Winter beer by De Vlier, a stout brewed with pale malt, chocolate malt, malted wheat and oats, and hopped with Lublin, the oldest and most traditional of the Polish hop varieties. Slow gusher, but manageable. Medium thick, gradually opening, pale yellowish beige head leaving dotty ‘islands’ in the middle of a blackish beer with cloudy brownish-bronze edges, a tad too translucent for a stout of this strength if you ask me. Aroma of very old black chocolate bars soaked in rainwater, cloves, damp earth, soggy brown bread, diluted coffee grounds, liquorice candy, dried plums, horsesteak ‘juice’ (proteins), thyme, coriander, blackberries, pear syrup, rum. Sweetish onset, blue plums and figs with an elderberry-ish edge, stringing (over)carbonation, fluffy mouthfeel feeling more like a Belgian dubbel than an oily Anglo-Saxon stout; brown bready and caramelly malt body, deep sourish undertone, soft creamy edges and light soapiness thanks to the oats and wheat respectively; coriander- and clove-like, partially phenolic spiciness in the end, bit soapy and herbal with ongoing sourishness and sweetishness, lingering dried blackberry and caramel notes and strong, port-like, warming alcohol in the end, long and sweetish and far from unpleasant. Weird, very earthy winter beer, totally lacking in the cleanness I expect from a true stout but very Belgian in its almost ‘wild’ phenolic and deeply earthy-yeasty character, a bit ‘dirty’ even, but the port-like glow in the finish makes for a pleasant ending of an otherwise somewhat muddled drinking experience. Might revisit this one.

Bottle of about four years old, tasted at five months past its best before date, shared with Goedele and Craftmember. A commissioned raspberry ale based on De Vlier’s basic idea, namely the combination of cultured Saccharomyces with lactic bacteria and, in some cases, champagne yeast. Loose, off-white, thin and quickly opening, eventually dissolving head over a hazy orangey peach blonde beer with salmon pinkish tinge. Elegant, gracious aroma of ripe yellow raspberries, ripe peaches, orange flesh, pineapple yoghurt, sweetbread, violets, rosé champagne, tzatziki, cucumber, sweet white grapes. Crisp onset, lots of yellow raspberry sweetness and mild tartness, pineapple and peach note with even a tropical mango-like side as well as some citric fraîcheur: lively carb, champagne-ish, with very supple, elegantly light mouthfeel, feeling lighter than the ABV would suggest. Sweetbread- and lightly caramel-like malt sweet body dried by a soft and subtle lactic sourness, in combination with the basic sweetness establishing a very refreshing and elegant character; the sucrose from the raspberries lasts deep into the finish, with where a champagne-like flavour adds some complexity as well as – after pouring the sediment – a powdery yeast effect and a very subtle, bit earthy background hop bitterishness. Mild sour ale with fruit shaped like a very elegant, almost ‘feminine’ aperitif beer. Modern, refreshing, pleasant and actually much better than expected, comparable in concept to the cherry beer Vesalius they made and which I think is very much underrated.

Older 75 cl bottle from De Solari, shared with Goedele and Craftmember at the latter’s place; a Belgian ‘bière brut’ or champagne beer flavoured with elderberry syrup and one of De Vlier’s core beers – note that ‘vlier’ means elderberry in Dutch. Also brewed with oatmeal and fermented partially with lactic bacteria, which is why I didn’t mind it being a vintage bottle. Loose and fairly unstable, egg-white head which quickly dissolves into almost nothing; misty straw blonde robe with ochre-ish hue. Aroma of indeed sweet elderberry syrup, mushy banana, cider, butter, ripe pear, white bread, chewing gum, yoghurt (the lactic aspect) and no explicit signs of oxidation yet. Fruity onset, very apple-ish or even a bit sweet cider-like, pear, banana, refined sparkling, light sourish edge from the lactic bacterial effect but remaining very limited, bit yoghurty; rounded, white bready malt sweet body further sweetened by the elderberry syrup, which adds something sweet-fruity and honeyish. Ends with lingering elderberry effect, a tad vinous, sweet but not cloying and hardly hopped; some warming alcohol closes the curtain of this joyful, yet overly sweet play, in which I was a bit disappointed by the lack of yoghurty lactic sourness. Needs more complexity with all these different yeasts going on, certainly after years of aging. Still an interesting beer, though.

Clear dark body. Lightly brown fizzy head. Aroma of malts. Heavily sweet, lightly bitter flavour.

Orange hazy body. Off-white, creamy head. Caramel nose. Well balanced. Moderately bitter flavour.

Yellow hazy body. White fizzy head. Light cara and hoppy aroma. Moderately bitter, lightly sweet flavour.

Hazy yellow body. White rocky head. Nose of hops, oranges, curacao. Moderately sweet, lightly bitter flavour. Nice balance. Refreshing.

De Vlier's regular blonde ale, from a 75 cl bottle which was already half a year past its best before date. Tightly cobweb-lacing, off-white, coarse and irregular, large-bubbled but relatively stable head, peach-tinged golden blonde robe, misty with visible fizz. Aroma of banana mush, canned peach, onsetting 'rusty' oxidation and a whiff of chicken soup, melting powder sugar, gooseberry jam, pear juice, white bread, fresh rainwater, freshly cut red apples, apricot, cooked turnip, roses, camomile, some stale old orange juice in the background which probably represents the last remainders of the Citra hops that went in here. Sweet flavour, apple juice, canned pineapple and banana with a light plum-ish sourishness to it, medium carbonation with minerally side notes. Smooth and slick mouthfeel, a tad metallic at its edges probably due to age (oxidized), caramelly and white bread pulp-like malt sweetishness with some light, floral hoppiness in the finish, but hardly providing any bitterness, so that the finish feels a bit thin. Citra, if it was ever present, has been pushed to the background but something remotely orangey is still noticeable. Too sweet even for a Belgian blonde, but correct; my rating here is obviously not the most representative one, seen the age of the bottle. Would revisit fresh.

Champagne Brut Bier. Serwowane w kubelku by osiagnac zalecana temperature. Kieliszki Deusa wymrozone kostka lodu. Po nalaniu rosnie piana jak w porzadnym szampanie, dosc glosno sycza babelki. Barwa slomkowa, zloto cytrynowa. Na koniec metniste lekko. Wytrawne i moze tak pol wytrawnie. Zapach dzikiego bzu takze wyczuwalny, troche soku cytrynowego, limonki i ocierajaca sie o to wszystko miodowa slodycz. Alkohol ukryty, bardzo rzeskie i pijalne. Cos miedzy szampanem a Lambickiem. Sluszna wiec uwaga na etykiecie ze jest to dobra alternatywa np dla Proseco czy Cremant.