0,75l bottle at Hops 'n More, Leuven. yellow rather hazy color, small white head. smells grassy, earthy, funky, cheesy, some wood, bit leathery. Nice to very nice smell. full body, soft carbonation. tastes earthy, grassy, wood, oak, stone fruits, peppery, leathery. finishes lightly dry and light to medium sour with notes of earthy, funky and pepper notes. very nice one.

8,7.5, 8, 8, 8

Sample from the bottle at Station 1280, Antwerpen. Color is slightly cloudy golden with small white head. Aromas and flavors: Fruits, tropical fruits, some tartness, funky elements...

After Cantillon pioneered the idea for their first Zwanze (initially still without the whole event around it) in 2008, rhubarb lambic had no following for years to come – until 2018, when both Tilquin and 3 Fonteinen started experimenting with the same idea. Four years later, traditional lambic producers seem to consider it as natural an ingredient as sour cherries or raspberries and many of these new rhubarb lambics are beautiful creations. For a newcomer like Vermeersch, a blender in East-Flemish Maldegem active since at least 2018 (and only more recently ‘officialized’) and founded by a former Ratebeerian if I am not mistaken, it seems logical to step right into the idea. Named after a family member like most of the Vermeersch blends (an idea they seem to have ‘borrowed’ from Hill Farmstead), this second edition of ‘Jan’ contains rhubarb from Veurne and various lambics from established producers. Bottle at Station 1280 in Antwerp, actually the first bar where I see this Vermeersch brand being up for sale (at prices comparable with Antidoot, Bofkont or Cantillon bottles), shared with Steve. Moussy, snow white, medium thick, opening and slowly thinning head, lightly hazed peach blonde robe with pale orangey tinge and enthusiastic sparkling. Aroma of grass silage and dried bitter weeds – the thumbprint of De Troch lambic, next to indeed raw rhubarb stems, lemonbalm, chives, wet oak wood, green apple, wood sorrel, dusty attic, gooseberry, dried lemon peel, sulfuric touch (yeast autolysis, possibly, but fitting in well), hint of freshly fermented farmland in the background. Crisp, green-fruity onset, lemony in a ‘malse’ way with lots of the expected oxalic acid from the rhubarb, adding juiciness; green apple, gooseberry and lemongrass accents accompany a rounded, slick bready-grainy core steeped in yoghurty lactic aciditiy and tannic woodiness, but always remaining ‘mals’ and juicy, with the rhubarb upfront. De Troch’s bitter plant-like effect shines through very clearly in the end, where things slowly come to a dry, quenching, ‘yellow-green’, elegant halt. A bit as expected really, decent rhubarb lambic with De Troch written all over it; not the single most refined rhubarb lambic I had to date (as with Bokke, Bofkont and others one can wonder if it is all worth the hype), but for a lambichead like me, certainly interesting enough to try more of these Vermeersch blends – if given the chance.

wild festival 2022

wild festival 2022

0,75l from bottle at Malz, Leuven. Amber murky color, almost no head. smells funky, peaches, stone fruits, earthy. Nice to very nice smell. Full body, soft carbonation. tastes peaches, earthy, grassy, peppery. Finishes rather dry and lightly to medium sour with notes peaches, grassy and earthy notes. Nice to very nice stuff

8, 7.5, 7.5, 7, 7.5

0,75l from bottle. Amber murky color, small white head. Smells Abrikoos, earthy, bit jammy, grassy. Nice to very nice smell. Full body, soft carbonation. Tastes peppery, grassy, earthy, bit jammy, light Abrikoos, spices. Finishes almost lightly sweet with notes of apricots and jammy notes. Almost sweet, not much funk, unique, I like it. Very good one

7, 7.5, 7.5, 7, 8