New Nola, rather a project than a beer name, created for International Woman's Day by female beer people at Siphon; whereas the first Nola from last year was a Hefeweizen, this second one has taken the form of a porter. Very slow gusher, producing an inches thick, very foamy, rocky, cobweb-lacing, pale greyish beige head - in fact head formation is so enthusiastic in this one that it is difficult to pour it without having a glass that consists largely of foam; near-clear, very dark chocolate brown robe, as good as black, with mahogany edges. Aroma of black coffee grounds, burnt toast, roasted hazelnuts, bitter black chocolate, salmiak, wet leather, touch charcoal, dried elderberries, hints of rosehips, blood, pine resin, fried onion, bayleaf, iron, minerals and a refreshing whiff of orange peel (from the New World hops). Dried-fruity, restrainedly sweetish onset, hints of dried figs and dried blueberries, sourish undertone enhanced by very sharp, painfully numbing overcarbonation; very toasty-bitter, burnt currant- and roasted nut-like middle with a somewhat smoky touch, further evolving into heavy roasted coffeeish bitterness in the end, sharpened by a pungent, peppery, piney and leafy hop bitterness. That soft, 'dull' sourishness underneath lasts till the end, but the bitterness is omnipresent in the finish, obliterating whatever subtle traces of sweetness that were present to begin with. Very roasty, hoppy, pungent black beer - in fact much more a dry stout than a true porter, but since this is a debate on the gender of angels, as they say in Flemish... Pleasant and correct for what it is, as said a more rounded nuttiness and a touch less roasted bitterness would have befit the 'American porter' premise better and the overcarbonation is also an element to be dealt with, but I certainly enjoyed this one nonetheless.

Bottle from Rotsaert, Zedelgem, Belgium. A black coloured pour with a thin beige head on top. Rich, malty, chocolate, coffee aroma and taste. Slightly bitter, didn't detect oysters in there, good quality stout from Siphon.

Slow gusher. Dark brown with massive uncontrollable head. Aroma and flavour have lots of malt complexity with dark chocolate and a fair hit of smokiness too. Finish has a rounded hop bitterness. The flavour is great but the over carbonation is a big error.

Bit over carbonated. Overpowering Bitterness.

Bottle 33cl.@home poured into a shaker. Hazy pale amber colour, huge rocky off-white head, good retention, heavy lacing. Aroma sweet malt, orange, mango, caramel, pine resin. Taste medium sweet and bitter, malty, orange, some caramel, piney. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, dry sweetbitter aftertaste, malty notes, light orange pith, good (but not a real Speciale Belge considering the hops).

Bottle. Dark brown pour. Nice aroma of zesty orange, peach, citrus, chocolate, yeast and coffee. Taste has bitter citrus, orange zest, creamy peach, chocolate, coffee, licorice, yeast and some caramelised malt. Very bitter and hoppy, tastes American instead of Belgian, which is good for an india saison. Well done, tasty beer.

Bottle from Dranken Vandewoude and drunk on a campsite with Nelson. Black beer lasting tan head Malty aroma. a big of something else too sour alcohol. not great aroma malty in the mouth. like raisins. some chocolate is ok but there is a sour burnt raisin aroma and flavour that is not great. poor quad

Bottle from Dranken Vandewoude and drunk on a campsite with Nelson. Black beer lasting tan head. Hoppy aroma. more of a black ipa than a dark saison. it's fine. not my style but ok. some spiciness from the hop. ues it's fine.