7.4

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

Orange-flavoured barleywine by this brand in Lummen east of Leuven, created for Dijleschuimers Winters Bierfestival 2022. Some tiny egg-white bubbles but no head worth mentioning (a general problem during the festival, I have the impression – something to deal with in the next edition), warm amber-orange-glowing bronze robe, clear. Aroma of dried orange peel indeed, caramel, dried cranberries, triple sec, candied fig, coffee grounds in the background or bitter spices from the picon, less flattering hints of buttermilk (diacetyl – clearly very young still), sweat and beef broth. Dried fig and candied orange in the mouth, sweet with a layer of honeyish residual sugar over a very softly carbonated (if at all), smooth and oily body; caramelly, peanutty and bit biscuity, but also somewhat bubblegummy middle, altogether quite slender for the strength of this beer. Some bitterish and sweet orange effects in the finish but also diacetyl and something sweaty, along with a dash of spicy hops and warming, brandy-like alcohol, with everything ending bittersweet (more bitterness from the picon than from hops, it seems), but in all, much more sweet than bitter. Well-intended but a bit thin for a barleywine, and supposedly too young as well (finished shortly before the festival, I guess); some more age on this could reduce the overt sweetness as well as the diacetyl ‘off’ effect so if I ever encounter this one again, I will certainly give it another shot. Benefit of the doubt for now.