A clear golden yellow beer with a white head. Aroma of herbal and floral malt, straw, grapes. Taste of sour white grapes, cinnamon, oranges, grapes.

Runder Blutorangenbeginn. Spritzig, weiche Herbe, etwas trocken, erhöhte Karbonisierung, mild bitter, minimale Süße. OK. 10/8/8/8/7/8

Among all the fruit lambics in existence today, with all the experiments done by both established lambic producers and new blenders, citrus fruits are still very much underexposed - one could wonder why, as both a mandarin lambic by Tilquin and a lemon lambic by hobby blender Pomphuizeke were actually pleasantly surprising. Now Kestemont turns to blood orange in this newish product - enough to spark my curiosity. Cork under very high pressure, releasing the muselet was enough to make it come up and had I not put my thumb on it, it may have popped out and hit the ceiling... No gushing though. A very thick, foamy head is formed, however, egg-white, pillowy, very loudly crackling and sustained by a tornado of dense, cava-like carbonation rushing and whirling through the glass, quite a spectacular sight; initially crystal clear, warm yellow golden robe, misty and more orangey-peachy further on, with tiny bits of blood orange floating around near the bottom. Musty but intriguing aroma of dried orange peel but also something very strongly floor polish- and furniture wax-like, actual oak furniture, old dried fenugreek leaf (very pronounced, oddly), dry matcha tea, raw quince, unripe gooseberries, dry haystack, dusty attic, very old dry white wine, sweaty socks in the background - in all, far less brightly citrusy than I was expecting. Lively fruity onset though, tart in a more 'malse' way than I thought, with indeed recognisable blood orange (much more so than in the nose), yet not overly dominant and interwoven with impressions of oxidized apple slices, yellow plum and whitecurrant, with an active effervescence piercing through, bubbling on the tongue. Smooth, slender wheaty core under ongoing tart fruitiness and fruity lactic acidity, remaining quite 'fresh' and bright, again more so than I was expecting based on orthonasal observations; the blood orange adds a sour citrusiness but also a certain degree of juicy sweetness and, especially towards the end, a spicy bitterish element, pairing well with woody tannins and a subtle hint at old hops, tucked away at the back. Its crisp, sour-sweet, oily citrusiness remains the key element, though, contrasting a bit with the retronasal return of that weird floor polish or brown soap effect and the herbal element which reminds me the most of dried fenugreek. I have not been equally impressed by all of Kestemont's offerings so far, some were even downright underwhelming, but this is admittedly a very entertaining one, in spite of those bizarre wax- and soap-like elements; in pure flavour, it is even a very tasty lambic - and to me, even proof that citrus in lambic can work, producing very distinct effects that set the very few citrus lambics made so far clearly apart from anything else. Better than expected, but one for the more adventurous lambic lover I think, and I can certainly understand the mixed reactions it gets. For me personally: potentially Kestemont's most interesting offering so far.

Pours unclear blonde. Scent is very full, zesty bloodorange. Taste is full, very malty, crisp even. Zesty bloodorange. Goes a bit soapy, but finishes very malty. Love it, than dislike it, than love it even more. Weird, but certainly happy to have tried.