8.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 9
Imported from my RateBeer account as Totem Itzamna (by Totem):
Aroma: 10/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 18/20, MyTotalScore: 4.3/5
5/II/17 - on tap @ Brugs Bierfestival - BB: n/a (2017-113) Thanks to 77ships, kraddel and Rubin77 for sharing today's beers!
Cloudy orange beer, practically no head. Aroma: tropical fruits, sweet, mango, passion fruit, lychee, yes, yes, this is the real deal, lovely fresh stuff! MF: soft to no carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty bitter, grapefruit, lots of pineapple, very resinous, hoppy, bitter, what a lovely beer. Aftertaste: maybe a little too bitter, more tropical fruit cocktail. Nice!
Aroma: 10/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 18/20, MyTotalScore: 4.3/5
5/II/17 - on tap @ Brugs Bierfestival - BB: n/a (2017-113) Thanks to 77ships, kraddel and Rubin77 for sharing today's beers!
Cloudy orange beer, practically no head. Aroma: tropical fruits, sweet, mango, passion fruit, lychee, yes, yes, this is the real deal, lovely fresh stuff! MF: soft to no carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty bitter, grapefruit, lots of pineapple, very resinous, hoppy, bitter, what a lovely beer. Aftertaste: maybe a little too bitter, more tropical fruit cocktail. Nice!
Tried
from Draft
on 05 Feb 2017
at 17:01
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
At BBF. Apparently Klaas Dellaert, whom I consider to be one of the most innovative brewers in Belgium of the moment, decided to put his Christmas tree to good use and soak its needles in an IPA already made piney by New World hops. Creamy, quite heavily lacing, egg-white, frothy head on top of a hazy peach blonde beer. Aroma of pine resin and spruce shoots indeed, along with green banana, dried apricot, white bread, pineapple, toast, butterscotch and something glueish. Fruity onset, hints of peach and pineapple, medium carbo, light and supple mouthfeel, cereally and slightly bready middle, resinous finish, aromatic with the expected piney and grapefruity aromas of the ’new’ hops actually matching well with the resinous ’green’ qualities of the spruce needles, bit yeasty as well. Klaas and Ster offered me a few spruce needles to taste along with this beer and I have to admit it: I was a bit skeptical at first, but in this particular form, it turns out way better than I could ever have imagined. Interesting and original beer, big cheers to Klaas and Liesbeth!
Tried
on 05 Feb 2017
at 16:47
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Imported from my RateBeer account as Totem Camazotz (by Totem):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4/5
2/II/17 - 33cl bottle @ home - BB: n/a (2017-3) Thanks to Klaas for my prima nocta bottle!
Slow gusher alert!
Cloudy orange to almost amber beer, very big aery fizzy irregular white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet malts, some caramel, almond cookies, sweet ripe tropical fruits, some canned lychee and canned pineapple. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sourish in the start, sweet malts, caramel, cookies, slightly fruity, ripe fruits, pretty bitter. Aftertaste: malty, bit oxidized (?), little sourish, fruity notes, nice bitterness, some grapefruit, caramel, ripe mango, pineapple, bit resinous.
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 9/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4/5
2/II/17 - 33cl bottle @ home - BB: n/a (2017-3) Thanks to Klaas for my prima nocta bottle!
Slow gusher alert!
Cloudy orange to almost amber beer, very big aery fizzy irregular white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet malts, some caramel, almond cookies, sweet ripe tropical fruits, some canned lychee and canned pineapple. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sourish in the start, sweet malts, caramel, cookies, slightly fruity, ripe fruits, pretty bitter. Aftertaste: malty, bit oxidized (?), little sourish, fruity notes, nice bitterness, some grapefruit, caramel, ripe mango, pineapple, bit resinous.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Feb 2017
at 16:15
6.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 7
Imported from my RateBeer account as Totem Ah Puch (by Totem):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 2/5, Overall: 14/20, MyTotalScore: 3.2/5
2/II/17 - 33cl bottle @ home - BB: n/a (2017-2) Thanks to Klaas for my prima nocta bottle!
Clear deep blond to orange beer, small irregular creamy white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: soft smoky touch, yeast, sweet malts, some banana, almonds, bit fruity. MF: soft carbon, medium to light body. Taste: some citrus, very bitter, bit malty, medicinal bitterness, soft smoke flavours. Aftertaste: bit fruity, some grapefruit, citrus, very bitter, slightly sweet, some orange peel, little malty, grains.
