33cl bottle. A clear amber beer witha off-white head. Aroma of mid sweet caramelized reddish malt. Taste of caramel, red malt, leaves, spicy hops, some raisins.

Organic tripel from Brunehaut, brewed for client brewer Flobecq. Steinie bottle that has been standing in my collection for months now, can't remember where I bought it. Initially inches thick, foamy and rocky, beaten egg-white, cobweb-lacing, audibly crackling, stable head, difficult to pour without immediately filling the glass; crystal clear, 'old golden' beer with visible sparkling, quickly turning misty. Aroma of green pear, halfripe banana, cooked apple, some bubblegum, old crumbling meringue, raw white cabbage, powder sugar, honey, clove, onsetting honeyish and 'chicken soup'-like oxidation (my fault for waiting too long I guess), hints of clove, sweaty feet, damp unwashed cotton cloth, grass, minerals. Crisp onset, lots of fizzy carbonation but unfortunately with 'numbing' and distracting effect, adding lots of minerality and a dash of unneeded sourishness piercing through restrained green apple, sweetish banana, pear and vague pineapple fruitiness, marring an otherwise rounded mouthfeel; cereally, white-bready, essentially rather grainy pale maltiness with a slight soapy edge. Phenolic spicy notes in the end, some clove and light ginger but subtly so, grassy and floral hoppiness, with that weird sweaty note returning retronasally, alongside that honeyish oxidation effect. Ends still fizzy and minerally, but also mildly, grassy and florally hoppy, with a thin-laced yet effective bitterness, while the general flavour profile remains on the dry side. I should have tasted this one when it was young(er), I know, but apart from that somewhat annoying oxidation touch, it held up relatively well; not the worst Brunehaut tripel I had so far - contrary to my expectations, I must honestly add - but at best forgettable and unnecessary, as well as overcarbonated even for a tripel. Decent enough for its intended audience I guess - in a simple, unambitious and frankly very boring way.

33cl bottle from Prik & Tik Dranken Marlou. F: medium, white, average retention. C: gold, light hazy. A: malty, mellow fruity, bready, bit caramel, bubble gum, floral. T: medium malty base, pear, banana, bready, bit caramel, juniper alcohol touch, bit herbal, medium dry on the palate, soft carbonation, ok, drinkable.

Organic amber ale from this Walloon specialist in organic ales, evoking the World's Fair of Brussels of 1958 - when Belgian amber ales, in the form of 'spéciale belge', were still popular. Quite thick, intricately cobweb-lacing, very irregularly edged, off-white, slowly breaking but generally very stable head on an initially near clear, indeed reddish amber-tinged orange blonde beer, turning misty with sediment. Aroma of unripe apricot, dry autumn leaves, white pepper, bread crust, hint of toast, crumbled toasted peanuts, potato crisps, nutmeg, fried apple, dry earth. Restrainedly sweetish onset, unripe peach, apple peel and dried apricot but not overly fruity, minerally accents from lively carbonation (a bit stinging in fact), proportionally full body, smooth in its core but coarsened by the carbonation; peanutty and toasted-bready maltiness with a grainy edge, some clove-like spicy phenols, light bready yeastiness in the end alongside a leafy, bit peppery hop bitterness that 'flows out' a bit and lingers for quite a while; nutmeg- and clove-like accents accentuate the hops in a dryish, pleasantly quenching way. Simple and straightforward in a very old school way, this is indeed a very credible 'spéciale belge' of a kind few brewers still make (note that Ginder Ale, Op-Ale and Horse Ale, three classic examples of this now often neglected Belgian beer tradition, have recently been discontinued by their respective producers); compared with most of the classics in the genre, a bit yeastier and spicier, but that typifies the Walloon style 'ambrée' so that should not come as a surprise. One of the most old-fashioned 'new' Belgian beers I had in quite a while, but correct, easygoing in a pleasant enough way and well-balanced.

Clear blond body. White head. Lightly hoppy nose. Moderately bitter, lightly sweet flavour. Ok

Bouteille 33cl de Carrefour Market, Ghislenghien. No BB.
Ambrée au col épais crémeux blanc-cassé.
Arôme au nez fin malté proposant de belles effluves de caramel avec une petite nuance de chocolat, retrouve un malt grillé qui perce en rétro-nasal.
Le houblonné est plus discret et apporte une note plus centrée sur les agrumes.
Palais est, ici aussi, plaisant - belge en approche avec une belle palette de malts qui oscillent sur le grillé, caramel et chocolaté voire une petite touche de crystal.
Je note également une pointe épicée rappelant la coriandre / girofle sur la fin, tout cela avec un houblonné qui offre des pointes fruitées agrumes

Clear amber colour, white foam. Metallic, sweet malts, rather dry and bitter finish. Balance is ok. Not bad, not good either.

Bouteille 33cl du Delhaize Enghien, BB 07/2022. Dorée, au col blanc épais. Arôme reste dans une lignée classique belge, houblonnée noble, légèrement fruité avec petite touche un peu tropical - agrumes. Rétro nasal laisse passer une certaine note de levure. Palais est léger, présentant une ligne assez classique belge - retrouve un fruité noble rappelant le citron et qcq notes fleuries.