375ml bottle. Murky orange. Nose is stinky as fuck. Some candy and onion. Flavor is more traditional. Sweet finish. Wild ride. 8 3 7 3 13

Belgian 'strong blonde' (a term usually reserved for what OBP, Belgium's first and now long forgotten beer consumers' organisation, would call 'edelbier') from an unlikely source: Brasserie de Blaugies, still quietly operating in the Borinage region - and doing it well, as most of their beers have been held in high esteem by beer lovers for decades, especially when it comes to that elusive 'saison' category. Slow but steady gusher, with foam overflowing for quite a while after opening - so be ware, and keep a glass nearby. Rocky, off-white, plaster-like lacing, stable head on a misty golden blonde robe with khaki-ish tinge. Aroma initially dominated by sharp carbon dioxide but when this fades, opening up into dried dandelion, herbes de Provençe, straw, dry earth, raw turnip, white pepper, unripe peach, sow thistle, dusty attic, coriander seed, green pear and hay. Sharply stinging carbonation in the mouth, giving way to impressions of green pear, dried apple slices and unripe peach but remaining subdued in sweetness, with a slight sourish note - primarily caused by the overcarbonation, though. Fluffy yet smooth, very pleasant mouthfeel, cereally, old dry white bread- and bread crumb-like middle, with an earthy, persistent, leafy and floral hop bitterness coming in soon and flowing out for a long time, carrying non-sweet fruitiness, a pinch of the old coriander and nutmeg-like phenols onwards to a quenching, yeasty, mildly spicy, slightly earthy finish, in which the alcohol remains very well hidden (though warming a bit). The fruitiness, however restrained, is there from the first sip to the very end and so plays a more important, structurally vital role than it would seem at first sight. Walloon triple done the Blaugies way: this is as old-fashioned, honest and artisanal as it gets, with an almost farmhouse-like charm to it, and a profile of perfectly aligned fruitiness, yeastiness and hoppiness distantly reminiscent of Dupont, Vapeur or even Rulles or Fantôme. Blaugies truly deserves its honorable position among Belgian 'standard' saison brewers, even if Moneuse or Darbyste have a more distinct character to offer; it should be praised, however, that they managed to create a tripel with the drinkability of a 5% ABV saison.

0.75 l bottle from 'Beyond Beer', best before end of 2026. Almost clear, golden with a large, frothy, almost stable, white head. Sweetish, quite yeasty-spicy, gently grassy and a bit fruity-floral aroma of hay, lemon peel, clove, banana, some grains and a touch of peach. Just slightly sweet, gently bitter, quite dry, rather yeasty-spicy, fruity-floral and slightly grassy taste of grains, hay, clove, nettles, lemon peel, dill, some banana and light peach, followed by a medium long, gently bitter, rather dry finish. Medium body, minimally astringent and fairly effervescent mouthfeel, lively carbonation. Nicely dry and therefore refreshing ale, trademark De Blaugies yeast profile, quity rusty and lively.I quite enjoyed it, much more so than most of their beers.

Draft @ BXL Beerfest. Hazy blond colour, white foam. Nose of grass, grainy, some cow fodder, yeasty and light sweet.

Magus, mõru, herbaalne, belgia pärm, linnaseline, alksi katab hästi. Ok

On tap at The Rake, pours a mostly clear bright golden with a small white head. Aroma brings out a nice Belgian yeast character — low sweetness and esters — with some rustic notes. Flavour is full of Belgian yeast, gentle esters, rustic notes, and just enough sugars. Properly done as expected, with reasonable depth; perhaps could use slightly higher carb. Good stuff.