Collabfest @Brewdog Brussels

The (American style) pale ale from this apparently new contract brewer from Brussels, whose range also seems to include a witbier, a DIPA and a saison - something to be discovered perhaps, if his quality level is anything like that of the other Brussels 'nouvelle vague' brewers... Thick and frothy, eggshell-white, creamy and dense, irregularly edged, stable head, hazy pale straw blonde robe with apricot hue and thin strings of sparkling rising up everywhere. Powerful, enticing and 'pure' bouquet of strong ripe mango, yellow kiwi, mandarin, sugared lemon flesh, sweetbread, meringue even, white pepper, dried wormwood leaves, yellow curry, sweet paprika powder, hints of lavender soap, jackfruit, freshly grated ginger, whipped cream. Lively, fruity onset, colourful with notes of sweet ripe mango, sweet citrus (mandarin), yellow kiwi, rambutan and ripe pear, sourish undertone accentuated by lively, fizzy but not too harsh carbonation, smooth and almost creamy, soft mouthfeel - with that carbonation still dispensing some stings here; sweetbready, fluffy, bread pulp-ish malts with a cereally edge, quickly soaked in aromatic hoppiness releasing tropical, zesty colours retronasally, mango, pomelo and jackfruit with a lot of orange zest; meanwhile a soft but effective, powdery, initially only mildly grapefruity but eventually somewhat quinine-like, long-lasting, bit peppery bitterness comes up too, tying everything together in a very accurate, cleverly balanced way and highlighted by (almost magnesium-like) minerally accents adding crispness and subtle complexity. Sleek, streamlined yet colourful and characterful beer, very up to date and heavily drawn from the NEIPA hype like so many APAs and IPAs these days - yet keenly curbing its fruitiness, 'tropicalness' and sweetness so never descending into simplistic tropical fruit lemonade territory. This kind of decidedly un-Belgian, 'internationally styled' beer fits perfectly in the new Brussels elan indeed - and even surpasses some of the more familiar names. A pleasant discovery.