6

Sweet, old grapes, vinegarish, sourish

7.8

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

Fast gone off-white head over fully hazy reddish brown beer. Lactic acid, wild yeast, farmyard odours and almost lambic-y; bit of chocolate and sour cherries. Sweet and sour cherry and chocolate, bit of human sweat. Much less lambic-like than the nose. Blue grapes and lactic acid. Feels not very well bodied, more than just the acidthinning. Better carbonated than it shows. Much less spectacular than the first Ghentoise. Still very nice, maybe a bit young in the bottle?

7.5

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

2 March 2022. At Hal 16 (Dok Brewing). Cheers to the Teamleader crew!

Clear brown, thin, tan head. Aroma of red grape, wood, malt vinegar, leather, blue cheese, vague manure even, damp cellar, walnut. Taste has sour grape, plum & cherry; funky-cheesy notes along vinegar in a sourdough-like malt body. Tart, woody, vinous finish with lingering red grape, funky notes and softly warming red wine-like alcohol. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Feels elegant, very well made.

8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

The second beer in a special Dok series dedicated to wild and mixed fermentation, fermented with a culture of wild yeasts propagated from several breweries participating in Dok’s beer festival of 2019 (including Cantillon and Nevel). This new one, sold in 75 cl bottles at the brewery, is an oud bruin or Flemish red ale, which seems like the logical next step after the first one (a lambic-impersonating blonde sour). I was astonished by the quality of that first one so hopes were high for this second, dark edition. Bottle from the brewery shared with tderoeck, Erwin P. and Craftmember. Moussy, irregular, yellowish pale beige head lacing in shreds over a misty, deep ruddy-amber glowing caramel brown beer. Aroma of crabapples, blackcurrants, sour yoghurt, fresh fig, wet cardboard, caramel, sourdough, old red wine vinegar, sour wild berries, wet oak wood, brown bread dough, blackberries. Estery onset, sour fruitiness with a touch of sweetness hidden within, hinting at sour apple, redcurrant, medlar and grape skin, medium carbonated with rounded, smooth mouthfeel; caramelly and brown-bready malt core soured and dried by yoghurty lactic acid and pungent ‘red berry’ fruitiness, aided by woody tannins and ending dry but still rounded and juicy, a tad vinous even, with an earthy, leafy, bitterish aspect (hops, I presume). The sour fruit effect lingers, but gets nowhere harsh or puckering, so overall this beer remains relatively mild and ‘full’ – making it feel very authentic for a Flemish red sour à la Vichtenaar or Rodenbach Grand Cru. Well balanced between maltiness and drying sourness, a real classy ‘oud bruin’ indeed. So far this project still delivers on a remarkably high level.

7.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

29/I/22 - 75cl bottle @ Alengrin’s place, BB: 11/XI/25 (2022-126) Thanks to Alengrin for sharing the bottle!

A little cloudy dark brown to red brown beer, small creamy off-white to beige head, pretty stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: green sour apples, metallic, lots of wood notes, sharp, some tannins, dried fruits. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: some caramel, a little metallic, bitter, acidic touch, earthy, complex, nice stuff! Aftertaste: green apples, bitter, fruity, complex, dry, spicy, caramel, dried fruits, bit of a vinegar touch, very acidic finish.