Alengrin (11609) reviewed Shiso Smokey from Dok Brewing Company 1 month ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Brown porter by Dok, but Dok would not be Dok without the application of something special - and I do not mean the rye malts (however 'untraditional' in porter) in this case, but the infusion with shiso, not just shiso (the Japanese basil-like herb), but smoked shiso, mind you. Medium thick, bit irregular, pale greyish beige, intricately membrane-lacing, slowly breaking head on an initially clear, very dark caramel brown robe, near black, but with burgundy glow, turning misty with sediment. Unusual aroma: somehow 'familiar' for a porter, but still dominated by this smoked shiso thing, which is hard to describe other than smoked tea-like - a little bit like lapsang souchong, but more herbal and more delicate; other impressions involve coffee grounds, roasted hazelnuts, dry caramel, freeze-dried chervil (probably just the shiso), unsmoked 'Schipperstabak', salmiak, fish sauce, fried shiitakes, hints of black radish peel, charcoal, dried blueberries, dried capers. Cleanish onset, some 'dried' fruitiness (dried blueberries again, perhaps dried fig) but in a non-sweet and non-estery way, softish carb, smooth oily mouthfeel. Something iron-like accompanies a slick dry-caramelly and thinly black-chocolatey maltiness, both without any sweetness worth mentioning, becoming increasingly 'toasted' until a cold black coffee bitterness fills the back of the mouth. The smoked shiso effect eventually turns out to be less prominent retronasally than orthonasally, though this smoked tea aspect obviously lurks in the finish, along with leafy hop bitterness and roasted malt bitterness; black-peppery, leathery and vaguely salmiak-like effects join in. The shiso adds a herbaceousness reminiscent of Japanese tea - but by being smoked, lost its ethereal aromatic properties (hovering somewhere in between mint, giant hyssop and basil), which can be considered a pity, because it is one of those mint-related plants with its own distinct aroma; the smoked thing does keep you on your guard, though, so this is, all things considered, a very entertaining 'autumn beer' (consumed in the midst of winter). One must admire Dok for remaining so incessibly creative and innovative, and I am not just saying that because I live in Ghent...
Sebletitje (15877) reviewed Blinkie from Dok Brewing Company 1 month ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
33cl can, partagée avec Vincent. BB 15/10/2026. Force estd e constater qu'une fois de plus quand il s'agit de N/A craft, la main-mise sur le procesus demeure chez DeProef même hors de la Belgique - juste pour citer la Fenix de DosKiwis.
Dorée, léger voile, col blanc.
Arôme sur un houblonné frais, léger tropical - l"apport de Sabro est trop discret pour ce qui est attendu de ce type de houblon.
Palais est frais fruité - pas mal de notes tropicales, agrumes, tout en ayant une base sur le malt / grains.
