Herber, trocken hopfiger Beginn. Leichte Süße bei erhöhter Karbonisierung, bitter, Noten von Mango, frisch, spritzig. Zunehmend herb, cremig, etwas Hafer, spritzig.Langer Nachgeschmack. 9/10/11/11/9/11

Cremiger, kakaoartig malziger Beginn. Weich, intensiv schokoladig, voluminös, vollmundig. Intensiv, der Alkohol steigt an, vollmundig, zum Ende trocken, leicht bitter, gut. 10/12/12/12/9/12

Sehr kräutriger Beginn. Holzig, milde Süße, weich, viel Rum, trocken. Milde Süße, weich, mittellanger Abgang. OK. 9/8/9/8/11/9

The strongest Peak beer, brewed on the Botrange, Belgium's highest peak in the High Fens. Longneck bottle from the Carrefour supermarket in Bütgenbach (I think). Intricately 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, off-white, tiny-bubbled, medium thick head on an initially lightly hazed, yellow blonde robe with greenish tinge and translucent protein flakes throughout, misty and deeper gold with sediment - but the 'snow' of protein remains present all the time and does not make for an attractive sight, to be honest. Aroma of freshly cut green apple, calvados, fried egg (the proteins!), Poire William, Conference pear, fresh paint, black radish, white bread, unripe peach, coriander seed, strong clove (4-vinyl-guaiacol) and of course - expected in this style of beer but even explicitly announced by the brewer in this case - our good friend banana. Spritzy onset, sharp and minerally carbonation rushing through notes of restrainedly sweet fruitiness of banana, green apple and unripe peach; supple mouthfeel, feeling quite thin for this ABV in fact, with a slender cereally pale maltiness, white-bready, topped with coriander and clove spiciness (one added, the other phenolic), the latter even turning into a bit of burnt rubber; the egg-like and somewhat meaty protein aspect also comes to the foreground at this stage. A grassy hop bitterness builds underneath but lacks the strength to counterbalance all of this - and then, already in an early stage, a scorching, astringent, 'blinding' and burning, booziness appears, destroying everything in its path, as if a shot of Poire William or even moonshine was thrown in. Clearly aiming at Duvel drinkers but adding a full two per cent ABV to actual Duvel, this construction is clearly too top heavy to remain upright and topples over under its own alcohol content. Way too boozy for its own good, in other words - unpleasantly so, with even solvent- or methanol-like associations - I am worrying if I could maybe become blind if I finish this... The proteins need to be cleared for sure, as this type of beer needs clarity, relative cleanness and focus, but starting to make it at least two per cent (even three) less strong would already be a useful step in improving this concoction. Not my cup of tea - I prefer their tripel way over this.

Cloudy amber with a nice ivory-coloured head. Pale malt, toasted, massive esters (apricots etc.), Dried fruits, minerals, some hop. Light sweet, light to medium bitter. Good balance.

Old-fashioned Scotch, once very popular in Belgium, is still alive especially in Wallonia it seems (think of Silly Scotch and all its marvellous variants) - this one coming from what is literally the highest brewery in the country. Thick and frothy, yellowish pale beige, irregularly shaped, large-bubbled but well-retaining head, lightly misty caramel brown robe with vermillion glow. Aroma of caramel candy, butterscotch, 'Koetjesreep', brown bread, toasted chestnuts, dried thyme, clove, dried cranberries, vague cinnamon, baked banana, pear syrup, hint of nutmeg. Sweetish onset, dried-fruity with notes of pear, dates and cranberry jam, medium carbonated with very smooth, slick mouthfeel; caramelly core, brown-bready too with a touch of old ground hazelnuts. Herbal, tea-ish hops in the finish accentuating the toasty side of the malt profile, but this basic caramel sweetness remains dominant; bready yeasty effects, clove-like phenols and warming, 'jenever'-like alcohol further complement the finish. Decent example of its style, meets expectations without exceeding them in any way.

Peak's attempt at IPA, dry-hopped with Simcoe and Idaho-7; longneck bottle from a local supermarket in Ostbelgien. Egg-white, uneven-bubbled, shred-lacing, thick and frothy head on a hazy peach blonde robe with pale orange glow. Aroma of paprika powder, rusk, fried onion somewhere, dry strawbales, old orange zest, wet sand, dust, dandelion, dried out carrot. Cleanish, dryish onset, low in sugars but also low in esters (some baked banana and dried pumpkin notes perhaps), lively carbonated with smooth, somewhat oily mouthfeel; rusk- and thinly biscuit-like maltiness under a long peppery hop bitterness bringing aspects of old dried citrus peel, lemon thyme and paprika powder, but hardly any of the vibrant oniony, citric or tropical sensations one can and should expect from IPA nowadays - especially when Simcoe and Idaho-7 are at play. Dry, clean and sleek but lacking in hop aromatics - another very mediocre Belgian IPA I guess, but far from undrinkable.