7.9

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

On tap. Pours black with short foamy tan head. Aromas of vanilla, dark fruit, creamy coffee, and slick roasted malts. Flavors follow same with a bit of cherry. Quite good.

7.4

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Pastry stout by BBP and Basqueland apparently, flavoured with maple syrup, strawberry and Brussels waffles… From tap at the BBP taproom in the Rue Dansaert. Medium sized, dense, shred-lacing, pale greyish beige head on a pitch black beer. Aroma of strong liquorice above anything else, ‘Koetjesreep’, toffee, maple syrup, the pink and sugary strawberry filling in a strawberry-flavoured chocolate bar, bubblegum, caramel sauce, baked banana, Brazil nut, brown rum, fig jam. Sweet – with this strawberry filling sugariness returning, but no ‘real’ strawberry flavour at all; maple syrup adds an extra layer of syrupy sweetness over a bubblegummy onset with hints of figs and dates; medium carb, slick and near-syrupy mouthfeel, full, with toffee dominating along with aspects of raw chocolate cake dough and cashew nuts, but lacking in roasted bitterness. Instead this liquorice dominance returns, taking over from that artificial (and altogether proportionally subtle) strawberry; I guess one can say that a ‘waffle-like’ sweetness fills the finish, warmed by a rum-like alcohol glow. In spite of its premise, rather simplistic and too sweet for my tooth – but just imagine the endless possibilities if, like Brussels waffles (I already had a Liège waffles beer earlier this year too), all kinds of local sweets and desserts will be used as sources of inspiration for pastry stouts all over Europe…

6

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

On tap at Gainsbar, Kortrijk, Belgium. A dark brown/black coloured pour with a medium beige head on top. Malty, chocolate, caramel, strawberry taste/aroma. Served very warm but this was a rather lame imperial stout, not much happening at all.

4.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

On tap at Brussels Beer Project - Brussels, pours a deep dark brown / near-black with a small beige bead. Aroma brings dusty, earthy, toasted malt with a touch of cocoa. Flavour is sugary and simple, with toasted malt, cocoa, and sugars. Unintegrated, sugary and lacking cohesion. Damn that's bad: messy and incompetent.

7.5

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

7.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Can from Geers. Hazy black, small, foamy, beige head. Aroma of chocolate sauce & ice cream, dark fudge, cherry, strawberry, pancake, liqueur. Taste has sweet cherry, strawberry & pear in a thick malt body of chocolate sauce, fudge, cookie & syrup. Herbal hoppy finish with mainly woody maple, slightly bitter dark chocolate and warming liqueur-like alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. On the sweet side, but nowhere artificial and the components connect pretty well.

8.4

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 7.5

Tap at the brewery. Med-full body, medium carbonation. Med-high sweetness, medium bitterness, nice balance. Lots of natural strawberry, pleasant waffle, also medium cocoa, light roast. Very easy drinking, ABV only slightly present with light pleasant warmth. Very tasty, very good.

6.5

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

33cl can, BB 08/11/2023.
Couleur brune foncée (je m'attendais à du bien noir), col épais crémeux moka bien tenace.
Arôme sur les malts et tous les autres extras - caramel, chocolaté, café discret, rétro de confiture à la fraise.
Palais est épais partant de suite sur un effet 'pastry' très cher à Basqueland. Douceur de sucre résiduel (je suppose le sirop d'érable) avec en retrait une longue épaisseur de bouche dont un retrait fruité de sirop de fraise - ici, impossible que cela soit du vrai fruit. Faible en effervescence donnant ce côté épais et huileux en bouche - grillé, léger café, biscuité avec une pointe de chocolat. Je ne ressens rien du houblon, le tout se terminant sur un côté lactose-pancake fruitée avec une amertume de fin de bouche, le tout restant bien collant aux lèvres. Ca part dans tous les sens, trop de tout, meh!!!

6

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

Black with a creamy, beige head that lingers. Lots of floaters. Moderate waffle house aroma with a slightly industrial inflection. Taste is mildly sweet up front, tart at the back, and the melding of the two is only partly successful. The tart, strawberry finish is is on the whole underwhelming, even a touch watery. Medium-bodied, mild carbonation. Needs refining.

7.8

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

Tap @BBP. Black, creamy beige head. Dark malty aroma, light maple syrup, some strawberries. Creamy mouthfeel. Bittersweet flavour, dark malty with some maple sweetness, not many strawberries but a nice alc buzz.