7

Klassisch belgischer Chlapf

4.5

Sweet, worty stuff. Something floral, light citrus. Not bad at all for a non-alcoholic, but maybe not something for easy drinking.

4.6

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4.5

Malt and vegetables aroma. Taste of malt, citrus fruits, a hint of bitterness, and cardboard.

7

A little too sweet

6.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Review based on the BJCP2021 guidelines (style 24A adapted: alcohol free). Bottle 33 cl - Batch 2351528V0050 (BB SEP-23). AROMA: medium citrus peel and coriander aroma with a medium-low cereal and beer-must like background character. APPEARANCE: pale yellow color and hazy. Medium-low white head with medium retention. TASTE: similar to the aroma with initial medium-low citrus peel and coriander flavor, followed by medium-low cereal, bready and must-like background character with a slight sweetness. Medium bitterness with a semi-sweet finish. MOUTHFEEL: medium-low body with medium carbonation. OVERALL: taking into account it’s a alcohol free Wit, its quite drinkable.

5.9

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

The old Affligem brand, brewed by third parties since 1956 (the dubbel at least - the tripel was added a year later), was taken over from De Smedt by Heineken in 2000 already but remained stable for a long time, until, in 2013, Heineken turned it into a 'global brand' and basically destroyed its original quality, which I remember as being considerably better than that of other mass-marketed abbey beer brands. This witbier version was added only in 2020 so I am holding my breath opening the bottle, purchased from a local Albert Heijn supermarket. Thick and frothy, regular, fluffy, egg-white, audibly crackling head on a fully hazy yellow blonde beer with pale apricot tinge. Perfumey aroma of banana mush, coriander seed, bergamot, lavender-scented bath foam, white hand soap, wheat flour, sugared lemon juice from a bottle, honey, candy apple, plastic. Sweet onset, some unfermented honeyish sugars over a thick layer of banana ester mingled with aspects of sweet ripe pineapple and ripe pear, lively carbonated without being too sharp or numbing, with rounded, soft, fluffy and indeed soapy body, the latter aspect mostly generated by the wheat, which also manages to add an underlying, straightforward but effectively refreshing sourishness, almost lime-like in a way. Lots of 'industrial' perfumey aromas, however, stand in the way of the natural development of this beer, with pumped up coriander, lavender, 'fake' citrus from a flask and bath foam soapiness all combined; the sourish aspect does persist, becoming again a bit lime-like in the end, but everything feels industrially processed and 'added'. Some very vague grassy hop notes are noticeable deep in the background but there is hardly any actual bitterness - not uncommon in witbier, though. Ends sourish and still banana-laden, with this 'perfume' dominating way too much, becoming a bit plastic-like in the end. Closer to one of those awfully sweet industrial Weissbiere from Holland (Grolsch, Brand and others) than to traditional Belgian witbier, but I was not expecting a whole lot here, as described above: indeed, this 'Belgisch wit' is exactly what I was imagining a 'new generation' Affligem in witbier form to be like. Perhaps if served ice cold?

6

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

300ml bottle. Opalescent, orange golden colour with small, frothy, half-way lasting, minimally lacing, white head. Sweet-ish, yeasty fruity and minimally wheaty malty aroma, notes of banana, banana bread. Taste is sweet-ish, wheaty malty, slightly phenolic, yeasty fruity, notes of banana, banana bread. Dissolved sugar enriched, watery texture, smooth and soft palate, medium to fine, soft carbonation. Sweet, simple and monotonous - disappointing.

6.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

300ml bottle. Clear, amber colour with average, frothy, half-way lasting, minimally lacing, off-white head. Sweet-ish, minimally bready and biscuity, pale and malty and yeasty fruity aroma, hints of banana. Taste is sweet-ish, minimally sugary, biscuity, pale malty and slightly yeasty fruity, moderately bitter hoppy, hints of banana, a mineral touch, peppery overtones; lingering, bitter hoppy finish. Watery texture, dry palate, medium, prickly carbonation. Fairly hopped, nevertheless a tad too sweet - OK.

6.6

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

0,5l on tap @ Campanile Roissy Le Mesnil Amenot. Pours hazy yellow with a medium head. Aroma is sweet malts with wheat and citrus. Flavor is sweet malts, wheat, citrus, coriander. Decent.