Hofbrouwerijke beer celebrating the cliché of the drunk old uncle making a fool of himself at every family party - a stereotype many Flemish consumers will probably recognize. Quite a strong gusher - and even being prepared for it (this is Hofbrouwerijke so I kept a glass nearby), I could not avoid losing about 1/6 to the sewer. Even seconds after opening, foam kept bulging out of the bottle, so I wonder when this brewery is finally going to master the art of refermentation, considering all those years of experience they already have? Anyway: huge and towering high, very foamy, plaster-like lacing, pale yellowish beige, irregularly collapsing 'gusher head' on a misty mahogany brown beer with reddish-maroon glow. Aroma of banana peel, brown bread crust, clove, freshly cut grass, medlar, oxidized red apple slices, caramel, pumice, dried wormwood, raw parsnip, candied fig, old tea bags, bitter dark green beech leaves, dried prunes, old orange zest. Spritzy onset, numbing overcarbonation distracting from sweetish and sourish flavours of dried peach, banana, apple peel and prune, very minerally and harsh, distorting a slender, bit powdery mouthfeel; brown-bready and hard-caramelly maltiness with a slight toasty edge but generally remaining on the sweeter side, with some candi sugar lingering, carrying forward the medlar and banana fruitiness. Pronounced clove-like phenols and coriander powder in the finish, quickly accompanied by a leafy, rooty hop bitter note, lingering on for a while, bittering the sweetish brown-bready character of the malts; lots of bready yeastiness lingers behind, bringing back the fruitiness and spiciness. Typical dubbel in its general make-up, not too sweet and actually well-hopped for the style (I recall Hopduvel's commissioned Brunette as one of the first hoppy dubbels many years ago and this one seems to continue this idea), but obviously the heavy gushing is a technical flaw that has to be dealt with. Hofbrouwerijke should know better by now.

Donkerbruin bier met weinig schuim. Smaak is bitterzoet met iets van karamel, bramen en wat bosbessen. Heel fijn en zacht smakend bier.