6.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5

Belgian amber (rather than 'international', or, better put, American style amber ale) by Gulden Spoor in Gullegem near Kortrijk. Very violent gusher - and this being Gulden Spoor, I wasn't quite prepared, and had to clean both the table and the floor after 1/3 of the bottle flooded out of the bottle neck immediately upon opening... Typical 'gusher head' afterwards: big, frothy and heavily paper-like lacing, but very irregular in shape and collapsing quickly, though a firm, irregular, mousy, pale greyish beige layer of foam admittedly remained in place for a long time; misty deep and pure copper red colour, with a vermillion glow, but turning into an almost purple-tinged cloudy burgundy with sediment - clearly darker than either Belgian or American style amber ale, averagely speaking. Aroma of baker's yeast, freshly cut red sweet apple, perfumey lavender and rosemary, soggy brown bread, pecan nut, roses, violets, ripe cranberries in autumn, rusk, brown honey, cloves, fresh fig, wet clay, dry earth. Sharply stinging carbonation at first, very minerally and dominant, but strong fruity esters are obvious as well, hinting at fig, peach, red apple, pear and cranberry, sweetish with clear residual dark sugariness but not too sticky, and countered by an undercurrent of almost blackberry-ish sourishness; rounded, bit resinous mouthfeel, coarsened by the sharp carbon dioxide. Deeply pecan-nutty, hard-caramelly and softly toasty-bitterish maltiness; the sweetness overrules the bitterness, but the finish does develop a pleasant, quenching dryness too, while spicy phenols become ever more abundant, ranging from clove and thyme to almost lavender-like aromas, paired with a herbal, bit spicy and medium long hop bitterness that blends with the bitter touch of the toasted malts. Nuttiness, hoppy accents and strong yeastiness linger, the latter in the form of bready, fruity and spicy phenolic aspects, eventually turning even a little bit 'dirty' - maybe a slight infection could even be going on here, accounting for the heavy gushing as well. Has the general flavour profile of a Walloon style 'ambrée' (stronger, often maltier and almost always yeastier than the classic 'spéciales belges'), I do like that strong pecan-nutty core and can also appreciate the generous hop dosage, but the yeasty 'dirtiness' and very strong gushing obviously reveal that something went a bit awry here. Good idea, good in its core, but not well executed from a technical viewpoint, which is a shame in this case.

7

33cl bottle. A clear reddish brown beer with a beige head. Aroma of strong caramelized and reddish malt, raisins. Taste of raisins, caramel, strong reddish brown malt, caramelized finish.

6.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Ruby red colored, clear medium beige head. Aroma is caramel, lots of sugar, fruity notes and banana. Taste is medium to very sweet sugar and caramel, fruity banana, candied fruit, bit spicy yeast, light+ bitterness. Medium bodied, average carbonation, oily. Waaay too sugary and sweet. (bottle, Gainsbar, Kortrijk)

6.5

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

Bottle from Dranken Vandewoude and drunk at home. Hazy dark red colour lasting beige head. Some Belgian yeast some baked jam flavour some sweetness. I’m a little in 2 minds about this one. Some good jam fruit over a Belgian ale.

7

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

F: huge, tanned, good retention. C: dark red coppery, hazy. A: malt, caramel, toast, floral, banana, hint of tropical fruits. T: malt, caramel, hint of roasted tones, floral, medium lasting bitterness, fruity, like woody, medium body, low to medium carbonation, pleasant, agreeable beer, enjoyed, the bottle is totally full with only less than 0,5cm3 space, 33cl bottle from Spar supermarket in Oostende.

6.9

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

Bottled, at Belgobaren, Stockholm. Clear ruby, rich head. Raisiny nose. Mid dry with medium body and rounded mouthfeel. Woody caramel, some milky tartness. Lingonberry and hay. Low bitterness.

6.5

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

33cl bottle from the bier temple Brussels. Malty. Thick creamy off white head. Clear amber pour.

6.5

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

Bottle shared. Red brown with a big cream head. Aroma of malt, caramel, toffee and light overripe dark fruit. Flavour is above moderate sweet and moderate bitter. Medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation.