Fresh hop Baltic porter - one does not see the 'fresh hop' method in black beers very often - made at Dok in collaboration with Põhjala, Estonia's leading craft brewery, perhaps best known for reviving the old Baltic porter style. Can from the Delhaize supermarket at the Watersportbaan in Ghent. Thick and dense, creamy, mocha beige, shred-lacing, thinning and eventually all but dissolving head over a black robe with very thin mahogany brown edge. Aroma of unsugared black chocolate, wet leather, toasted walnuts, black pepper, charcoal, bayleaf, whisky, dry tree leaves, warm roux, black tea, dry caramel, salmiak. Dark-fruity onset, dried blueberry and dried fig notes, restrained in sweetness, finely tingling yet still very active effervescence not disturbing a full, smooth, oily mouthfeel. Layers of black-chocolatey, toasted-nutty and charred-bready malts, remaining of only subdued sweetness - especially when compared with many Põhjala classics in the genre - with a roasty bitter finish further bittered by floral, leafy, peppery hops, fresh perhaps but the actual freshness is a bit eclipsed by all that dark, roasty maltiness, of course (which is probably why you will find fresh-hopping more often in blonde IPA type beers), warmed by whisky-like alcohol but not in a harsh way at all. Feels quite straightforward and oldskool, no unnecessary frills but straight to the point in a very effective, technically perfectly executed, focused manner: I like that. A lot.

3/II/26 - 44cl can from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home, BB: 30/IX/27, batch DOK273 (2026-97)

Cloudy muddy brown beer, small creamy light beige head, unstable, falls down quickly, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: nice roast, caramel, ripe banana, a bit yeasty, some mocha, a hint of chocolate, not very smoky? MF: soft carbon, medium body, creamy texture. Taste: very bitter start, pretty dry, coffee, some cocoa powder, hoppy, a hint of caramel, a little malty. Aftertaste: very dry, good roast, coffee, bitter hops, a bit malty, grains, some chocolate, caramel, ok but not really smoky?

31/I/26 - 33cl can from Geers (Oostakker) or DOK Brewing Company (Gent), I don’t remember. Shared @ home, BB: 30/XII/26, batch DOK279 (2026-94)

Clear orange to almost amber beer, irregular creamy off-white head, a little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: nice, lots of sweet tropical fruits, juicy, a little oxidised, caramel, some almonds, sweet impression. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice bitterness up front, some fruity notes, caramel, malty, grassy, very resinous bitterness, herbal. Aftertaste: malty, grains, hay, very bitter, a bit resinous, some caramel, hoppy, a bit piny, some grapefruit peel.

30/I/26 - on tap @ DOK Brewing Company (Gent), BB: n/a (2026-71)

Clear gold blond beer, creamy white head, stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: a bit grassy, somewhat floral, grains, hay, rural touch, a hint of caramel. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: clean malts up front, a bit of caramel, a hint of banana peel, good bitterness, a bit grassy. Aftertaste: more bitterness coming through over a very malty backbone. Pleasant and decent pilsner.

24/I/26 - 33cl can from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home, BB: 30/XII/26, batch DOK283 (2026-70)

Pretty cloudy yellow beige beer, big irregular off-white head, unstable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: ripe banana, a bit yeasty, grains, cow fodder, sweet impression, hay. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: malty start, a little bitter, pretty yeasty, banana peel, a bit herbal, grassy bitterness, spicy, some coriander and cardamom, pretty dry. Aftertaste: hoppy, dry, a bit malty, quite some banana, banana peel, hay, grains, metallic touch, malty finish, ok.

23/I/26 - on tap, shared with Bouvier @ DOK Brewing Company (Gent), BB: n/a (2026-64)

Clear pale gold yellow beer, small creamy white, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: nice, tropical fruits, juicy, passion fruits, citrus notes, grapefruit, floral touch. MF: ok carbon, medium to light body. Taste: grapefruit, dry, zesty, slightly rural, hay, a hint of tropical fruits, some orange peel. Aftertaste: gentle bitterness, hoppy, grassy, bit resinous, citrus, a hint of passion fruit.

NEIPA by Dok in Ghent with a name referring to a type of erotic show in Thailand, but more importantly, hopped with the relatively rare BRU-1 (though in existence for ten years already now) combined with Sabro and very classic Citra. Can from the Delhaize supermarket at the Sterre in Ghent. Thick and foamy, egg-white, audibly fizzing, shred-lacing, uneven-bubbled yet dense head over a hazy yolk-yellow robe with warm apricot glow, shifting more to ochre further on. Strong and beguiling, expressive bouquet of orange orchard, fresh grapefruit zest, (unripe) pineapple, touch coconut or Malibu liqueur, pink peppercorns, white bread dough, guava, starfruit, marihuana, green bell pepper. Juicy onset, 'clean' fruitiness exclusively from the hops, indeed pineapple-ish (which seems to be typical for BRU-1) but also guava and carambola, less sweet than expected based on aroma, with quite lively, minerally carbonation (more so than average for a NEIPA); nevertheless smooth and creamy body, white-bready core soaked in citrusy and tropical-fruity hoppiness, pineapple and guava again but also pomelo and a touch of coconut (typical for Sabro). Luckily - in my opinion at least - it never becomes too sweet, nor does it end in fruity sweetness: in fact hop bitterness, even a very light peppery hopburn, gets the last word, in a long, spicy, drying finish, where side aromas of marihuana and grapefruit linger - aromas I tend to associate more with classic West Coast IPA than New England IPA. Still very firmly a NEIPA in all respects, though, well executed, expressive and easily drinkable - though elimination of that hopburn (no matter how faint) and a somewhat softer carbonation could help to increase drinkability even more.

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...