénolique – expliquant peut-être ce désastre à l’ouverture. Ce dernier point reste une déception eut égard au prix de la bouteille.

7

Sampled @ Brassigaume 2022. A clear dark golden beer with a beige head. Aroma of wood, mild herbs, brett. Taste of herbal malt, wood, brett, grapes.

7.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Strong pale lager (!) aged in various barrels; the third batch already, and apparently only the first batch (no longer available now) was made using bourbon, Japanese whisky and calvados barrels - batches two and three combine Belgian whisky, Jamaican and Martiniquan rhum and American bourbon. It seems that batch 1 therefore deserves to be separated from batches 2 and 3, but with my rating only being the second in the whole series here, it may not be worthwhile to do so - I shall leave that discussion to the admins. This third batch, in any case, shows a snow white, plaster-like lacing, moussy, creamy, stable head and misty peach blonde robe with ochre-ish tinge. Aroma of old stale urine, lots of vanilla-scenting wet oak wood, moldy wood even, horse stable, old cheese rind, blue cheese even, overripe plum, stale apple juice, sweat and indeed liquor-like aspects with only the bourbon being more or less recognizable. Estery onset, peachy, very ripe yellow plum and medlar notes, old apple, softly carbonated with full and fluffy body; lightly caramelly, soft biscuity and rusk-like malt body, lined by tannic oakiness including its vanilla scent, ending with spicy and lots of Bretty notes (the stale sweat and urine returning retronasally, as well as moldy cheese and 'horseblanket') - making it quite intense. The alcohol provides considerable warmth without becoming obnoxiously burning - which, certainly in a blonde beer, is an impressive accomplishment at this strenght (I had imperial stouts of the same ABV with much more burning alcohol effects). As in the nose, only sweet bourbon is easily recognizable, rhum perhaps, and whisky only volatilely. Puzzling beer: apparently dubbed a 'quadrupel' by the brewery, but brewed with lager yeast and therefore not a quadrupel at all but rather a Doppelbock or Euro strong lager of some undetermined kind - turned into a strong 'wild ale' by untamed, luscious Brettanomyces effects. Somewhere in between strong blonde lager and wild ale - quite uniquely as such, and totally different from what I was expecting. I love Brett beers, so this one did the trick for me; very interesting find, one I had never heard of until I stumbled on it at Drink Malpaix in Walcourt. A series worth following - I recommend, but not to the traditional Belgian ale drinker.

7

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

33cl bottle from Drink Factory in Mons. F: gusher alert! medium, off-white, not long lasting. C: amber, hazy. A: mellow fruity, bit woody, vinous, apples, bit red berries, caramel, honey touch. T: full malty base, fruity, peach, berries, bit woody, honey, vinous, medium carbonation, beside gusher this is nice balanced yet not so complex, bit warming alcohol.