Draught Small pinkish rim over clear, carmine red beer. Raspberry and velvet, moss, rainwater. Weak raspberry flavour, as to portwine...? Not even wood. Light, empty body, watery. Kids' drink. The portwine is absent, let alone Champagne yeast... to 4.3% only?

Draught Medium yellow cream head over opaque red-brown beer. Vinous, woody, smelling sweetish, with hints of thyme and oregano, undergrowth. Sweet, bit woody, sweet red dessertwine, hints of coffeecream. Feels just a little bit less bodied than a classical Doppelbock, but is chewy enough, slick. Medium carbonation. Convincing Bock, not oversweet.

Bottle, I forget from where. No readable MHD. Super dark brown, not black, hazy raisin color with small, fast dispersing head. Looks more like a Belgian strong dark. Almost no noticeable aroma, hint of malt, that's weird. Flavor is caramel slight-butterscotch sweetness, little depth, little complexity or aftertaste. A bit nutty like those sugar-roasted pecans at Christmas, but not as interesting. A bit disappointing for a nine percent supposedly-stout honestly.

Newish Paenhuys beer, with a pink-tinged label depicting baby dragons apparently - a tribute to the birth of the brewer's first daughter. Intended as a light-hearted summer quencher apparently, but I am having this on a pre-winter night in late November. Thick and frothy, intricately cobweb-lacing, off-white, even-bubbled, moussy and diminishing and slowly opening but stable head over a hazed deep orange-glowing peach blonde beer, almost amber but not quite entirely so. Aroma of lilac blossoms, white soap, unsalted peanuts, old orange peel, bath foam, wormwood leaves, unripe pear, dry earth, turmeric, dust - but luckily no lemonade. Fruity onset, restrainedly sweetish, dried apricot, unripe pear, green banana, medium carb, slick and rather soapy mouthfeel; caramelly maltiness but thinly so, with a very slight toasty edge, but mostly remaining quite generically cereally. The soapy aspect remains, also when a soft floral hop bitterishness sets in (along with mild spicy phenols and an actual spiciness vaguely reminiscent of turmeric) - but alas, it remains too subtle to create a truly drying and quenching effect. A more confident hop bitterness and less of that soapiness would have enhanced drinkability and quenching properties in this summer beer, but as my esteemed colleague below observes, it is indeed a bit 'different' from the regular Belgian amber ale (or 'spéciale belge' because that is basically what this category is about) and technically solid. Not really my cup of tea though - Paenhuys's beers in general would benefit from a more generous hop dosage, if you ask me. That said: welcome to this world, Mona!

Good cream-ten head over reddish-shot black beer. Very roasted nose, almost ashy, but also sweet, as gravy from the meatroast. Drier in the mouth, roasted, but again with a quite sweet, almost syrupy finish. English sweets, hints of Schwarzwald Torte. Quite thick and chewy, but also syrupy. Medium carbonation. Quite OK, not stellar.

Medium, stable white head over fully hazy yellow-golden beer. Citrus, C-hops' galore, lime, lemon, ugli(peel). Resiny & citrussy bitterness, lemonsquash - just a little too watered down. Finish has citruspeel bitterishness. Extremely refreshing, if obviously very lean, watery. OK, alcohol is not the forte for this one, but imagining this on a sun-drenched terrace - ideal!

18/VII/21 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ my parents’ place, BB: VIII/2022 (2021-647)

Clear orange beer, small creamy white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: pretty fruity, malty, grains, sweet impression. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sweet, cough syrup, orange peel, oxidized, pretty bitter, fruity touch. Aftertaste: more oxidation, bit sweet, bitter touch, still oxidative notes, orange peel, bit sugary.

2020 edition. Bottle from a gift (thanks to Anke with thanks to Marie-Thérèse). Hazy dark brown, small, tan head. Aroma of red apple slices, black tea, liquorice, prune, toffee, candied orange peel, milk chocolate, burnt sugar. Taste has sweet red apple, pear & prune in a soft chocolatey & toffee-like malt body, bitter edge with spicy phenols & herbal liquorice, gently toasty. Herbal hoppy finish, lingering liquorice, dried fruit & warming gin-like alcohol. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Enjoyable but thoroughly Belgian.

Medium, cream-tan head, over deep black-brown beer. Dry nose, chalk, liquorice and a suspicious whiff of a halogen. Dry, liquorice, wood, bit pharmaceutical. Doubtfull hint at smoke, generally sweet. Medium bodied at least, very slick-oily, well-carbonated. Bof.

Small off-white head over (cold)hazed orangey-golden beer. Toasted, parsley, autumn leaves, slight acidity suggested. Quite bitter, autumn leaves, liquorice, bit sugar (Wayland?)syrup. Good balanced between toasted bitter and sugar. Bit fruity too, faint citrussy notes. Quite slick-viscous, good carbonation, medium bodied. Certainly better than average amber ale, quite likeable.