18 March 2026. At Martino, Gent.

A: hazy yellow, small, foamy, white head.
A: mandarin peel, lime, grape, melon, pine.
T: sweetish grape & unripe pear, bitter pine, cracker.
F: bitter piney hops, citrus peel, grapefruit.
P: medium body, watery texture, soft carbonation.
Quenching and easy-going for an IPA.

Ever since one of Italy's very first craft breweries (simply called Birrificio Italiano to this day) launched the now famed Tipo Pils thirty years ago, combining German style Lager brewing with English style dry-hopping in days not yet influenced by U.S. microbrewing, beer lovers have made a case of recognising the resulting "Italian Pilsener" as a new substyle - the jury is still out on that today as there is no general consensus and the difference with IPL, originating in America a few years later, is a difficult one to maintain, unless of course one considers only European noble hops suitable for dry-hopping an Italian Pilsener. If so, then this Dok collab with one of Liège's leading craft brewers does not even qualify, as it contains New World hops... Anyway: can from the Delhaize supermarket at the Sterre in Ghent. Medium thick, snow white, elegantly 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, slowly breaking but generally well-retaining head on a clear, pale yellow blonde robe with greenish tinge and some large visible bubbles. Aroma of initially sourish sweaty grains like in some tropical macro lager brewed with rice, blossoming clover or chamomile, old dried lime zest, unripe green pear, sheep's sorrel, sweat returning, freshly cut giant hogweed, pond water, wet pebble stones, papier maché. Slightly sourish onset, hint of green sorrel leaf, perhaps even something very thinly green apple-ish, agreeable minerality underneath, slender sweetish and sourish 'pale' graininess, increasingly bittered by the hops, in a very floral way (chamomile straight from the fields) with grassy and slightly peppery side notes. Something vaguely citrusy does pop up - like dried lime peel, but not all pomelo- or tangerine-like, so that the net effect remains one of refinedly floral, green-fruity, grassy hops; their bitterness is quite pronounced, and lasts for a long time after swallowing, adequately quenching the thirst. I love it when Dok takes on a classic Lager style - even if Italian Pilsener is perhaps the last classic added to that family before the craft beer movement really hit Europe - because I recall vividly from earlier experience that they are really good at it, and this one, though perhaps not entirely true to the Tipo Pils archetype, does deliver. I could drink this for hours on a hot summer day (of which we still keep getting plenty this season). Not sure how long this was actually lagered, though: I cannot get rid of the impression that a more prolonged cold lagering could, perhaps, have made this Pilsener even better...

When I see 'Rauchmärzen', I - and doubtlessly most beerlovers with me - automatically think of Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen, the most classic smoked beer in the world, technically a Märzen brewed with beechwood-smoked Rauchmalz. Dok, unsurprisingly, tries to outdo the master by throwing in additional malt variants (including rye malt) - I wonder what kept them from adding other hops than Hallertau too... Can from the Delhaize supermarket at the Sterre in Ghent. Medium thick, snow white, tiny-bubbled and dense, slowly breaking but generally stable head on a crystal clear, merigold blonde beer with deeper burnt-orange glow and fine strings of visible sparkling here and there. Aroma of very clear Rauchmalz indeed - smoked bacon and, oddly, smoked peaches, next to much less strong impressions of dried chamomile, unsalted peanut, cold ham on warm toast, fried onion, rye bread dough, smoked paprika, white bread crust. Clean 'lager onset', neutral and non-estery, with minerally yet soft and very fine-bubbled carb (perhaps even a bit too soft for the style?), hopping straight to maltiness, which in this case indeed feels a tad more complex than usual for the style: the smoked malts are dominant of course and feel very 'authentic' and beechwood-smoked, with all the smoked ham effects one associates this lovely style with - but they are also a bit 'mitigated' and softened by the caramelly and rye bread-like effects that were added. Dry finish, with that smoky umami flavour connecting with a sweeter caramelly undertone (though subtle) and a more grainy base, as well as a balancing, elegant, grassy hop bitter element stretching deeply yet softly into the finish, where a sweet ham-like flavour keeps lingering as well. Interesting but convincing, very clean like any German style lager, pure and to the point, with the familiar Rauchmalz effect being the key element - but not quite as strong as in Aecht Schlenkerla, actually more like Spezial, the somewhat softer variant in the field of historical Bamberg Rauchbiere. Regardless, this feels even more 'authentic' than I was expecting - and I love this odd yet classic German lager style, so I surely enjoyed this one. Should have bought more cans, also considering how well smoked beers can be cellared without deteriorating.

Cloudy pale yellow colour and small white head. Light peppery aroma. Light-bodied. Very watery, light pepper and pale malts. ZincFest26.

ZincFest2026. Yellowish golden colour with a small white head. Aroma is grassy and some mild earthy tones and a bit citrus. Flavour is grains, some herbal and mild earthy tones. Quite watery and thin mouthfeel.

Can shared thanks to Alexander. Bit hazy light golden. Lemon, dank weedy hops, limonchello, lots of tangerine, wheat, lemon balm. Light sweet, bitter and sour. Medium bodied.

Golden colour and small white head. Light riped fruits and malts in the nose. Light-bodied to medium-bodied. Malts, some fruityness, light hops, clean palate. No Belgi vibe. Ok.

From tap at Van Moll Fest 2026. Bretty and funky with grain, some citrus, vinegar. Puckering sour flavour, dry. Nice puckering funky Wild Ale.