33cl bottle from Sip, Tallinn. Pours hazy amber with an off-white head. Yeasty, peppery and somewhat fruity. Finishes fairly dry. Fair enough.

Now here's something different: 'our' Ghentian Dok Brewing Company - in the person of its head brewer, Janos De Baets - went all the way to Saaremaa and learn about the ancient local beer style there called koduõlu, resulting in this collab with its most representative (and active) brewer, Pihtla. Since only very few people that haven't travelled to Estonia and its islands have actually ever tasted a koduõlu, Dok made the right decision to call for an international 'Koduõlu Day', likely inspired by Cantillon's Zwanze Day, enabling me and other beer people that have long been curious about this beer style to finally have a taste of a more or less authentic example - even if they did play a bit with the original recipe by adding rye to the mash. I was really looking forward to filling this (one but) last gap in my experience with traditional beer styles and - living in Ghent - obviously I could find no better place to drink this one than Hal 16 in Ghent's Dok Noord site itself, in the presence of many an other beer enthusiast including Janos De Baets himself... So here we go, my very first koduõlu rating: loose and bubbly, off-white, disparate head quickly disappearing completely over a (very) cloudy, deep and warm amberish peach blonde beer. Aroma of strong isoamylacetate (ripe banana), rye bread dough, gin, honey, pronounced clove-like phenols, juniper berries, ripe peach, apricot jam, hint of marmalade. Very estery onset in a sweet-fruity way with indeed the banana isoamylacetate dominating, matching with notes of fried apple and ripe peach; soft carb as expected (in fact I wasn't even expecting any at all), very full, soft but also glueish body. Raw bread dough in the middle as expected, maltose sweetness and full-bodied thanks to the proteins that are left almost intact (this is, after all, a 'raw' beer, an all but forgotten aspect of brewing in itself); ends spicy in a sweetish and ethereal way, phenolic but of course also 'real', due to the juniper leaves which add not only a deep spicy flavour, but also a resinous bitterness, while hops remain in the background (though the old familiar hop bitterness is certainly there) and a gin-like alcohol warmth ties the ongoing banana esteriness, doughy maltiness and juniper spiciness together, with the spicy aspect subtly but adequately supported by the rye element. Well, after having read about koduõlu (and other northern European farmhouse ale traditions) for years, I can only say that this not only meets my expectations, but even transcends them, as it appeared to be a very 'drinkable', enjoyable beer - different from most other beers deep down in its very bone marrow, so to speak, but at the same time quite easygoing as well, at least more so than I was expecting (so I didn't hesitate to get another one). Interesting, peculiar for sure, but delicious - let's have a Koduõlu Day every year from now on. Congrats to Janos, it is a real pleasure to see him evolve as a promising young talent with each new Dok experiment. As a Ghentian beer aficionado, I can't even help feeling proud of Dok - and the various other brewing efforts now made in this city...

Pours dark amber, medium sized, creamy , white and stable head. Smell is a bit DMS , but acceptable level, because there's a fairly good balance. Bit pine, rather full. taste is creamy, DMS, drying, rye, mild pine, tad sweet. Low bitterness. Bready-yeasty touch, almost vanilla-like . OK. very interesting beer, and i'm super thrilled to be able to try this ( in Beerlovers bar, even ! ) but it's not a beer i'd say i like very much taste wise.

Draft glass @ Beerlovers Bar. Much darker amber orange than expected with no head. Nose is flat Hefeweizen syrup, malt, esters, raw syrup, soap & low glue. Bit of a struggle at first but in line with the other two Koduõlu I have tried so far. Taste is rye, plastic Hefeweizen syrup, flat, thick sugar & big caramelized carrot taste, heavy, took some getting used to, concentrated malt / wort syrup. Very cool to get this fresh on tap in Belgium.

Draught Small rim over fully hazy amber-brown beer. Bread! Yeast, bit of caramel, bananaester, bananapeel, bit of clove. Amazing flavour with a bit of banana, maltbread, little point of acidity, rye, wood & conifer, limepeel. Bananaflavour increases with temperature. Very slick to oily, chewy, batter-filled. In Antwerpen (and Gent, of course), WOW!

2/II/20 - on tap @ DOK Brewing Company (Gent), BB: n/a (2020-115)

Pretty clear amber orange beer, no head. Aroma: lots and lots of ripe to overripe banana, some tropical fruit notes, caramel, bit sugary impression, bubble gum. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sweet and malty start, caramel touch, spicy, some ginger, gingerbread, star anise, soft bitterness. Aftertaste: malty, banana, lots of spicy notes, some cardamom, banana peel, pretty bitter, alcoholic touch, nice stuff, very cool to drink an authentic beer style like this!

Magus, mõru, hernes, karamell, linnased, pärm, alkohol, banaan. Ok, midagi häirib,aga ei tea mis.