The strongest Peak beer, brewed on the Botrange, Belgium's highest peak in the High Fens. Longneck bottle from the Carrefour supermarket in Bütgenbach (I think). Intricately 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, off-white, tiny-bubbled, medium thick head on an initially lightly hazed, yellow blonde robe with greenish tinge and translucent protein flakes throughout, misty and deeper gold with sediment - but the 'snow' of protein remains present all the time and does not make for an attractive sight, to be honest. Aroma of freshly cut green apple, calvados, fried egg (the proteins!), Poire William, Conference pear, fresh paint, black radish, white bread, unripe peach, coriander seed, strong clove (4-vinyl-guaiacol) and of course - expected in this style of beer but even explicitly announced by the brewer in this case - our good friend banana. Spritzy onset, sharp and minerally carbonation rushing through notes of restrainedly sweet fruitiness of banana, green apple and unripe peach; supple mouthfeel, feeling quite thin for this ABV in fact, with a slender cereally pale maltiness, white-bready, topped with coriander and clove spiciness (one added, the other phenolic), the latter even turning into a bit of burnt rubber; the egg-like and somewhat meaty protein aspect also comes to the foreground at this stage. A grassy hop bitterness builds underneath but lacks the strength to counterbalance all of this - and then, already in an early stage, a scorching, astringent, 'blinding' and burning, booziness appears, destroying everything in its path, as if a shot of Poire William or even moonshine was thrown in. Clearly aiming at Duvel drinkers but adding a full two per cent ABV to actual Duvel, this construction is clearly too top heavy to remain upright and topples over under its own alcohol content. Way too boozy for its own good, in other words - unpleasantly so, with even solvent- or methanol-like associations - I am worrying if I could maybe become blind if I finish this... The proteins need to be cleared for sure, as this type of beer needs clarity, relative cleanness and focus, but starting to make it at least two per cent (even three) less strong would already be a useful step in improving this concoction. Not my cup of tea - I prefer their tripel way over this.

Bottle at home. Golden color, white head. Aroma and flavor are malts, softly sweetish, slightly yeasty, light boozy notes, blossomy notes. Medium body, firm carbonation. Okay.

75cl bottle from the brewery.
A: hazy golden, small, foamy, off-white head.
A: ripe pear, apricot, banana, jenever, orange zest, dough, clove.
T: sweet pear & apricot, dough, some spices & citrus.
F: floral hops, ripe yellow fruits, phenolic, warming jenever-like alcohol.
P: medium body, creamy texture, average carbonation.
What's in a name, of course; it's very much 'old Belgian' but it does the job well.

Very nice

Sampled @ Brassigaume 2022. A clear golden beer with a white lacing. Aroma of strong grainy malt, some yeast. Taste of intense strong grainy malt, sharp spicy bitterness.

27/VII/22 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ Ardenne Holiday, BB: 6/VI/23, lot: 34.11 (2022-945)

Little cloudy deep blond beer, small creamy to aery white head, unstable, dissipates quickly. Aroma: very floral, sweet malty impression, lots of (over)ripe banana, spicy, yeast, oxidized, metallic. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet start, malty, grains, a bit sugary, alcohol, very yeasty, a bit metallic. Aftertaste: a bit sweet, little bitter, dry, banana peel, spicy, lots of yeast.