30 August 2025. At 7de Bier van Olier (Sijsele). Cheers to Anke, mom & dad!

Old bread crust, old hops, grass, hay. Sour plum, green apple, sourdough. Tart citrus zest, some bitter old grassy hops. Bit more rustic, bitter and malty rather than funky.

Sample from bottle at Carnivale Brettanomyces 2025, John Versyck blending workshop. Didn't take many notes, just enjoyed good beers and good company. What I do remember: Blend 69. Pretty pale golden, lightly hazy. Floral notes. Hints of hop. Citrus fruit, wood, dry mouthfeel. Hints of vanilla. Ok.

LCI #carnivale2025

Like some other lambic producers do, see e.g. Oud Beersel's Bersalis or even old Girardin's Ulrich Lager, Pomphuizeke has this 'non-lambic' beer in its portfolio, completely unrelated to all the interesting lambic blendings they do - something which may come across as a bit confusing considering the front label explicitly defines Pomphuizeke (now official after a dozen years of home blending) as a "lambiekbrouwerij en geuzestekerij"... Anyway, this one was apparently brewed in the Netherlands - not unsurprisingly considering the many 'beery' relations Pomphuizeke founder (and only employee) John Versyck has there - so it remains the odd one out in the range also from that point of view. Enthusiastic to get out of the bottle so be ware - but no gushing at least in my case. Initially glass-filling, towering, thickly and irregularly plaster-like lacing, greyish pale beige, uneven-bubbled, frothy head resting very stable on an initially clear, very dark mahogany brown robe, looking near black but with burgundy-red glow under bright light, misty with sediment. Aroma of lingonberries, fresh fig, toffee, dried peach, caramel, cold cappuccino, medium dry sherry, ferrous spring water, pear, dark chocolate below, toasted cashew nuts, whiffs of tonic water, pipe tobacco ashes, green coffee beans, sedge, fresh bayleaf. Fruity in the onset with notes of ripe blackberries, lingonberries and elderberries, side hints of fig and dried cherries, sweetish but nowhere actually sweet, with a dim sourish undertone reinforced by the very active carbonation; then a smooth but fairly full body unfolds, a bit caramelly at the start but not sweet, brown-bread-crusty, quickly moving into roasted bitter territory, almost 'skipping' the toffeeish phase I tend to expect in beers like this - but indeed becoming full-fledged toasty and a bit ashy, with subtle earthy notes lingering about. The dried and dark fruitiness is all but gone by that point, but a confident dosage of leafy, earthy, almost wormwoody hop bitterness takes over, aligning itself with the - to today's standards - quite pronounced roasted bitterness. More interesting than it may seem at first glance: starts off with an alluring nose of red fruit and sherry, kicks off fruity and soft in the mouth but then moves to full-on bitterness both on the roasted front and on the hoppy front, leaving no trace of this 'friendly' red fruitiness in its wake. The added coffee, already contributing to this bitterness early on, extends far beyond everything else in this beer apart from that rooty hop bitterness - in a way that is both astringently (yet still pleasantly) bitter and aromatic. Certainly bitter and roasty enough to qualify as a dry (or indeed coffee) stout as well, but then the difference between porter and stout has never been clear cut and it definitely is not clear cut anymore today, so who cares. A clever move to offer this oldskool, smooth, dry and roasty porter next to all those lambic blends that make up this project's core business. Enjoyed it, cheers John!

12 September 2024. At 1ste Kwatrechts Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Tim and the GBV crew!

Fermenting blue plum & blackberries, some coffee. Sour blackberry & blueberry, bit earthy, vaguely toasty, some coffee grounds. Nice to see Brouwbar "resurrected" like this. Cheers, John & Brouwbar!

12 September 2024. At 1ste Kwatrechts Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Tim and the GBV crew!

Stable tan head. Coffee bean, toast, chicory, old chestnuts. Restrainedly sweetish blackberry, bitter coffee & toast. Earthy hops, coffee & ash. No frills, just a straightforward bitter, ashy Porter.

31/I/25 - on tap @ DOK Brewing (Gent), BB: n/a (2025-48)

Clear dark deep amber to dark chestnut red brown beer, creamy dense beige head, pretty stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: gentle roast, yeast, a bit spicy, a hint of coffee, not much though. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: a bit malty up front, bitter, very roasted, dry, a hint of coffee, a bit sourish. Aftertaste: malty, very bitter, hint of banana, dry roasted finish.

From bottle at Carnivale Brettanomyces 2024. Sour with a dark malt aroma including notes of coffee, soft smoke, fruits. Tart and fairly sour. Yeah, it's a Sour Stout.

15 September 2024. At 16de Brugs Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Kevin & Jerre!

No head. Fermented apple, kiwi, wet wood, walnut. Tart apple & redcurrant. Some bitter woody tannins. Flat carbonation, as it should be. Nice!