Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

19 August 2023. At 13de Gents Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Tim & so many others!

A: hazy black, thin, beige head.
A: coffee, toast, fondant, tobacco.
T: sweetish raisin, fondant, mocha, chestnut.
F: earthy hops, bitter & dry fondant & coffee.
P: medium to full body, oily texture, soft carbonation.
Textbook, clean Imperial Stout.

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

Can, many thanks tderoeck! Unclear golden color with no head. Aroma is banana, dash of kiwi. Taste is the same, fun fruit, jammy, kinda works, it does what it promises to do.

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

Can, again thanks to the good people sitting next to me, hazy pale gold, banana, light fruity vinegar , some subdued tropical fruits,and just a feral hint. Highly enjoyable.

bottle at Borefts 2023 Saturday... hazy amber.... thin white lacing.. soft sweet caramel banana fruit nose.. juicy sweet fruit

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

23/IX/23 - 33cl can from de Gentse Biervereniging, shared @ Borefts Beer Festival Day 2, BB: XII/2025 (2023-776)

Clear greenish dark yellow beer, big aery irregular head, dissipates quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet sugary impression, vanilla notes, fruity indeed. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: very acidic start, lots of kiwi, a bit sweet, vanilla notes, some banana, funky and sour. Well, it is indeed a kiwi and banana vanilla sour for that matter! Aftertaste: slightly sweet, kiwi, sourish, banana flavoured candy, dry finish.

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

New Totem stout containing sea salt and maple syrup, created for beer festivals (with, obviously, the Gent Bierfestival getting the debut) and so far only available from keg - apparently there are no intentions to can this one. Creamy, stable and firm, pale greyish beige head, black robe with hazy mahogany edges. Aroma of indeed maple syrup running through it all but not overwhelming notes of toffee, dark chocolate, macadamia nuts, cappuccino, hazelnut purée, vanilla, cognac, caramel, old brown honey (probably just the maple syrup again) and bayleaf. Densely sweet onset, 'candied' with clear maple syrup effect though again it remains well in balance with the other flavours, ranging between blackberry coulis, dried fig, plum jam and a brief touch of black olive-like umami; soft carb, thick and oily mouthfeel - but not so syrupy that it hinders drinkability. The salty aspect is there and blends well with the toffeeish side of the malt bill to create a 'salted caramel'-like effect, but does not overpower and remains a spicy detail rather than a determining flavour. Layers of toffee, bitter black chocolate and molasses ensue, still subtly sweetened by the maple syrup and even more subtly salted, ending with a citric hop bitter edge and warming, bourbon-like alcohol, which remains firmly in place. Another Totem masterpiece, too bad it will not be made available in canned form like their other beers!

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8

New Totem stout according to the most classic of barrel aged formulas: aged on bourbon barrels, Woodford Reserve in this case, which is what the whole barrel ageing hype started with a couple of decades ago. Sampled at Gents Bierfestival, cheers Klaas. Very thin and open ring of tiny beige bubbles but otherwise no head to speak of, black robe with thin mahogany edges. Aroma of clear bourbon, vanilla-scenting oak, toffee, chocolate-coated hazelnuts, latté macchiato, nougat, porcini fried with brown sugar, fig jam. Sweet, dense onset, light umami notes of black olive and porcini but primarily candied dates and fig compote, if clean and focused; oily mouthfeel, on the edge of becoming syrupy but not quite so that drinkability remains dangerously high. Layers of toffee, black chocolate, latté and nougat follow, drenched in warming bourbon with a slightly astringent edge, alongside woody tannins and vanillin from the oak; the finish further adds a spicy hop bitter twist and some coffee-like roastedness, but bourbon, toffee and bitter chocolate remain the main factors. More (but not too much) carbonation could further improve the flavours, but this is clearly a very deep, rich and complex stout as it is, with no discernible errors or even imbalances, not even on a 'micro' level. Klaas and Liesbeth remain at the cutting edge of U.S. style brewing in at least Eastern Flanders, but things like this convince me each and every time that they deserve their place in the international pantheon of inspired and artistic craft brewers as well. Nothing more I can add!

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Explosively gushing to a towering mango-yellow head over bright, but veiled orange beer, leaving shards of lace. Nice fresh jumble of different citrusfruit; faint raw pipetobacco, and a bit of ureum. Piney, resiny bitterness, wry. Faint fruity sugars underneath. The combination with the hopoils making it chewy, beefed-up. Very well (too...) carbonated; hopoil-laden until at least medium bodied, heavy for its 6% ABV. Very good IPA, pity about the gushing (which was unprovoked). I doubt it was really the first Belgian cold IPA. Txs to Stef!

Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Can from Beers@Moviefun.
A: clear yellow, thin, white head.
A: ripe kiwi & banana, lime, yoghurt, lemon pie.
T: sweet banana-flavoured yoghurt, sour kiwi, lime, mandarin.
F: tart kiwi flesh, lactic lime, sweetish banana.
P: medium body, creamy texture, average carbonation.
Both fruits pair well in this, but the banana is a bit too much for me.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Gents Bier Festival 2023 - Black and oily with no head. Aroma and flavour have lots of vanilla. Some sweet dried fruits too.