Cobblestone Craft Brewery Blinden Ezel

Blinden Ezel

 

Cobblestone Craft Brewery in Sint-Kruis (Brugge), West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪

  IPA - Belgian Regular
Score
6.86
ABV: 6.5% IBU: 24 Ticks: 5
Discover Cobblestone Craft Brewery's legendary IPA, a tribute to the blind donkeys of Bruges. Our expertly crafted brew combines pilsen and wheat malts with a harmonious blend of Magnum and Citra hops. Dryhopped with Citra Cryo, Mosaic Cryo, and Idaho 7 Cryo, it unveils tropical fruit and resinous aromas. Experience the essence of tradition, innovation, and the mythical tale in every sip. Raise a glass to Cobblestone Craft Brewery and the extraordinary flavors that ignite your senses. Cheers to legends and exceptional beer!

Het jaar was 1382 in Brugge. Na de slag op het Beverhoutsveld trokken de Gentenaars, onder leiding van Filips van Artevelde, richting Brugge. De dag na hun verwoestende plundertocht namen ze de gouden draak mee die op de Sint-Donaaskerk pronkte, als oorlogsbuit. Ze hadden echter geen rekening gehouden met de twee dappere Brugse ezels die weigerden de buit te laten meenemen. Na vele vruchteloze pogingen om de ezels te bewegen, kwamen ze op het barbaarse idee om hun ogen uit te branden. De arme ezels waren volledig gedesoriënteerd en voerden de draak naar Gent, waar deze nog steeds waakt op het belfort. Later werden de straat en brug waar deze gebeurtenis plaatsvond vernoemd naar deze moedige ezels!
 

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6.8
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Can. Slight hazy yellow with white head. Soft wheat, yeasty, peach, alcohol, light pineapple. Medium sweet, less bitter. Medium bodied. Not really a Belgian IPA, but it is a bit yeasty. Not great.

Tried from Can from The Bottle Shop on 30 May 2025 at 19:01


7.3
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

New IPA from a self-proclaimed craft brewery in Sint-Kruis (Bruges), but I doubt if it is actually made there - annoyingly though, the brewer gives no further information on the can nor on his website (I am already inclined to deduct a point for that before even tasting his beer). The name of the beer refers to an old legend on how and where the Ghent belfry got its famed gilded dragon, namely by literally blinding the unwilling Bruges donkeys that had to carry it to Ghent after taking it from Saint Donatian's Cathedral as a war trophy in an armed conflict between both rivalling cities (and after achieving victory against Bruges in the Battle of Beverhoutsveld in 1382, which in itself did actually happen - as a proud inhabitant of Ghent I could not resist stressing this...). In reality, the dragon on Ghent's belfry - in beer circles known as the logo on Van Steenberge's Gulden Draak ale - has nothing to do with Bruges but was commissioned by the city of Ghent itself and crafted there, as proven by an ancient account, but the legend lives on, for example in the name of Blinde Ezelstraat ('blind donkey street') in Bruges. Anyway, on to the beer, coming from a can bought at Stacks - the one in Sint-Andries rather than the one in Sint-Kruis, a bit ironically perhaps but they share the same assortment of beers of course. Medium thick, intricately 'Brugse kant'-like lacing (no coincidence here for sure), off-white, moussey, finely structured and stable head on an initially clear, yellow-golden blonde robe with some disparate sparkling, turning misty and a tad olive greenish-tinged with sediment. Aroma of dried orange peel, damp straw, cooked sweet potato and carrot, oxidized apple slices, halfripe banana, pear, moist white pepper, turnip, clove, withering garden weeds, soggy white bread, extensively stewed onion (as in Neapolitan Genovese sauce), some onsetting 'rusty' oxidation. Sweetish onset, lightly fruity with 'Belgian' banana but not overly so, next to hints of pear and peach, actively but not too harshly carbonated; smooth, slick body, soft bready and grainy pale maltiness with some clove-like phenols and light esters on top, bittered by an earthy and floral but also very lightly citrusy hoppiness, lasting for a while and pushing up aromas of damp straw, wet wormwood leaves, a whiff of mandarin and withering dandelions. Pleasant enough in its bitterness but otherwise a bit basic, with those typical effects of fruit (even some vegetable here) and spice that almost invariably show up in Belgian-made IPAs - but, more seriously, lacking a bit in actual hop aromas, with a net result that could just as well have been described as a bitter blonde or even a saison of sorts - in a basic, smooth and cleanish kind of way. Not too impressed here but altogether enjoyable enough, everything considered. And oh well, let Bruges be jealous of our Ghent belfry tower and its iconic dragon: if this medieval rivalry still echoes to this day, then who knows which beers may arise in either Bruges or Ghent that have it as a theme...

Tried on 21 Dec 2024 at 00:20


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Can at De Republiek, Brügge, Thursday 28th November 2024 on the way back to the UK for Bob's funeral. Pours hazy yellow with a mid sized white head, nose is fresh with a little zap, there is a little overipe melon, nice freshness, decent beer.

Tried from Can on 28 Nov 2024 at 16:49


7

Tried from Draft on 19 Aug 2024 at 18:50


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Can from Stacks.
A: hazy golden, small, foamy, white head.
A: mandarin, peach, biscuit, melon, cheese.
T: sweet melon, sourish citrus, bread, some bitter grape.
F: bitter earthy & grassy hops, citrus pith, melon.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
Refreshing and light IPA, clean but not very outspoken. A decent effort considering it's essentially brewed at a home brewery in not only my hometown but the municipality I grew up in (never thought I'd see the day). Could do with some amplifying but the potential is certainly present.

Tried on 04 May 2024 at 13:39