Bouteille 50cl partagée avec Philippe. BB 09/2023, lot# B33 Blend 3. Bouteille qui devait déjà avoir pas loin de 4 ans.
A l'ouverture, la capsule semble partir très rapidement, je craignais que cela impacte la bière. Le tout verse sur l'ambre/acajou, avec un col modéré crémeux blanc-cassé.
Arôme est sur des malts complexes, clairement orientés sur le belge avec pas mal de grillé, caramel, toasté et un rétro-nasal délicat de tourbé venant de la barrique.
Palais reste sur une belle base belge de triple, cela se ressent mais le tout est raffiné avec de légers esters fruités, un malté caramel, pâle, finement toasté avec qcq fruits noirs. Le tout assemblé avec la barrique de whiskey irlandais qui confère un caractère plaisant de tourbé.
Comme très souvent avec Novabirra, des bières solides.

@BXL Beerfest. Hazy amber colour, white foam. Nose of biscuits, apricot, some caramel, with a hoppy bitter finish.

Towering snowwhite head with the stability and looks of whipped eggwhite; crystal clear, lightly copperish golden beer with rings of lace. Ureum (quite a lot of it)... the hops' choice. Not much else - maybe partly due to the concrete head. Fruity acids, but artificially tasting - like a bonbon Napoleon, sweet with citric acid. Not much else - a whiff of human sweat. Light lipsmacking acidity. Medium to good carbonation. More than a bit slick. Oh well. 1 tick more... Txs to Stef!

Bottle, 0.33l. Aroma is vinous, sweaty and floral. Pours clear golden color with large soapy white head and average sparkling appearance. Taste starts tart citrusy and vinous, following is grainy and grassy with smooth mouthfeel. Light to medium body, slick texture and average carbonation in palate. Refreshing junk…

Bottled. More or less pitch black colour with a small beigeish brown head. Aroma is chocolate, some nuts, toasted, mild caramel and some sweetish tones. Flavour is chocolate, caramel, some nutty, mild spicy and some slight alcohol tones.

Bottle at Le Bier Circus, Brussels on 9th February 2023. Pours an orangey amber with deep white foam and full lacing. Lemon juice aroma. Intense sour lemon in-mouth and a finish of zesty and juicy citrus fruit. Smooth mouthfeel and a medium body.

Bottled. Slightly hazy orangeish golden colour with a small white head. Aroma is zesty, some spicy and mild wooden tones to it. Flavour is citrus, some spicy and mild wooden tones with some mild yeasty tones. Kind of Saison meeting IPA...

Bottled. Dark coppery brown colour with a beige fluffy head, which leaves some lace. Aroma is chocolate, some roasted malts, dried fruits, mild figs and quite much coffee. Flavour is roasted malts, chocolate, some figs, mild toffee and quite a bunch of coffee, which is on the verge of giving the beer a slight sourish edge.

NovaBirra’s Big Nose partially aged in calvados barrels – partially, because the barrel aged version was apparently backblended with fresh Big Nose (I wonder why, economical reasons perhaps); an anniversary beer, marking the 10th year of existence of this brewing company. Thanks to tderoeck for sharing! Medium thick, off-white, moussy, opening head, hazy peach blonde robe with ‘dirty’ beige hue, turning ugly and murky in the very end, with thick sediment. Aroma of ripe peach, soggy old bread, stale urine, wet hay, medlar, band aid-like phenols, calvados indeed but whisky too, sugar syrup, banana peel. Fruity onset, sweet with notes of ripe pear, fig and peach, softish carb; very bready middle from both malts and yeast, slightly caramelly probably due to woodiness as well, but marred by very outspoken, urine- and band aid-like phenolic activity distracting from the wood and the calvados. Long, earthy hop bitterness, very yeasty too, warmed by alcohol – indeed recognizable as calvados, but rather vaguely so. ‘Dirty’, overly yeasty and running out of control in ‘phenolicness’ at least in the – perhaps not perfect – condition it reached me: something went a bit awry here, though it remains an interesting beer (perhaps not quite worthy of an anniversary, but anyway). Would revisit in better shape if given the opportunity.

7/I/22 - 33cl bottle from Willems (Grobbendonk), shared @ Wim VL’s place, BB: 9/XI/22, B144 blend, bottled: XI/2017 (2022-31)

Clear deep orange beer, nice creamy yellowish head, little stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: floral, very yeasty, some banana, lots of fusels, sugary impression, more yeast, meh. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: lots of calvados up front, yeasty, gentle bitterness, yeasty, some banana, oxidized, malty, sweet touch, alcohol burn. Aftertaste: more alcohol, calvados, yeasty, sugary, bit sweet, bit hoppy, oxidized, good but not great.