The second of these new Enigma beers, with a name referring to Ragnarok, the Norse mythology equivalent of the Apocalypse (yet including a rebirth of the world afterwards), but with the -ck equally referring to rock, or rather: metal music. Belgian session ale with oatmeal and hopped with Citra and Mosaic, bottle from Van Eetvelde; comes from a steini bottle contrary to their first beer (Tamera) and has apparently been brewed at Gulden Spoor rather than Boelens. Medium thick, regularly shaped, off-white, quite dense head, slowly showing gaps in the middle but clinging tightly to the glass in the form of a rim of ’membranous’ lacing; initially very lightly hazy, warm orange blonde colour with ochre-ish hue and visible strings of fizz piercing fiercely through the haze; more deeply orange and equally cloudy with sediment added, but still looking nice. Aroma of stewed pear, orange peel and very faint orange juice, moist white pepper, light banana (but not descending into bubblegum), cooked turnip, sandwiches, soggy breakfast cereals, pineapple, vague hints of old cheese, sweetclover, green olive, potato soup and minerals. Very crisp onset but this is mainly due to strong overcarbonation, with numbing, minerally and souring effect, overpowering an initial mash of gooseberry, pear, fresh gherkin and courgette impressions, sourish with very light umami accents and only the slightest hint at banana sweetness - which turns out to be much less pronounced than I had expected upon reading "fruity Belgian yeast" on the label. Cereally and grainy middle, with a smoothness indeed reminiscent of oats, but this aspect is again almost annihilated by the overcarbonation; softer bready side too. Some fruitiness lingers on top, as well as hints of spiciness, leading to a finish of increasing breadiness due to the yeast (especially with sediment) and well-placed, earthy, spicy, somewhat resinous and floral hop bitterness, which releases some faint yet subtly elegant citrus notes retronasally. This was bottled in November last year so between three and four months old (congratulations to Enigma for mentioning this, by the way), so I guess the delicate Citra is already past its prime - or wasn’t used all too generously in the first place... I’ll go for the first possibility, seeing other ratings of this beer in younger condition below. I did like that Tamera better actually, but seen by itself, this beer is certainly enjoyable, without any flaws or off-flavours, adorning the classic 20th-century Belgian blonde with carefully dosed ’new’ craft beer influences. Too carefully as far as I’m concerned: why not turn this into a full-fledged ’international’ IPA instead of still trying to cling to the old Belgian blonde cliché? Revenue is probably one reason, but ignorance could be another. Whatever: certainly among the better Belgian blondes I had in quite a long time, so recommended as an easygoing, technically flawless and somewhat idiosyncratic quencher.

Bottle from Pede, Sint-Lievens-Houtem. Blond colour, white foam. Medium carbonation. Sweet nose of caramel, bread with fruity citrussy hoppy notes. Bitter finish.

33cl bottle in my hotel room (in Brugge), late on 26th Nov 2016. Clear golden pour, full white head. Tropical fruits in the nose alongside a resin like aroma. Taste had a citrusy leaning and was semi-bitter in the finish. OK.

Bottle shared at the Great Job America tasting. cloudy orange, reminding one of Trump’s natural complexion, with a big bubbly off white head. Aroma of herbs, light fruits, citrus and peach notes, light yeast and light malt. Flavour is light to moderate sweet and bitter. Light medium bodied with light carbonation.

33cl bottle shared with Kermis at the "Disaster, Trump will be president" tasting :-(  Thick white head. Cloud blond pour. Citrus in the aftertaste. refreshing

Tap at Delirium Cafe. Relatively fresh feeling well attenuated well hopped beer with light complementary yeasty spiciness. Easy drinking, medium-high carbonation. Citrusy resiny hops flavour. Good.

Tap at Delirium. Orange color with thick white head. Aroma of oranges, tangerines. Taste, oranges, tangerines, zest, malt.

At Herentals Bierweekend ( the event sucked big time !! ) Pours rather unclear amberblonde, OK white head. Smell is bit grainy, Taste is a bit sweet, rather bitter. Sugar, as well as a malty aroma. Not bad. very overcarbonated though. OK in general with a bonus for the very nice label.