This Corbi-Art story is getting a bit confusing perhaps, so allow me to resume: the original version was brewed by Weerspannige Brouwers until 2016 when this brewery ceased to exist, then Zwarte Bron was erected by one of the two brewers and commissioned a new version of this beer at BeerSelect in Ghent, and now that same Zwarte Bron started to brew Corbi-Art again, but in its own kettles in Sint-Pauwels. In order to distinguish this own-brewed version from the BeerSelect version, the brewer decided to add Vintage to the name of the former, indicating that this one is supposed to be closer to the original Weerspannige recipe than the BeerSelect version was. So three versions of this quadrupel have been in existence so far, two of them retired; a fourth one is allegedly on its way. This 'recreation' of the Weerspannige original, sampled at Gents Bierfestival, shows a thick and mousse-like, membranous-lacing, pale greyish beige, stable head and misty deep caramel brown robe with ruddy-bronze glow. Aroma of brown bread, candied fig, sirop de Liège, fried sweet apples, unsugared chewing gum, nougat, tea leaves, hint of wet cloth somewhere but not disturbingly so. Sweet onset with a very light sourish edge, candi-sugary but nowhere in a cloying way, ripe pear, cooked apple and candied fig impressions in a sauce of 'sirop de Liège', lively but finely carbonated with slight minerally effect, full and smooth mouthfeel; caramelly, toffeeish and pleasantly brown-bready maltiness dominates the middle, developing a mild toasty bitterishness which in the end is accentuated by a herbal hoppiness. This combo makes for a bittersweet ending, paired with that lingering pear syrup aspect and warming, calvados-like alcohol. Indeed this Vintage version comes very close to the original home-brewed Weerspannige version, perhaps a bit smoother though, and with a bit more finishing bitterness - which some, including myself, will interpret as an improvement, however subtle. In any case the 'intermediate' BeerSelect version, though enjoyable enough, is now forgotten, as far as I am concerned.

Bottle at home. Darker golden to amber color, huge sized off-white head. Aroma and flavor are malts, soft roast totally unexpected, bitter, hoppy bitter. But that's about it. Don't get much more. Mwah.

Small if rather stable cream head over fully muddy amber-ocher beer. Old cookies, oxydation, raisin-cookiebar, grapes. Muscatgrapes, old hops, baked crust, and an indifferent, bitter overlying flavour. Maybe bitter almonds. Medium bodied, not very carbonated, and very (hopoil)slick. Ho-hum. Old hops and ?

06/VI/21 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ BBQ at my sister’s place, BB: II/2023 (2021-462)

Clear dark blond to orange beer, small creamy off-white head, pretty stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: bit malty, floral, some chlorine, caramel touch, yeasty, some banana. MF: very lively carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sourish, grassy, pretty bitter, malty, sweet as well, lots of yeast. Aftertaste: quite some banana, pretty sweet, yeasty, somewhat grassy with a herbal bitter touch.

Three-grains tripel by De Zwarte Bron, brewed 'in situ', in Sint-Pauwels north of Sint-Niklaas. Thanks Jan! Thick and frothy, egg-white, mousy, stable head on a hazy peach blonde beer, turning cloudy with sediment. Aroma of ripe peach, banana, sugar loaf, white bread dough, cooked apple, a whiff of coriander but subtly so, honey, slight background notes of clove, nutmeg, roses and sweet cider. Fruity onset, mildly estery with impressions of banana, ripe pear and light peach, fizzy carbonation but rounded, supple, soft mouthfeel; smoothly white-bready maltiness and slick 'wheatiness' with a thinnish layer of residual honeyish sweetishness on top, all feeling very soft and even velvety - the latter thanks to the use of oats. Medium long finish, adding mild spicy accents of clove, nutmeg and coriander seed, but the latter has been kept well restrained, not interfering too much with a gentle floral hop bitterish tail, lingering banana ester and subtle breadiness - and a mild warming afterglow of calvados-like alcohol. Some wheaty sourishness and oaty graininess linger about in the end. Seemingly inspired by that famed three-grains tripel, Karmeliet by Bosteels (now in AB InBev's clutches), but deliberately made lighter in both strength and character; a highly drinkable intermediary between tripel and blonde, as it were, technically well executed with a balanced, elegant, gentle character. I could easily chug a few of these on a friendly spring afternoon.

Zwarte Bron’s second commercially available beer, this time brewed in the microbrewery in Sint-Pauwels (north of Sint-Niklaas) itself; there is still a link to the past, when the brewer made up one half of the Weerspannige Brouwers, namely that this is apparently an improved version of the Speed IPA made by the Weerspannige back in 2016. Hopped with Cascade (and Cascade only) and fermented with a clean Anglo-Saxon yeast strain, this beer is deliberately intended as a basic American style IPA and not the kind of ‘Belgian compromise’ IPAs you see so often in this country nowadays. Egg-white, mousy, medium thick, slowly opening but well-retaining head on a hazy apricot blonde beer with deeper ochre-ish tinge. Aroma of ripe mandarin and orange juice, orange cake, papaja, pink peppercorns, olive oil, lime zest, dry white bread, mango jam, sweating abbey cheese and a faint dash of dankness (diesel). Fruity onset in a clean way, orange-zesty with side notes of ripe peach and melon, softish carb still adding something minerally, smooth and supple body (actually feeling a bit lighter than its ABV would suggest); slender biscuity maltiness with a bready core, aromatized by indeed fresh, bright but gentle and ‘noble’ old Cascade, pure orange juice and orange flesh mixed with some papaja- and lychee-like background accents but not becoming overly tropical. The hops provide a nicely finishing, but altogether fairly gentle bitterness as well. Easily drinkable, to the point, better balanced and more bright than the Speed IPA by Weerspannige back at the time, an ‘international’ IPA indeed – nodding to both the West Coast origins of modern American IPA and the current haze craze, but leaning closer to the first than to the second. Recommended, but make sure to get it fresh.

14/II/21 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: 23/X/22 (2021-128)

Clear orange blond beer, big solid creamy white head, stable, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: very malty, sweet grains, little fruity, some banana, a little floral. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty bitter start, grassy, bit floral, quite chemical, very dry. Aftertaste: very bitter, dry, floral, slightly soapy, floral, little fruity, yeast, character, bit spicy, good bitter Belgian Blond, but not an IPA at all.

The first official beer from De Zwarte Bron, a new microbrewery in Sint-Pauwels, partially risen from the ashes of De Weerspannige Brouwers; like Weerspannige, Zwarte Bron is an actual brewery, not a 'bierfirma', and even if this first batch was brewed at BeerSelect in Ghent, next batches will likely be brewed at the brewery's own premises in Sint-Pauwels near Sint-Niklaas, next to a completely independent and promising series of other, 'really' new beers. This one indeed is not literally 'new': it uses the recipe of the former Weerspannige version, but since it is now made by Zwarte Bron situated in another location, I think it deserves a new entry, separate from the original one that was discontinued when Weerspannige ceased their activities several years ago. This 'resurrected' version shows a medium thick, lightly lacing, pale greyish off-white, mousy, small-bubbled head that slowly opens and dissipates over an initially clear, deep bronze-brown beer with wine red glow, turning misty with the sediment added. Aroma of caramel candy, candi sugar, raisins, candied dates, ruby port, 'sirop de Liège', dry brown bread crust (even lightly toasted), honey-glazed roasted pear, banana, nougat, hints of ground hazelnuts, dried bitter herbs (wormwood), old 'jenever', vague notes of nutmeg, chewing gum, minerals, dry clay and autumn leaves. Fruity, sweet onset, banana ester mingled with impressions of ripe pear, fresh fig, red apple and nectarine, softish carbonation, full and smooth body; slick caramelly and brown-bready malt body, quite lean and feeling a tad lighter than its ABV, honeyish residual sugariness on top but not to the point where it becomes cloying - on the contrary, the finish counters this overall, mouth-filling sweetness with a firm dose of bitterness, coming from a late toasty malt bitter aspect, a leafy and eventually quite rooty, even slightly quinine-tinged hop bitterness and warming, even somewhat heating and peppery, 'jenever'-like alcohol - which, however very noticeable, remains in position without disrupting the other flavours too much. A warming, soothing glow indeed remains for a brief while after swallowing, coloured by this play of early sweetness and late bitterness, while a 'dark sweet', almost candy-like fruitiness lingers retronasally. Streamlined, technically flawless and dangerously 'drinkable', this is a very decent quadrupel indeed, with a classically 'Belgian' profile reminiscent of the great names in the genre (think Chimay Bleu, Rochefort 8, Sint-Bernardus Abt 12 and the like) - in fact it would probably make an unexpectedly great performance in a blind tasting of such classic quads. As for comparison with the original one, which I had at different occasions and at different ages: this one is noticeable different, it seems more bitter and a tad less 'syrupy' and sweet, perhaps feeling a tad smoother and sleeker too with just a little bit less complexity, but it more or less conveys the general 'feel' of the original one (even if people who did have the original one at more than one occasion, will certainly note the differences). A very solid 're-start', so to speak, but the great strength of this new brewery will soon be revealed in more ambitiously profiled beers, so I sure recommend keeping an eye on this. I definitely will.