Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

'Edelbier' in Den Buiten's assortment, apparently referring to the brewer's brother-in-law ("levir" being Latin for "brother-in-law"); steinie bottle bought from the brewery. Thick and very dense, creamy, egg-white, tightly and beautifully 'mouse'-lacing, stable head on an initially near-clear, deeply glowing 'old gold'-coloured beer (gold with an orangey tinge) with fierce sparkling but turning misty and deeper peachy with sediment; a true beauty to the eye. Aroma of freshly cut red apple, green pear, "oude jenever" or rather Poire William, dried camomile, straw, banana, a modest whiff of coriander seed, ripe apricot, honey, sweetclover, clove. Fruity onset, very fruity in fact with impressions of banana, ripe pear, peach and pineapple, residual white candi sugar sweetness tempered a bit by very sharp, numbing, bit souring (over)carbonation; nevertheless supple, smooth mouthfeel. Rounded, slick, sweet-bready and lightly caramelly malts, very focused and 'clean', with ongoing fruitiness and a pinch of spicy coriander which fortunately does not become annoyingly soapy, leaving room for a very floral, refreshing, bit spicy hop bitterness to push through; sweetness, lively fruitiness and light bitterness remain, but eventually become a bit overshadowed by a strong, heating, Poire William-like alcohol effect (in combination with the pear aspect), warming the throat and mouth cavity alike. Very correct, clean, pear-like fruity and focused tripel; it deserves respect that this young brewery apparently manages to brew a technically flawless beer, apart for one thing, and that is the overly strong alcohol presence - which burns a bit in the end, and should have been better hidden even at this considerable ABV. Yet, if this is the only criticism I can think of, this is not a bad beer at all and deserving of a higher rating here, in my opinion.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Belgian blonde, a kind of 'edelbier' to use the old OBP term, brewed by this new brewer in West-Flanders for a local school and bottled in steinie bottles (unlike some other Den Buiten beers which appear in vichy bottles). Very thick and frothy, irregularly but heavily lacing, egg-white, dense and stable head over an initially near-clear, warm and deep golden beer with pale orange tinge and disparate strings of fine sparkling; shifting to a more peach-tinged mistiness with sediment. Aroma initially somewhat hampered by overt carbon dioxide but this effect quickly fades, making room for impressions of halfripe peach, freshly baked white bread, coriander seed, apple peel, a light whiff of banana but not too strong, 'oude jenever', roses, cold French fries, moist white pepper, paprika powder hint in the background. Sweetish, fruity onset, ripe peach, pear and banana, lively carbonated with a light sourish undertone; minerally carbonation effects will accompany the flavour 'parcours' till the finish. Slick, full mouthfeel, cleanly bready with a caramelly edge, bit bread-crusty in the end, when spicy phenols (clove) and coriander seed 'dustiness' set in, quickly met by a floral, softly spicy, slightly rooty hop bitterness that last quite long, albeit in a very gentle way, unable to halt the overall sweetness; a 'jenever'-like alcohol effect is very present, even before the finish, and adds a certain wryness and heat to the finish - which should not be this obvious at less than 8% ABV in my book. Badly hidden alcohol, boring spiciness and overall a tad too sweet, but other than that, a decent enough beer that shares a flavour profile with many less local beers from larger producers. Belgium still largely remains stuck in this kind of clichés, which is a bit of a shame: everybody wants to be a brewer now, but producing still more tripels and blondes by the hundreds will only reinforce the current stereotype of Belgium quickly becoming obsolete, despite its very particular and influential role as an idiosyncratic beer country in the latter quarter of the previous century. But this little annoyance on my behalf goes for countless 'new' Belgian beers of course, not just this one, let that be clear...

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

Strong Belgian amber ale with two kinds of candi sugar, now called 'Meubelmaeker' and no longer 'Meubelmaekerke'. Thick and frothy, pale yellowish beige, uneven-bubbled but dense and stable head on an initially near clear, deep and pure copper-hued amber beer, darker than average for an amber in fact, looking like something in between dubbel and blonde; misty with sediment and darker copper with a brownish hue, tipping the balance to dubbel at least in terms of appearance. Fruity, sweet aroma of candi sugar indeed, stewed pear, baker's yeast, candied orange peel, medlar, hint of iron shavings, brown honey, cashew nuts, freshly cut sweet red apple, hints of dust, nutmeg, brown bread dough, armpit sweat, onion jam. Estery, sweetish onset with a sourish edge (almost a bit citric or blackberry-like), pear, some banana, fried apple, medlar, fizzily carbonated (a bit stinging but not harshly so); soft, fluffy mouthfeel. Smooth brown-bready, lightly caramelly and very thinly cashew-nutty maltiness with ongoing fruitiness on top, a clear candi sugar effect but more in a dark-honeyish aromatic way than in actual sweetness, leading to spicy, mildly drying finish that combines yeasty breadiness (a tad 'starchy' even) and phenolic spiciness with lasting fruitiness and maltiness, as well as a floral hop bitter note rounding off the tail. The hop bitterness delicately lingers for a while, but so does that candi sugar effect, with a very slight metallic touch to it. Old school Belgian ale in its general make-up, but with an own personality - this would have fit in perfectly in the wave of idiosyncratic 'streekbieren' of the last quarter of the previous century, but I'm sure the good people of Kortemark and surroundings can certainly provide a market for this. Not bad at all, all things considered.

Nice brew. Cheers Arnout W.

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

Bottle @ home. Clear golden color, average sized fizzy white head. Smell and taste malts, somewhat herbal / spices, a tad sweet and lightly bitter. Short finish. Body is average to decent, carbonation is medium. Mwah.

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

24/06/2018 - 33cl bottle @Hofke ter Musse, Etikhove Amber coloured, nice white head. Nose is malts, bit caramel. Taste is roasted malts, bit caramel, bit orange peel.

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

Bottle @ home. Clear dark amber color, average sized off-white to beige head. Smell and taste malts, a bit bread, dark red fruits and dry raisins, dark candy sugar and quite malty with a moderately malty bitter finish. Decent body and carbonation. Ok beer.

Imported from untappd on 02-05-2020

Imported from untappd on 02-05-2020