F: medium, tan, not long lasting. C: dark amber, hazy. A: sweet malty, sweet grassy, bit citrus, lemon, caramel, bit passion fruits. T: quite malty base, bit grassy, caramel, toast, touch of lemon, may bit hint of tropical fruity, biscuits, I not sure about the IPA the lack some more bitterness and fruitiness yet beside the style for example as amber ale not bad, 33cl bottle and #1800 Belgian beer from Carrefour market @ Place Jourdan in Brussles.

The dark one in this stylized series of regional beers executed at Legendes and from the same style and shape of bottle as the other two. Thick, cobweb-lacing, pale yellowish beige, frothy head over a hazy bronze-ish chocolate brown beer with ruby hue. Aroma of old walnuts, dusty old caramel candy, tree leaves, dried elderberries, dried prunes, burnt sugar, earth, granola, raisins, muesli, tea, brown bread, coriander seed and a vague note of manure. Dried fig and baked banana sweetness in the onset, light sourish edge, plum accent, brown sugariness but quite restrainedly so for the style; medium carb, caramelly and walnutty malt sweetishness, leafy and a bit 'woody' with toasty bitterish edge supported by a herbal, earthy hop bitterness. Some dusty and bready yeastiness and coriander seed spiciness in the end. Classically conceived Belgian 'bruine', a dubbel with a cleanly earthy, herbal and bit toasty character, well-bodied and not as sweet as many of the dubbels produced by the larger players - so far from the worst in its style.

The amber in this series of « Jean Brasse » beers, developed by a new ‘bierfirma’ in Rixensart but actually brewed at Légendes; the whole brand has a fancy website and classy, high quality, imprinted, unusually shaped bottles, clearly money and effort has been put in its development – a bit reminiscent of the Belgian Beer Experts in Flanders with their François Grand Cru and Tripel 888, in other words, this says absolutely nothing about the beer itself. Thick, beaten egg-like, membranous-lacing, stable head over a deep coppery, pure and warm amber-coloured beer with lively strings of fine bubbles at its edges, hazy with sediment. Aroma of melting caramel candy and caramel sauce, milk chocolate even (strangely), chestnut cream sauce, ripe pear, banana, brown bread, some onsetting ‘rusty’ oxidation, plum jam, honey, dust. Fruity, crisp onset, red apple, peach and light banana impressions with a sourishness mostly derived from very spritzy, minerally carbonation. Sweetish caramelly and chestnutty, relatively ‘full’ malt body, a tad oxidized already (seems very quick seen the short time this brand has been in existence) but not in an unpleasant or disturbing way. Ends with a faint toasty-bitter echo and mild herbal hop bitterishness, but the caramelly sweetness of the malts prevails. Quite ‘full’, clean and well-bodied Walloon ‘ambrée’ style beer, generous in its caramelized maltiness and in that sense deeper and richer than I am used to from Belgian amber ales of this strength. Better than expected really, while remaining very accessible to the less educated palate as well.