Can @ Belgian Summer Gathering Sept' 21, Evergem. Merci Klaas. Proposée après le Belle Dame Rhubarbe de La Source qui manquait un peu du punch de rhubarbe.
Ici une version avec un ajout de lactose.
Dorée, col fin blanc.
Arôme sur un bouquet frais oscillant entre végétal et douceur marquée - le lactose est de suite présent voire dominant - pas vraiment mon truc. Cela se fait ressentir pour la rhubarbe qui est trop discrète en rétro-nasal. Une fine effluve citrique perce en rétro pour le côté 'sour'.
Palais est de suite marqué par l'ajout de lactose qui confère un effet presque de marshmallow en bouche, le côté rhubarbe reste discret et se retrouve un peu noyé par cette douceur - je note peu l'impact acidulé qui est poussé en retrait par le lactose.

Can @ Belgian Summer Gathering Sept' 21, Evergem. Merci Klaas.
Brune foncée, col fin disparate blanc-cassé.
Arôme sur de bonnes effluves d'un classique US - malté généreux de caramel, chocolaté ponctué par un bouquet 'sour' pour une note de fraicheur. Houblonné fruité et léger pin en rétro nasal Mosaic donne un côté un peu Simcoe-esque

Palais est plaisant allant de suite vers le caractère de 'dark Cascadian' même si les houblons utilisées Azacca et Mosaic ne sont pas les grands classiques C-Hops d'antan. Ici le côté malté grillé fin chocolaté vient se mélanger aux belles notes des houblons - agrumes et léger pin/résineux, effet un peu brett en retrait pour un 'sour' qui reste modéré.

Triple or 'imperial' IPA as interpreted by Totem, now fully operational as a 'true' brewery just north of Ghent. From a can with characteristic new Totem design (stripes), but I cannot recall where I purchased it, could be a gift from the brewer himself - in which case: thanks once again, Klaas! Best before December next year. Membrane-lacing, egg-white, thinnish, small-bubbled and dense head breaking in the middle but retaining well around the edge and as scattered flat islands in the middle; hazy apricot blonde robe with vaguely ochre-ish tinge. Powerful bouquet of pomelo, overripe papaya, gin, strong 'diesel', pineapple slices from a can, spoiled onion, rambutan, Screwdriver, shallot frying in olive oil, leftover dough, plasticine, fried sweet apple, leek, fermenting pear juice, very vague but noticeable touch of coconut flesh from the Sabro. Sweetish-fruity onset, very juicy with notes of papaya, Zespri kiwi, starfruit and pineapple, a dash of mango perhaps, finely but enthusiastically tingling carbonation, full and oily mouthfeel; biscuit- and somewhat cake-doughy malt sweetness deeply soaked in tropical, sultry hoppiness, bringing back all the papaya, rambutan and pineapple, with a sweet fried apple-like edge to it. Ends very juicy, sweet but nowhere cloying, 'heavy' and boozy - with even a 'burning' sensation on the root of the tongue, coming more from hop burn than from alcohol, even if the latter is very pronounced in the finish as a heating, slightly astringent, gin-like factor. A powerful, boastful construction, as typifies 'triple IPA' (justly remaining unseparated from double IPA here), fully operating withing the NEIPA idiom even if the hops do provide some end bitterness along with the alcohol; that said, and having had this beer a few times before I made this rating based on the can I have at home, there is also something crude about it, with both a hop burn and an alcohol burn in the very last stage, making a juicy, sweet, tropical, sultry beer ending rather dry and astringent. The Sabro has been excellently and very cleverly used here as that typical coconut aspect lingers around in the end - so in spite of those two burns, which are by no means absent in the original American examples of NEDIPA, this creation does show considerable knowledge of contemporary New World hop varieties and how to use them. Impressive as such - though perhaps a bit too overpowering, even if this is an aspect one should reckon with when drinking any kind of IPA above 8% ABV, I guess. In any case an 'imperial NEIPA' pur sang, that is for sure.

Pastry(ish) stout by Totem, containing lactose and banana - real bananas that is, and I am not entirely sure if I ever had a beer containing those before. Apparently an idea by the brewer's lovely wife, Liesbeth Van Raemdonck, so a good occasion to put her in the spotlight, for the amount of work she does in the brewery. I had this one several times before, but now I finally get to properly rating it from a can at home. Greyish beige, small-bubbled, open head, very thin and eventually dissolving all but completely - maybe bananas are not the most 'foam-positive' element you can add to beer; black robe with thin, hazy burgundy edges (under bright light). Strong and unusual aroma: indeed a lot of actual ripe banana but now (after several weeks) even shifting to banana liqueur 'à la' Pisang Ambon, caramel sauce, 'Koetjesreep', maple syrup hint, coconut milk, molasses, paraffin, cold cappuccino, light but clear smoky touch (freshly extinguished candle), brown rum, drying shoe polish, treacle, brown soap, vague liquorice in the background. Sweet onset, lots of residual dark sugariness mingled with the banana effect, but also some light fruity notes of ripe pear and date; fine carbonation, very full and syrupy mouthfeel. Deeply toffeeish maltiness ensues with a thick coating of this sweet and creamy milk sugar, making for a somewhat chocolatey effect but still Ersatz chocolate-like rather than that deep and almost 'real' chocolateyness you can get in many (mostly American, or at least American style) strong stouts. That paraffin note, linked to the smoky accent, shows up in the finish, but underneath lies quite a bit of roasted bitterness too, seemingly drowned a bit in the banana and lactose sweetness but certainly there, like a deep 'underground' structure supporting the rest. Warming, rum-like alcohol mingles with the banana in the finish, again creating a vague association with Pisang Ambon, but eventually becomes a tad wry as well, which matches less with the overall sweetness - fortunately this wryness goes away quickly, and the trusted banana, toffee and even coconut impressions return, even if solventy effects (shoe polish) remain quite stubborn too. Decadent as it gets especially to Flemish standards - Liesbeth clearly has the balls to come up with something many may find too decadent. Not Totem's greatest achievement in the stout area so far (and I am including their initial period as a client brewer), a bit too sweet, too solventy and too boozy for me personally, but I sure admire the guts of coming up with something like this - even for Totem. Cheers to Liesbeth - and Klaas too of course, to whom I owe so many 'sneek previews' of their new beers.

Pours very creamy (nitro) ,amberredish. Scent is very particular. Smokey meat / BBQ sauce, but not at all like I know smoke in beer. Taste is full, intense aromatic. Sweet, mild alcohol. Barrels show nicely. Lovely beer - winner of the festival to me.

Pours black, no head. Scent is full, banana, roasty. Taste is full, roasty, banana puree. Roasty malts, chocolate (bit bitter) . Actually a quite nice beer, even though I tend to really dislike banana stouts. This one is not pastry style though, more like an irish export + banana and chocolate. Still not in love with it, but avoiding the sweet-on-sweet definately helps !

Pours fairly clear blonde, scent is fairly full, mild smoke. malty, almost a fruity touch. light, fresh. Taste is full, light, citrus. Bright and refreshing. Smoke is mild, even to me this is a very enjoyable beer ( I don't like smoke ) . High carbo. Medium thin to thin body. Easy drinker. unexpectedly, a beer I drank 'for science' in a style I don't usually enjoy, became one of my favorites of the festival !