The first beer by a new brewpub in Kortrijk called Ruimtegist - a dry-hopped blonde, thus adorning 20th-century Belgian traditions with a pinch of 21st-century international innovation. I was informed about this one by a friend of the brewery more than a year ago so here we are, the beer has effectively been realized, bottled in neat modern longneck bottles, and is already available in Ghent's Hopduvel - commercial orientation does not seem to be a problem here... Snow white, mousy, medium sized, slowly thinning head but remaining closed for a very long time; warm yellow-golden robe with vague olive-greenish tinge and disparate strings of calm sparkling throughout, misty. Aroma of banana-flavoured bubblegum, powder sugar, honey, white bread slices, fried apple, cooked cauliflower note (DMS - but not too strong and fading away), rainwater, pineapple candy, sweetclover, vague hints of lemon zest, damp kitchen towels, cooking purslane leaves, barley cream soup. Fruity, sweetish onset, residual honeyish sugar that stretches all over the middle phase too, lots of isoamylacetate (banana ester) accentuating this sweetness, hints of green apple acetaldehyde and cooked pineapple ester too, medium carbonation with light minerally effects; smooth, even somewhat creamy body. Slight metallic effect around the edges but luckily very 'silently' so; rounded cereally and white-bready (wheaty) core with that honeyish sweetness on top, leading to a mildly bittering finish, with the hops eventually showing up in a somewhat green tree leaf- and white pepper-like form, pleasantly offering bitterness against the initial sweetness. Whatever dry-hopping was done - I assume with a classic European noble hop - remains limited to an outspoken floral effect retronasally (lindenblossom, sweetclover, fresh camomile), but otherwise does not add a whole lot of extra value. Sweet, simple and accessible Belgian blonde just like it was intended; some minor errors still and the banana ester is a bit much for me here. I cannot deny that I expected a little bit more, but let's see what other beers this sympathetic Ruimtegist project will come up with in the future...

Bottle from LDW. Hazy blond colour, white foam. Medium carbonation. Yeasty, some citrus, a bit fruity, rather dry. Ok, nothing special.

3/VII/20 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel, shared @ home, BB: 30/IX/21 (2020-575)

Clear blond to orange beer, small creamy white head, stable, adhesive. Aroma: orange peel, fruity, peaches, some passion fruit. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sourish, fruity, lots of oranges, good bitterness, hoppy, spicy touch. Aftertaste: fruity, banana, yeasty, more fruit, good bitterness.

Paired with a pizza bianca with Belgian endives, Chimay cheese, bacon and chives. The good stuff!