Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of the original Averbode abbey ale, brewed by Huyghe in Melle for the Averbode monastery, is this 'Extra' version, the name no doubt inspired by (or blatantly stolen from) Westmalle Extra, implying a so-called 'refterbier' but at the same time cleverly appealing to the consumers' current desire for more varied low-strength session beers. Bottle from the Delhaize supermarket in Lokeren. Slow gusher, but nothing dramatic. Thick and frothy, off-white, busily plaster-lacing, irregular yet firm and moussey, stable head on an initially misty pale yellow-golden beer with somewhat khaki tinge and lively sparkling. Aroma of ground coriander seed (the first thing that strikes me!), halfripe banana, spelt bread (spelt actually used here), corn flour (dito), oatmeal cookies (dito), spiced crackers, ripe Durondeau pear, clove, honey, stewed leek, sweetclover, cooked parsnip, something plastic-like, vague hints of pineapple, rubber, bluegrass, white soap (probably that spelt again) and heavy cream. Crisp onset with very active, almost stinging (over)carbonation, very minerally and distracting from the actual flavours; fruity notes of oxidized green apple, halfripe banana and hard pear appear but sweetness remains generally subdued (or at least more so than I was expecting); supple body, feeling a tad fuller than its ABV suggest. Minerally effects continuing round a slim pale malt sweetish core, adorned with dull and sweetish corn, grainy oatmeal (missing its velvety effect a bit here) and even more grainy but also somewhat soapy spelt (resembling wheat, but a bit spicier and less slick). A light metallic effect lingers beyond all this, and will certainly bother some. Before long, a strong dosage of coriander powder coats the mouth cavity, merging with a floral and grassy hop bitterishness which remains altogether mellow. Coriander, spelt and fruity esters linger, but the amount of residual sugars - though present in a thin layer of something subtly honeyish - remains fortunately limited. Grassy, overcoriandered, somewhat metallic, grainy blonde, not my personal cup of tea even if technically well executed; it has been a long time since I had the regular Averbode (probably ten years when it just began) but from what I can remember, this indeed feels like a thinned, weakened version of it, even though it is still proportionally full-bodied for what it is. The plastic-like effect I recognise from other Huyghe beers bothered me, perhaps more so even than the coriander - so once again, I must conclude that my old-time dislike of Huyghe beers stands its ground. Passable for a macro beer I suppose, but I personally do not recommend this.