One of the staple brews from this new brewery in Leuven, which actually tries to at least spiritually revive a local brewery of the same name that has existed there from the 17th century till the seventies; this 'special ass' (quote the brewery) attempts to revive the waning 'spéciale belge' genre and indeed the combination of the 25 cl bottle, the name and the colours of the label do remind one of Palm Spéciale, one of the classics in this old style of Belgian amber ales. Pale greyish white, strongly shred-lacing, medium thick, mousy, slowly breaking head over a clear (filtered), very deep and 'autumny' pure copper red beer with vermillion tinge - darker and more red than most actual 'spéciales belges' in fact. Aroma of hard caramel candy in a non-sweet way (paradoxically perhaps), ground pecan nuts and even walnut shells, dried cranberries, wet dark green tree leaves, clear (and unexpected) bath foam and lavender soap note, cloves, very subtle hints of halfripe banana and damp earth, even very vague liquorice-like phenols echoing in the background. Sweetish and sourish onset, quite crisp with lively, but for this genre perfectly aligned carbonation adding clear minerally effects; hints of medlar, apple peel, dried fig and dried cranberry with very vague notes of banana peel and rosehip, over a somewhat resinous, slender body; very pecan-nutty and hard-caramelly, but not sweet malt core with a toasty bitterish edge (if gently so), the latter reinforced a bit by a herbal, almost tea-ish, mildly peppery hop bitterness, while clove- and lavender-like spice effects linger on, with a vaguely soapy character - that however manages to remain undisturbing, to me at least. The sourish undercurrent remains till the end, more outspokenly so than is typically the case in a 'spéciale belge', but then the malt bitterness (and visual darkness in pure EBC values) is also more developed than in the classic spéciale belge, almost to the point where this has the malt profile of a German Alt from the Düsseldorf region. Still, in its top-fermented phenolic profile clearly a Belgian, or should I say Brabantian amber ale indeed, but one with a bit more 'malt power' and character than the 'larger' examples that still survive to this day; I think this specific substyle of Belgian ale still has some potential to be rediscovered and reinvented by the craft beer movement, like so many old European beer styles that have largely missed the American craft beer train. This one could be a good starting point for that; it tastes old-fashioned (something I guess you can only seriously assess if you have been drinking Belgian beer as long as I have), but it still has an own, distinct character to it. Very likeable, more so than I was expecting, to be honest.

One of the first commercial beers by Brouwerij Breda in Leuven, a resurrection of an ancient brewery there with the same name, that has allegedly been active from the early 17th century till the seventies, when it was taken over by Artois (the original 'core' of AB InBev) and then closed - one of those many examples of valuable small breweries that got lost in the 20th-century carousel of acquisitions. This one represents the 'ordinary', familiar witbier in the range, but I would not take the 'old Leuven recipe' too literally: it is true that Leuven has a long tradition of witbiers just like e.g. Hoegaarden, but the original witbier variant there was Peterman - not coincidentally another beer by this renewed Breda brewery. This 'Blondor' on the other hand is clearly made according to the Hoegaarden template, including the coriander seed and curaçao spicing that were added to Hoegaarden witbier by Pierre Celis in the late sixties. Anyway: mousy, snow white, fizzy head, quickly opening and dissolving into a thin ring, over a hazy straw blonde beer with apricot hue. Aroma of dried out white bread, strong coriander seed indeed, soap (wheat!), banana, unfortunately very pronounced DMS (overcooked white cabbage), ripe pear, cloves, candied lemon peel and some lemon zest, raw potato, honey. Sweetish onset with very strong isoamylacetate (banana), mixed with notes of pear, peach and pineapple, medium carbonation, supple and evidently 'witbier-soapy' mouthfeel; pleasant bready malt core though quite thinly so, softened by the oats and soured by the wheat, the latter also adding a soapy effect as is to be expected from the genre. Before long, a strong coriander seed effect turns up, colouring the finish along with indeed a dried citrus peel 'fraîcheur' - the typical combo one expects from the style, matching well with the wheat soapiness, lingering bready yeasty effects and a very mild, but structurally important floral hop bitter touch. Too bad for that DMS - I am really very sensitive to it - but ignoring that flaw, this is admittedly a refreshing, elegant wheat beer, one that matches the old Hoegaarden standard, but with a more 'artisanal' feel to it - even though everything remains very accessible and predictable for a Belgian wit. Not too bad, but I am mostly looking forward to that Peterman, if only for 'intellectual' (beer history) reasons.

33cl bottle from Carrefour market @ in Tervuren near Brussels. F: thin, white, quick gone. C: pale gold, light hazy. A: sweet malty, bit herbal, orange touch, bready. T: medium malty base, bit herbal, bready, bit spicy, vaguely citrus, soft carbonation, nothing memorable here.