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 2/5, Overall: 14/20, MyTotalScore: 3.2/5
2/II/17 - 33cl bottle @ home - BB: n/a (2017-2) Thanks to Klaas for my prima nocta bottle!
Clear deep blond to orange beer, small irregular creamy white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: soft smoky touch, yeast, sweet malts, some banana, almonds, bit fruity. MF: soft carbon, medium to light body. Taste: some citrus, very bitter, bit malty, medicinal bitterness, soft smoke flavours. Aftertaste: bit fruity, some grapefruit, citrus, very bitter, slightly sweet, some orange peel, little malty, grains.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Feb 2017
at 16:15
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Imported from my RateBeer account as Totem Ek Chuah (by Totem):
Aroma: 9/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4.2/5
1/II/17 - 33cl bottle @ Totem / Klaas' place - BB: n/a (2017-1) Thanks to Klaas for my prima nocta bottle!
Slightly hazy orange beer, big irregular yellowish head, very stable, bit adhesive, laving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty sweet, caramel, floral, some almond bitter cookies, bit of band-aid. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sweet malty start, then very bitter, resinous, piny, it's christmas tree all right! Aftertaste: lots of grapefruit, bitterness, resinous, bit of tropical fruits.
Aroma: 9/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 17/20, MyTotalScore: 4.2/5
1/II/17 - 33cl bottle @ Totem / Klaas' place - BB: n/a (2017-1) Thanks to Klaas for my prima nocta bottle!
Slightly hazy orange beer, big irregular yellowish head, very stable, bit adhesive, laving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty sweet, caramel, floral, some almond bitter cookies, bit of band-aid. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sweet malty start, then very bitter, resinous, piny, it's christmas tree all right! Aftertaste: lots of grapefruit, bitterness, resinous, bit of tropical fruits.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Feb 2017
at 16:15
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Dark brown colour, creamy foam. Nose of roasted malts, caramel, fudge, sweet dark fruit. Sweet and roasty, bitter finish. Nice mix betwee stout and barley wine.
Tried
on 17 Jan 2017
at 06:34
9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 10
Texture 8
Overall 9
08/01/2017 @home - 33cl bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck. Dark briwn with small creamy tanned head. Nose is sweet malts, roast, chocolate. Taste is first sweet fruity malts, quickly followed by bitter roast, creamy chocolate, some hops. Damn challenging but nice one again.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Jan 2017
at 15:28
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle at home. Hazy light golden with good sized white head. Soft lemon, grass, fresh dough, some mango and orange, there’s a hint of banana and light spicy yeast, but there’s way more bitter hops and dough. Medium sweet and over medium bitter. Medium bodied with creamy doughy feel. Nice beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Dec 2016
at 16:35
8.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Dark barley wine from Klaas’ Totem brewery, from tap at Beerlovers Bar in Antwerp, but I actually got to taste a sample in preproduction in Leuven last year, generously shared by Klaas himself - wondering if a ’dark barley wine’ could be successful at all, considering the fact that most (even beer drinking) Belgians are not familiar with the concept of barley wine to begin with. Anyway, this is more or less like I remember it from that privileged pre-tasting: lacing, moussy, irregularly shaped, pale yellowish beige head on top of a very dark mahogany brown beer, nearly black in its general appearance. Fascinating aroma of gravy, dried thyme, caramel, stewed bayleaf, bitter chocolate, old red wine, coffee grounds (in a subtle, diluted form), beef stock, pear, candied fig, black pepper. Sweetish onset, dried fig countered by a sourish, elderberry-like undercurrent, very smooth and full, expectedly vinous mouthfeel, softly carbonated, with a thick and full caramelly malt body, nutty accents and even becoming a tad chocolatey towards the end, where peppery hops come to the rescue and bring balance. Spicy (even lightly dried chili-like) notes ensue along with warming, brown rum-like alcohol, heating up the throat in a non-obnoxious way. As I said from that first sip I had in the spring: this is a beautiful beer, which I urgently need to revisit. First dark ’stoutish’ barleywine in Belgium, in line with similar ideas from Anglo-Saxon craft breweries. This is among the most exciting breweries in Flanders now, if you ask me. Cheers Klaas for inventing this and cheers Ben for selling it in Antwerp.
Tried
from Draft
on 25 Nov 2016
at 19:55
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 6
Overall 9
13/11/2016 @home - 33cl bottle from a trade with tderoeck. Golden colour with a reddish hue, small head only. Nose is wet grains, spices, fruits, hint of sourness. Taste is wheat, touch of sourness, pepper, lots of fruits (peach, pineapple, strawberry,...). Lovely!
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Nov 2016
at 10:10