440ml can. Opaque, darkest brown colour with weak ruby shimmer and minimally late awakening, small, dense, creamy, moderately lasting, minimally lacing, beige head. Roasty, chocolately and minimally bready-grainy, dark malty and minimally caramel malty aroma, hints of dark chocolate, pumpernickel, a touch of dark caramel. Taste is roasty and minimally bready-grainy, dark malty, minimally caramel malty and mildly bitter hoppy, diluted hints of chocolate, burnt caramel, a touch of pumpernickel, some residual sweetness, minimally metallic overtones. Slightly creamy, watery texture, smooth and soft palate, medium to fine, dense, mildly prickly carbonation. Way too grainy and bready - disappointing.

Draft at Nuetnigenough in Brussels, Belgium. The pour is a hazed yellow golden with a foamy white head that falls with nice lace. The aroma is oatmeal cream, apricot citrus, and soft grain. The taste is a blend of the creamy character and the citrus fruit hop. The palate is medium to light bodied, unfiltered mouth feel and gentle citrus finish. Solid hazy.

440ml can. Cloudy, yellow-ish, pale golden colour with average to huge, frothy, slowly osteoporosing, minimally lacing, snow white head. Mildly smoky, wheaty malty, minimally tangy and lactic aroma, hints of oak smoke, oak ashes, a fruity touch of yellow apple, unripe pear, sauerkraut. Taste is tart-ish, minimally tangy, lactic, citric and fruit acidic, cautiously smoky, wheaty malty and slightly yeasty fruity, hints of unripe, woody yellow apple, a touch of oak ashes, sauerkraut, a salty touch as well; very subtle sweetness in the finish, a touch of apple, pear. Watery texture, dry and slightly astringent palate, medium, prickly to lively carbonation. Nice composition, rather mild, a tad overcarbonated - enjoyable.

24/X/24 - 44cl can @ ElManana+1’s place, BB: 20/I/25, lot: 24-034 (2024-1151) Thanks to ElManana+1 for sharing the can!

Clear light orange blond beer, creamy white head, unstable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: very spicy, yeasty, some coriander, lime and lemon, dry. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: soft acidity, a bit lemony, fruity, a bit yeasty, decent, lactic acid, a bit peachy, spicy. Aftertaste: dry, pretty bitter, zesty, a bit lemony, grassy, nice!

24/X/24 - 44cl can @ ElManana+1’s place, BB: 20/VII/25, batch 24-025 (2024-1146) Thanks to ElManana+1 for sharing the can!

Pretty clear dark brown beer, small creamy beige head, unstable, falls down quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: very yeasty, spicy, peppery, a bit herbal, more spices, banana. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: spicy start, very herbal, orange peel, yeasty, ripe banana, some banana peel, pretty bitter. Aftertaste: dry and bitter finish, tea, a bit sourish, orange peel, herbal, banana, gentle roast, a bit oxidized, ok but not great.

24/X/24 - 44cl can @ ElManana+1’s place, BB: 20/VII/25, batch 24-030 (2024-1144) Thanks to ElManana+1 for sharing the can!

Pretty clear light yellow blond to straw yellow beer, a bit irregular white head, pretty stable, non adhesive. Aroma: pretty smoky, a bit lemony, fruity touch, ripe banana, good smell. MF: ok carbon, medium to light body. Taste: pretty sour start, a little smoky as it should be, yeasty touch. Aftertaste: sourish, grains, a bit malty, little bitter, soft acidity, nice smoky finish.

A 'dark saison' (a concept I never fully understood) flavoured with orange and - far less common in beer - basil, an unexpected combo of flavours celebrating Misery's third anniversary. Very thick and foamy, audibly fizzing, pale beige, dense and tiny-bubbled, 'even' head, gradually opening and thinning to eventually dissolving entirely over an initially clear, dark chestnut brown robe (blackish at first sight) with mahogany edges, hazy with sediment. Weird, soupy aroma of indeed dried basil and a bit too much of it, bergamot rather than true orange, black tea, Pumpernickel bread, some dry caramel, unsugared chewing gum, thyme (but probably just that basil again), canned tomato soup, vegetable 'bouillon' even, toasted grains, hints of wet clay, fried eggplant, asparagus soup, porcini, Oxo, rye bread dough. Subduedly fruity onset, only very restrainedly sweetish with a vague sourish edge but primarily umami-dominated, faint hints of green pear, black olive, tamarillo and dried but decidedly 'uncandied' fig, otherwise rather clean, with lively yet fine-bubbled carb; smooth, almost oily mouthfeel. Cereally core with surprisingly very limited 'dark' effects, some toastiness and caramelliness are present especially near the end but frankly I was expecting more of that; meanwhile this 'soupy' aspect creeps up again, briefly reminiscent of asparagus cream soup but quickly turning to tomato soup the Italian way due to the basil. The orange, in whatever form it was used, remains suspiciously subtle and never shows its true identity, though there is certainly a vague background citrusiness here, buried far beneath the malts and the basil. Only in the finish does a toasty dark malt bitterishness take over, in a very agreeable way, without turning all dark chocolate- or coffee-like - a herbal hop element provides supporting bitterness at this point, though. The bouillon- and soup-like flavours, however, dominate both orthonasally and retronasally at this point, and this is something you will really have to like; I love cooking with bouillon and I can enjoy a good soup, but I do not really want to encounter their heavy umami flavours in my beer... Very odd concoction for an anniversary beer - perhaps playing it safe and showcasing some big ass barleywine or imperial stout would have been more appropriate, but there is no denying that this 'saison noire' is an original one; the basil seems to have been overdone while the orange remains understated, and both are plagued by a very strong umami element (Oxo) which, as said, is something I have a bit of trouble with. I have, so far, not been sincerely impressed by Misery, as sympathetic and creative as they are, and this one will not change that. Original for sure, but - and I am deliberately leaving the whole 'dark saison' thing aside here - not my cup of Oxo. I guess it was better from draft when really young... Well okay, have a point for originality then.