Belgian style amber ale used to be called (and for nostalgic reasons often still is) ‘spéciale belge’, and the Spéciale Belge taproom in Antwerp – home to the ‘Bolleke’, one of the most iconic examples of this style – is named after it; they have recently installed a microbrewery in their taproom too, and this beer is, you guessed it, a ‘spéciale belge’ from this new microbrewery. I did not have it there, though, but at Ernst, another new craft beer pub in the city of Antwerp. Thick and dense, yellowish egg-white, ‘Brugse kant’-like lacing, very stable head over a slightly brownish-tinged peach blonde beer – reminiscent of the traditional amber colour of a ‘spéciale belge’, but lacking a bit in ‘redness’ to fully qualify. Aroma of bread dough, raw cauliflower, soggy peanuts, green banana, unripe peach, rusk, baker’s yeast, grass, hint of DMS (cooked green beans). Moderately fruity onset, green banana and unripe peach accents, fizzy and sharp carbonation with strong minerally effect – but still soft and fluffy mouthfeel; rusk- and bread crust-like maltiness, a bit toasty, bitterish, matching with a floral, somewhat old-citrus-peel-coloured hop bitterness in the finish, all topped with a pleasant, softening yeasty breadiness. Decent example of the style but as said, I miss a bit of nuttiness and a red tinge in the colour; that said, most commercial examples of spéciale belge are or were filtered and pasteurized, which by definition leads to a very different look and taste. So generally a solid Belgian amber beer, this one, quenching and balanced.

Draught Very good, dense, lightly amberish tinted head over opaque dark-amber beer, fine lace. Toasted malts, bread, bit of citrus/orange; breadcrust. Quite toasted flavour, parsley, Belgian sandwichcrust, some cassonade, scorched caramel. And - yes, strange - samphire. Quite slick, bit velvety texture despite good carbonation; medium bodied. Good! Twist on the Spéciale Belge style in the right way!