7.1

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Philly sour flavoured with rhubarb from this adventurous new one-man microbrewery in West-Flanders - the fact that he knows and uses Lachancea yeast, rather than classic lactic bacteria, demonstrates that this guy is well aware of recent developments in craft brewing. Quite an aggressive gusher, so be ware. Thickly foamy, dense, rocky, tightly plaster-lacing, off-white head diminishing but finally resting stable on a cloudy deep peach blonde robe with 'dirty' ochre-brownish tinge. Aroma of unsugared fruit yoghurt, stewed rhubarb rather than raw, milk, violets, daisies, tulips, Pink Lady apples, goat cheese, sawdust, mashed green banana, roux blanc, green garden weeds. Gently but persistently sour onset, the soft lactic acidity of the Lachancea enhanced by the oxalic acid of the rhubarb, with side notes of unripe banana, green apple, ripe gooseberry and some vague pear; medium carb, smooth, bit 'milky' mouthfeel, feeling fuller than its modest ABV would suggest. Soft milk-bready core under ongoing lactic and oxalic sourness, with this green fruitiness travelling along and turning into a more 'weedy' kind further on; grassy to even peppery hops provide an important background bitterness (a bit more so than average for a sour even) while the Lachancea continues to add its restrained lactic sourness. Somewhat 'dirty' in the end and in need of cleaning up, while the rhubarb, even though recognisable enough, could have been a bit more outspoken for me; the gushing is of course not a plus, either. Still, if you are looking for a special sour in the below average ABV range, this is quite enjoyable - I think well-chilled on a benign afternoon in spring, this may be a very tasty quencher indeed. Not entirely my cup of tea - I have not been very impressed with Philly sours in general so far anyway - but within its own concept, not badly done and certainly original especially in a Belgian context.