0.33l bottle as a gift from Lore. A bit murky golden body, long lasting white head. Aroma of sugary bread, grains, floral hops, orange peel and some booze. Taste of bread, grains, floral hops, orange zest and some medicinal bitterness. Very nice.

’White’ IPA for sale at Albert Heijn since this week (at least in the one I regularly frequent), brewed by the Proefbrouwerij in Flanders for Sint Christoffel, like the rest of their range, at least after they ceased brewing themselves in 2013. I fondly remember my first encounter with Christoffel Blond many years ago (before the Proef era), and it struck me as one of the most interesting pale lagers of the Low Countries, so I am happy to see this brand still survives. Foggy orange amberish, but not truly copper coloured beer with deep, warm peachy pinkish glow, bearing a medium sized, thickly lacing, pale yellowish white, moussy head. Inviting aroma of fresh blood orange, freshly grated ginger, pink grapefruit, strawberry, rosé wine, freshly cut garden weeds, chestnuts, earth, wet leather, white pepper, dried flowers, vague hint of roasted shallot or even onion (almost like a beer dry-hopped with Summit...?). Fruity, rounded onset, sweetish, with flavours of strawberry, melon, mango and refreshing citrus peel, finely tingling carbo ’numbing’ the tongue a bit but only in the beginning, smooth, full mouthfeel of lovely bready malts with a toasted edge pairing well with the deep, ’deaf’ wheat sourisness, soft mouthfeel probably due to the oats, spicy phenols retronasally but well-dosed, followed by an aromatic hoppiness giving impressions of dried citrus peel, tonic water, earth and flowers but not bittering ’too’ deeply, as announced on the label ("mild droog gehopt", i.e. mildly dry-hopped), so that a lot of the juicy, sweetish maltiness comes through; a leafy bitterness with a faint salty edge does remain, though. Alcohol remains hidden. This is a very pleasant beer with a certain degree of complexity, but above all an adequate thirst quencher with sufficient hop character to be qualified as an IPA, though I can imagine some may find the yeasty esters and phenols to be sitting in the way a bit - but then, let’s regard this as a Belgian-style IPA... In any case, I am glad to see that Sint-Christoffel is still alive in some or other form and is therefore able to benefit from the Dutch craft beer ’wave’ in this manner.

33cl Bottle from De Bierkoning, as St. Christoffel W-IPA. Hazy copper amber colour, off-white head. Aroma of mild citrussy hops, orange, banana, caramel. Flavour is medium sweet, floral, banana, light citrusy, orange, decent bitterness, caramel. Light bodied, soft mouthfeel. Nice.

Bonito color marrón, no demasiada espuma blanca. Aroma a caramelo con toques de uva. Sabor menos dulce y mas frutal, aguada y con baja carbonatación y un final flojo.

Pajiza, amarillenta turbia, con dos dedos de espuma. Aroma interesante, citrico principalmente. Se trata de una lager con doble lupulo y algo mas de alcohol para una pilsen. Sobre todo destaca lo primero, muy aromatica, citrica y frutal y amarga. Buena carbonatacion y agradable textura. Merece.