6.5

Thanks tderoeck

6.5

from tderoeck.

5.8

Appearance - 1 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

10/VII/21 - 33cl bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck (Vichte), shared @ Anniek and Martijn’s place, BB: 1/VI/21, LOT: 2020/042 (2021-600)

GUSHER ALERT!
Pretty cloudy beige blond beer, small creamy irregular off-white head, unstable, falls down quickly. Aroma: fruity, very yeasty, spicy, coriander, dusty, some ripe banana, green apples. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet start, yeasty touch, grains, some banana, little spicy, coriander. Aftertaste: slightly sourish, some green apple (Granny Smith), gentle bitterness, hint of wheat, spicy touch.

6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

3/V/21 - 33cl can from Bierhalle Deconinck (Vichte), shared @ home, BB: 1/VI/22, batch 2020/043 (2021-356)

Rather cloudy dark brown beer, solid creamy beige head, very stable, non adhesive. Aroma: very yeasty, sweet malts, nice roast, coffee touch, ripe banana. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet start, malty, grains, cow fodder, caramel, soft bitterness, very yeasty, some banana, very soft roast. Aftertaste: yeast, slightly sourish, almost infected impression, banana, bit watery, nice bitter roast, slightly smoky, but just a little.

Paired nicely with a vegan chilli sin carne with smoked tofu and chipotle.

6.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Smoked porter - thank Alaskan for this concept - as interpreted by Sweynbeer, a microbrewery in Elewijt (south of Malines) which is not too shy to have a go at international style craft beer from time to time. This steinie bottle has been sitting in my collection for many a month, long enough to forget where I bought it... Quite thick, frothy, irregularly but tightly lacing, yellowish pale beige, dense and stable head on a hazy dark chocolate brown beer, approaching black but still showing a dark brown hue and lighter caramel brown edges - weirdly though, it becomes less 'blackish' and more opaque and murky 'Ovaltine brown' as the sediment goes in... Rather weak aroma of old caramel candy, dust, old marmite, Ovaltine, toffee, forest floor, light smokiness of extinguished bonfire rather than the smoked bacon I was hoping for, cashew nuts, sugared tea, prunes, stewed pear, fig, hazelnut purée, dead beech tree leaves. Fruity onset, sweetish with notes of fig, ripe blackberry, blue plum and red apple, sourish undertone, fizzy carbonation (too fizzy for the style), rounded body; caramelly maltiness with cashew-nutty edges, sweetish but quickly turning to a mild toasty bitterness, sourish effect persisting, phenolic aspect of clove or even slight nutmeg, leafy hoppiness providing gentle and late bitterness amidst ongoing toasty-caramelly malt bittersweetness, yeasty earthiness and spiciness and indeed, but very subtly so, a retronasal hint of something smoked - even a brief whiff of smoked bacon, which then vanishes into thin air again, unfortunately. Rather short, minerally, malty finish with a blood-like metallic effect lingering as well as this underlying sourishness continuing, reminiscent almost of spoilt milk. Belgian brewing is carefully and quietly discovering smoked malts at the moment, but so far, I have not seen many successful smoked beers in this country (do not get me started on that laughable Cornet Oaked Smoked or that weird Gouden Carolus Indulgence Funken). This one does not add a whole lot: it claims to be a Baltic porter to begin with, something I do not think you can realize with a Belgian fermentation pattern, and secondly it is not nearly 'Rauchmalz-forward' enough to be as smoky as a 'smoked porter' lover would expect. Surely there is a smoky aspect here, orthonasally and retronasally, but it remains too 'small' and limited to take enough space in the overall flavour profile - at least to my liking. These Sweynbeer guys should do a vertical tasting of Alaskan Smoked Porter and use it as a measure to improve this one. That said, it is not a bad beer per se, on the contrary: I applaud the fact that a small player like Sweynbeer at least has the guts to tackle this North American style and put it on a hopelessly conservative market not ready for taking in Rauchmalz-forwarded beers yet. As far as I am concerned, though: the more smokiness, the better, if Bamberg Rauchbier is to be taken as the ultimate source of inspiration, but have an extra point for at least daring to put smoked porter on the Belgian beer map, even if there is clearly a long way to go.

6.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

29/I/21 - 33cl bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck (Vichte), shared @ home, BB: 1/VIII/21, bottled: 2020/046 (2021-96)

Pretty clear orange beer, lots of debris under a big creamy yellowish head, bit irregular, little stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: fruity touch, sourish impression, peaches, yeasty. MF: very lively carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sourish, floral, some citrus fruits, hoppy, grapefruit, good bitterness, little funky. Aftertaste: bit watery, nice acidity, good bitterness, little funky. Aftertaste: bit watery, nice acidity, good bitterness, bit fruity, oxidized, some honey, hoppy, not bitter at all. Not really an IPA.

7.1

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5

23/I/21 - 33cl bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck (Vichte), shared @ Outside New Year’s Drink, BB: 7/I/22, Lot: 019/034 (2021-72)

Clear blond beer, small fizzy white irregular head, unstable, dissipates quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: some citrus, fruity, nice. MF: very lively carbon, medium to light body. Taste: very refreshing, nice and clear acidity, little floral, soft bitterness. Aftertaste: hoppy touch, very acidic, lemon juice, little funky, very nice, super refreshing.

4.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 2.5 | Texture - 5 | Overall - 4

[2020/042] First one from this brewery, really don't like this one, tastes somewhat yeasty/spicy/sweet/honey/watery & flat. Nice and original label

6.6

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Hazy blond body. White creamy head. Nose of yeast, apricots, ... bit unbalanced slightly bitter, moderately bitter flavour. Watery texture.