Creamy off-white good mostly lasting head. Dark amber colour. Heavy malty and moderate hoppy aroma. Some ginger notes. Moderate bitter flavor. Average moderate bitter finish. Oily palate.

Flaska från Hops’N More. Mahognyfärgad vätska med lågt skum. Doft någonstans mellan mjuk pepparkaka och banankaka. Värmande alkohol, en lite träigare version smakmässigt. Lite alkoholkryddig eftersmak. Hott

IPA by this Circus brewery, operating in Zwevegem in West-Flanders, hopped with a line-up of classic New World hop varieties (Citra, Amarillo, Columbus, Mosaic and Ekuanot); steinie bottle from the Carrefour supermarket in Sint-Denijs-Westrem. Thick and frothy, crackling, snow white, coarse but densely structured, uneven-bubbled, shred-lacing, stable head, initially clear pure and deep 'old gold' coloured beer with brass tinge and columns of steady, strong, large-bubbled sparkling in the middle; turns misty and more ochre-ish with sediment. Aroma rather restrained for something calling itself 'IPA', impressions of dried grapefruit zest, old lemon peel, soggy bread crust, faint hints of green guava and lychee from the Ekuanot shyly piercing through here and there, kumquat, raw parsnip, dried herb-flavoured crackers, dandelion leaves, stale croissants, sweetclover, unripe peach, young mugwort, dry straw, white pepper, dried out cheese rind. Dryish onset, sharply carbonated with very minerally, but also somewhat stingy effect (too much for IPA in the true Anglo-Saxon sense at least - but certainly very 'Belgian'); notes of unripe peach and unsweet hard Conference pear, supple bread-crusty pale malt core with grainy edges - yet no residual sugars worth mentioning. Retronasally, a vague whiff of old cardboard passes by, while the hops have clearly faded: some dried citrus rind and field flower notes are there, even a shadow of what was once something lychee-like, but the underlying bitterness is much more powerful, with a rooty, peppery, leafy, wormwood-astringent effect. Slight bready yeast (and malt) notes linger, but this rooty hop bitterness prevails over everything, even if it gradually fades in the moments following. Clearly, this is not as fresh anymore as I probably should have tasted it, I believe that the hop aromas were more expressive when this was young - but more importantly it is more 'clean', dry and sleek than I was expecting. In all, closer to a Belgian 'bitter blond' more than true 'postmodern' IPA, but a very decent one at that.

Bottle. Mid brown with a cm of pale beige head that lasts OK. Aroma of spiced bread, hints of stewed fruit. Not as sweet as expected but malty with brown sugar, bread, dried and stewed fruit, sweetshop spices. Modest bitterness is enough. No great finesse but cheery.

6 July 2025. At Moen Feest. Cheers to Anke & Silke!

A: hazy golden, small, off-white head.
A: moist pepper, hay, unbaked bread, pear, apple peel.
T: sweetish apple & pear, bitter hay, yeast, lots of bread.
F: dry grassy hops, yellow fruit, yeast, pepper.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
Drinkable, lacks a bit of citrusy and hoppy freshness.

6 July 2025. At Moen Feest. Cheers to Anke & Silke!

A: clear dark golden, small, off-white head.
A: grapefruit peel, mandarin, toasted onion, green olive, biscuit.
T: sweetish mango & melon, bitter grapefruit, onion, biscuit.
F: bitter resinous hops, grapefruit.
P: medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation.
Quite clean, nicely bitter, positively surprised.