'Table stout' by what is - often unknowingly - one of Belgium's largest breweries, active since the 18th century and supplying many supermarket chains with soulless supermarket beers; apparently this ancient brewery is still 'oldskool' enough to add this kind of beer to their range, because it has not been in existence for a very long time (around two decades, or perhaps a bit longer) while it caters for an audience which has become all but extinct by now. Very dark table beers in Belgian style, 'tafelstout' if you will, are an old tradition based on the early 20th-century English milk stout, and has spawned a few other examples which are all but forgotten by now (think of Bavik's Pony Stout), but with that historical background in mind, I was quite eager to give this one a shot. Thick, very moussy, busily cobweb-lacing, pale yellowish beige, regular, large- but even-bubbled, stable head on a very dark mahogany brown beer - indeed near black, with clear burgundy-red edges. Aroma of some or other artisanal cola not from the leading brand, rusty iron (or iron in general - and quite a lot, see the 'hand test'!), hard caramel, brown sugar, aspartame, natural rubber, something vaguely 'burnt' (burnt toast even), nutmeg, Ersatz chocolate, unsugared chewing gum - and again, cola, as in cola powder drink mix. Sugary sweet onset, very cola-like in a homemade kind of way (not Coca Cola - not even Pepsi), treacle and date hints faraway but no actual fruitiness so clearly bottom-fermented, soft carbonation, slick mouthfeel - indeed a tad thin, but what do you expect from a beer at this strength (and the sugar does add some 'body'). Sweetened graininess in the middle, remaining very cola-like, with an unpleasant metallic iron aspect growing stronger and stronger; burnt caramel steps into the picture at a certain point, but otherwise not much more happens, apart from this rubbery element in the finish, unable to divert the attention from the cola and iron flavours which make up the most part of this table beer. No hops are discernable, at least not by me, but there is a background bitterness from the old aspartame, as expected. Very sweet, industrial and quite metallic, but let us be honest here: is this really worse than e.g. Piedboeuf Brune or the large supermarket chains' dark table beers? I think many of the extremely low ratings below have to do with people expecting 'stout' in the modern sense of the word, but anyone familiar enough with Belgian 20th-century beer traditions will recognise this as a typical example of the darkest league of old-fashioned table beer. It does not aim to be more than that, this has nothing to do with the barrel-aged, pompously flavoured imperial stouts you all indulge in (including myself, sure): this is a particular segment of extremely 'oldskool' Belgian table beers very few present-day beer geeks remember or even care about. I do remember, and I admit that the iron and rubber elements here could have been less strong - but this 'tafelstout' does largely meet my expectations so allow me to be the first one here who is not too severe about this 'niche beer' for old folks.

Enjoyed straight from the can. Aroma and taste: Malt, crackers, grass. Light sweet, medium bitter. Mouth feel: Light body, average carbonation. Summary: Better than expected.

330 ml green bottle, as Belga Star (Martens is not mentioned on the label), produced in the EU, from Vinmonopolet, Nettbutikken. ABV is 4.9%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, moderate to small white head. Sweetish aroma of pilsener malts, and floral and grassy hops. Citric mouthfeel. Fairly crisp flavour, a little sweetness, and moderate bittering hops in the finish. Could have been worse.

Can. Golden colour with a small white head. Aroma is parfumed soap, cardboard and some mild herbal tones. Flavour is citrus, some parfumed soap along with mild coriander and some slight wheaty tones. Very watery.

I don't think this is supposed to be a saison. Not at all a good blond, though. 250ml bottle but I didn't even finish it. Harsh. Love the bottle cap though.

Can 50 cl. Honey-yellow, hazy, lush white head. Aroma: banana, wheat bread, a little spicy, sweet and sour. Taste: sweetish with sourness, banana, a baguette with sugar, a little spicy, candy, nothing special but drinkable.