Thick yellow head, over reddish hazy beer. Rather neutral nose, rainwater. Other grains and sweet dough. Alcohol, caramel, even toffee in the mouth. Finish is a bit empty, certainly for such a big beer, and it feels light for this 11.3% as well. A bit... low profile for calling this a barley wine. An explanation might well be the Kveik, that might not be up to this alcoholwall.

33cl bottle. A clear deep golden beer with a off-white head. Aroma of intense hoppy tropical fruits, grapefruit, apricot. Taste of strong bitter hops, grapefruit, resins, pine. Long bitter finish.

Bottle 33cl. @home poured into a chalice. Clear deep amber colour, small fizzy white head, mostly diminishing, a few yeast circles remain, light lacing. Aroma sweet malts, Belgian yeast, some honey, caramel, hint banana, candy sugar, alcohol notes. Taste medium sweet and light bitter, malty, caramel, pear, candy sugar, light honey. some yeastiness, spicy notes, light alcohol. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, smooth sweetbitter aftertaste, toffee, light banana notes, spicy touch, alcohol notes, tasty, well-balanced, easy to drink, full of character, good.

7/I/22 - 50cl bottle @ Wim VL’s place, BB: 19/XI/23 (2022-34) Thanks to Wim VL and Joeri DM for sharing the bottle!

Clear orange beer, small creamy off-white head, unstable, falls down quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: sweeter than the Euphrosyne, lots of banana, ripe sweet banana, some alcohol, more alcohol, vanilla, bit malty. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: lots of alcohol, bit sourish, vanilla, more fusels, whisky notes, volatile, little bitter, floral. Aftertaste: alcohol, oxidized, bit voozy, orange peel, way less yeasty, little bitter, vanilla, boozy, bit thin, alcohol burn, bit minty, spicy, complex, good one!

7/I/22 - 50cl bottle @ Wim VL’s place, BB: 13/XI/23 (2022-33) Thanks to Wim VL and Joeri DM for sharing the bottle!

Clear orange to amber beer, big creamy off-white head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: alcohol, sweet impression, lots of yeast, banana, dried fruits, some vanilla, malty, fusels, alcohol. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: some vanilla up front, little bitter, yeasty, some malts, sweet, banana, bit sugary. Aftertaste: soft bitterness, no more smoky, alcohol, rather dry, some marzipan, spicy, yeasty, coriander touch.

7/I/22 - 50cl bottle @ Wim VL’s place, BB: 13/XI/23 (2022-32) Thanks to Wim VL and Joeri DM for sharing the bottle!

Clear orange beer, big creamy off-white head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: lots and lots of CO2, very yeasty, lots of ripe banana, yeasty, sugary impression, chemical notes, some solvents, lots of fusels. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet start, malty, little smoky, malty, alcohol, soft bitterness, coriander, herbal, spicy. Aftertaste: sweet, fruity, banana, alcohol, bit yeasty, soft bitterness, coriander notes.

33cl bottle. A clear golden beer with a white head. Aroma of mid sweet pale malt, some stone fruits. Taste of mild juicy hops, stone fruits, citrus, pale malt. Moderate to long bitter finish.