Le Sabro est un peu à la ramasse, je ne note quasi rien sur cet apport pourtant tellement distinctif.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
IPA hopped with two (very) classic American hop varieties (Cascade and Columbus) on the one hand and two New Zealand varieties (Motueka and Rakau) on the other hand - but that is somehow of less importance here: more significantly, Lallemand's Aurora yeast strain was used to ferment it, a strain intended to ferment at somewhat cooler temperatures, allowing for higher alcohol volumes and producing little esters that would otherwise get in the way of the hop aromas. Dok, which has worked with these innovative Lallemand yeasts before, describes this particular one as a "northern IPA", which is closely associated with this Aurora yeast strain and aims to compromise between the aromatic power of hazy IPAs and the cleanness and bitterness of West Coast IPAs - but this effect has been achieved before in what was called "mountain IPAs", and in a certain sense has become very common, as so many present-day European and American IPAs hover between both extremes some way or another. Anyway, on to the can, purchased at the Delhaize supermarket at the Sterre in Ghent. Thick and frothy, snow white, cobweb-lacing, rather coarse and large-bubbled but very stable head on a misty pale yellow blonde robe with greenish tinge and tiny, but numerous bubbles rising up in the middle. Aroma of fresh pine needles or spruce tips, granadilla, lemon thyme, lime leaf, lemon blossom, carambola, jasmin and other subtropical flowers, spice crackers, freshly cut agave, green kiwi, bath foam, white bread. Crisp, sweetish onset, carambola, rambutan, pepino and kumquat impressions, slight sourishness also from the lively carbonation, slick mouthfeel but not very oily like most West Coast IPAs; smooth white-bready core under and through brightly aromatic 'yellow-green' hoppiness, bringing back the piney, succulent plant and flowery aromas but not branching into those typically sweet tropical fruit scents you get in a typical hazy IPA. Bitterness is crisp and peppery, matching this 'yellow-green', cactus- and spruce-like aromatic profile very well; it does seem to last a bit longer than in NEIPA and its ilk so I get the idea of creating something in between 'eastern' and 'western' IPA extremes and this idea has been executed very well here. Nevertheless, I maintain that 'in-between IPAs' are nothing new - in fact there is a vast ocean of them throughout the Western World now, of which the vast majority simply refers to itself as 'IPA' without specifications like 'northern' (or 'mountain'). The ultimate goal of this Aurora yeast strain therefore escapes me a bit - but I can imagine it is a nice new gimmick for brewers, and I conclude that Dok made a really fine IPA here of whatever kind (bearing in mind that creating new IPA variants has been a commercially driven trend in the craft beer world for many years and has apparently still not ceased today...). Surely one of my personal favourites among Dok's many, many IPAs so far (though I lost track of them a bit, to be honest).
nathanvc (6963) reviewed Méthode Pêcheoise from Dok Brewing Company 1 month ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
28 August 2025. At Hal 16 (Dok Brewing). Cheers to the Teamleader crew!
A: hazy yellow, no head.
A: overripe peach, plum, hay, sourdough.
T: very sour peach & nectarine, lactic acid, citrus zest.
F: tart stone fruit pit, bretty notes of wood & hay.
P: medium body, slick texture, soft carbonation.
Solid Lambic, cleanly exposing the stone fruit funk.
Sebletitje (15877) reviewed 1 + 1 from Dok Brewing Company 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
33cl can, BB 15/06/2026, batch# DOK261.
Dorée, col blanc épais tenace.
Arôme est super frais tirant pas mal sur les agrumes - avec des pointes de bergamotte, herbacé. Nez est franchement frais et fruité avec ce bouquet énorme d'agrumes.
Palais est sur une belle sécheresse avec un malté oscillant sur les céréales - vert houblonné avec léger herbacé, pointe de résineux. Effet rappelant aussi qcq éléments de ice tea à la pêche. Le tout passe plus sur un effet session IPA que grisette et reste super léger et facile à boire avec une belle dimension des houblons. Citron vert marqué.
EvNa (6056) reviewed Grape Me from Dok Brewing Company 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Color: Hazy pale golden, white head. Aroma: Funky, wood, grape skin. Taste: Grapeskin, oak wood, malty, moderate tartness with some vinegar notes, tannins, grape, subtle spicy notes, light bitterness. Medium body, below average carbonation. Nice one.
Leighton (34941) reviewed 13 Fresh Hop (2025) from Dok Brewing Company 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
Nice, pretty clean, dry biscuits, a little grass. Dirty hay, nips of lemon peel. Nicely balanced. Sound.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Quite clean. Mellow warmth. Some melon, lemon, soft yeast expression. A little pale biscuit. Tasty.
Leighton (34941) reviewed Méthode Pêcheoise from Dok Brewing Company 2 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Nice tangy peach. Lemon. Mellow acidity. Pretty clean and fresh. Fairly tame complexity. Enjoyable.
Leighton (34941) reviewed Gangmaker from Dok Brewing Company 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6
Novel. Fairly bitter. Some toasted grains, grass, dirty hay. Faint yeast expression, a little raisin. Drinks fine.