The youngest of the three Graces, in this special collaborative series representing the base beer, again from a 50 cl bottle with artwork by Vincent van Eeden. Firmly moussy, at first audibly fizzing, egg-white, frothy, medium thick head sustained by a beautiful whirlwind of sparkles rushing upwards through an initially near clear, warm orange blonde beer with almost amberish tinge, turning misty later on - looks quite pretty, in all. Aroma of unripe peach, old bread or old crackers, straw, quite pronounced DMS (overcooked green beans), clove-like phenols (4-vinyl guaiacol), pan-fried carrots, minerals, 'band aid' which I assume should be linked to the peated malt used here (as was the case with Euphrosyne), clay, radish peel, old wrinkled apples, 'oude jenever' or even vague whisky, brick dust, chicken skin cracklings. Sweetish onset, fruity notes of peach, apple peel and light banana, very effervescent yet not in an annoyingly stinging way, in fact adding a pleasant sourish accent as well as quite some minerality; rounded, supple body. Cracker- and bread crust-like malt profile, sweetish with some residual sweetness on top but not too much so, with indeed a distinct effect from the peated malt, adding a retronasal smoky note, even somewhat sulfuric, but in the end clearly peaty as well; the DMS and band aid unfortunately return too, and quite strongly so. Clear clove and other phenolic effects are reinforced by that peated malt effect, while gentle fruitiness lingers - on its way to a warming, boozy finish, with gin-like alcohol clearly palpable on the root of the tongue. A dash of herbal 'background' hops add structurally important bitterness, but the somewhat wry effect from the alcohol proves stronger in the end. Unusual Belgian strong ale for sure, basically a tripel 'pimped' with a peaty accent, which I find more attractive here than in Euphrosyne (the bourbon infused variant), for some reason I cannot put my finger on. Still, the alcohol is very apparent and tiring especially after half a liter, while the DMS and strong phenolic effects bothered me a bit too, and kept hanging around till the end. If the alcohol could be better hidden and those off-flavours eliminated, this beer will be all the more glorious, I think. After having tasted all three variants in this Triootje series, I think it is safe for me to say that Thalia is by far the best one, though opinions will differ - which is why I am anxious to serve them to other experienced tasters and see what they think. In any case thanks to Joeri and Jan for the bottles!

The 'middle one' in this threesome of 'mythological' tripels, see Thalia for more details about the concept; this one has been infused with Heaven Hill bourbon and was physically executed at Zwarte Bron in Sint-Pauwels, a village about three miles northwest of Sint-Niklaas in East Flanders. Like the two others, this beer is a joint effort of Zwarte Bron, Stanium and a hobby brewery called Koda in Melsele. Very thick and frothy, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, beaten egg-white, bit irregular but moussy and stable head on an initially clear, pale orange-tinged warm 'old golden' beer with lively strings of fine sparkling, turning misty and deeper peachy (even with an almost amberish tinge) with the sediment added. Aroma of ripe peach, oxidized red apple slices, soggy white bread, something strongly band aid-like (even sulfuric) probably from the whisky malt used, raw potatoes, bourbon indeed but far less obvious than in Thalia (the 'B.B.A.' version), 'oude jenever', glazed carrots, cooked sweet potato, wet cigarette tobacco, DMS (overcooked broccoli), honey, nutmeg, clove and cold French fries. Fruity onset, ripe apricot mingled with red apple and banana, lively carbonated with a prickling, minerally and slightly souring effect; rounded, full mouthfeel. Bread-crusty and cracker-like maltiness with cereally edges, increasingly heated by alcohol, while obviously lacking the depth and grace of barrel-aged woodiness (as can be expected, of course); the bourbon does deliver its typical bittersweetness, even with a vague vanilla-ish hint, but it also has a thinning effect and creates a bit of wryness in the finish. Meanwhile this version seems a bit hoppier than Thalia (executed at Stanium), with an earthy bitter accent lingering at the back, amplified by the bitter side of the bourbon. More 'rusk-like' maltiness lingers as well, under phenolic elements reminiscent of wet cloves and old nutmeg powder. Boozy tripel as expected, but maltier and hoppier in its basic make-up (so ignoring the bourbon treatment) - and in that sense, feeling like it was indeed brewed at another brewery, even looking different with a much more stable head and different hue; the bourbon then adds further alcohol warmth. I generally dislike 'liquor infusion' in beer - it reminds me of those awful 'duikboot' cocktails I subjected myself to a few times when I was still young and brash - and I'm afraid this Euphrosyne falls short in convincing me otherwise... I would have skipped this variant altogether, to be frank, and would have limited Triootje to a duo of the basic tripel on the one hand and the barrel aged version on the other hand. I am sincerely sorry guys, but I was expecting just a bit more "mirth and joy" from this one...