Clear golden colour, white foam. Nose of banana, dried fruit, apricot, peach. Taste is sweet, some citrus, heavy alcoholic. Sweet and heavy, not the best but not bad also.

Belgian strong dark ale in the Haeseveld range, brewed and served at the Haeseveld complex in Sint-Amandsberg near Ghent. Thick and dense, creamy, pillowy, yellowish-white, stable, cobweb-lacing head on a clear deep ‘autumny’ burgundy brown beer with deep amber glow and fine sparkling – looks nice. Aroma of hard caramel, dried figs, candied cherries, burnt sugar, peanuts, candi syrup, fried apple, dry tree leaves, pear, iron and chocolate chip coffee cookies. Sweet onset, fig, red apple, some candied cherry and some banana, very sharp and numbing overcarbonation distracting a bit from this fruity-sweet flavour; low in esters and generally clean, though, with a rounded, slick but full, slightly resinous body. Thoroughly caramelly maltiness, sweetish with a nutty side that becomes stronger towards the end and shifts to a toasty bitterness, even slightly coffeeish in the end; the caramel sweetness remains the dominant flavour, but this bitterness does become stronger than first expected. Leafy and herbal hop bitterish notes and a glow of ‘jenever’-like warming alcohol round off the finish, while a light metallic accent lingers on, accompanying the caramel-toast combo. More balanced between sweet and bitter than I was expecting, to be honest, and certainly an enjoyable sipper on its own, if a tad too clean and metallic – and hardly innovative, strongly leaning towards the old formulas of macro- and family-brewed brown abbey ales typical for Belgium. Shares its general flavour profile with Huyghe’s own Delirium Nocturnum (at least the way I remember it from days long past) – a side by side tasting could prove interesting.

The standard pale lager in a series of beers brewed at Haeseveld and served at the spot in what has become a large, modern, clean and beautiful café with equally large patio, drawing more visitors of Ghent and surroundings to an otherwise relatively quiet neighbourhood – an outskirt of Ghent, basically, on the border with Destelbergen. The café as such has been there for a long time, but was taken over by the Huyghe brewery in nearby Melle and refurbished and expanded with a new brewing installation. This Pilsener is one of the four fixed beers coming out of it; thanks to Isabel for sharing. Snow white, mousy, medium thick, cobweb-lacing, very stable head on a near-clear pale straw blonde beer with lively sparkling; it seems indeed unfiltered, but only a very, very diffuse haze of yeast is noticeable. Aroma of white bread, soaking wet chicken food, freshly cut grass, plaster, leftover dough, minerals and a whiff if iron, but not feeling ‘additive’ and more likely related to the metal pipes the beer went through. Neutral onset, sharply carbonated in a stinging, initially even numbing way, adding a lot of lively minerality; slick grainy body, sweetish like bulgur or cooked barley, with a very thin breadiness to it somewhere, as well as that faint iron hint returning. Grassy hop bitter touch in the finish (luckily!), even lingering a little bit. This hop bitter accent, however faint, kind of saved this for me, but honestly I see very little difference with Huyghe’s own Campus so the question arises how original these Haeseveld beers really are. Judged by itself, this “Belgian premium Pilsener” perfectly fits the template of an easily drinkable, soulless pale lager created by the industry in the late 19th and 20th centuries, but the slightly above average hoppiness and the subtle trace of yeasty breadiness lend it a bit more quality than, say, a can of Jupiler or Cara Pils so in all, certainly not the worst standard pale lager around in this country. --- Beer merged from original tick of Belgian Premium Pilsner on 20 Oct 2020 at 12:32 - Score: Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6. Original review text: The standard pale lager in a series of beers brewed at Haeseveld and served at the spot in what has become a large, modern, clean and beautiful café with equally large patio, drawing more visitors of Ghent and surroundings to an otherwise relatively quiet neighbourhood – an outskirt of Ghent, basically, on the border with Destelbergen. The café as such has been there for a long time, but was taken over by the Huyghe brewery in nearby Melle and refurbished and expanded with a new brewing installation. This Pilsener is one of the four fixed beers coming out of it; thanks to Isabel for sharing. Snow white, mousy, medium thick, cobweb-lacing, very stable head on a near-clear pale straw blonde beer with lively sparkling; it seems indeed unfiltered, but only a very, very diffuse haze of yeast is noticeable. Aroma of white bread, soaking wet chicken food, freshly cut grass, plaster, leftover dough, minerals and a whiff if iron, but not feeling ‘additive’ and more likely related to the metal pipes the beer went through. Neutral onset, sharply carbonated in a stinging, initially even numbing way, adding a lot of lively minerality; slick grainy body, sweetish like bulgur or cooked barley, with a very thin breadiness to it somewhere, as well as that faint iron hint returning. Grassy hop bitter touch in the finish (luckily!), even lingering a little bit. This hop bitter accent, however faint, kind of saved this for me, but honestly I see very little difference with Huyghe’s own Campus so the question arises how original these Haeseveld beers really are. Judged by itself, this “Belgian premium Pilsener” perfectly fits the template of an easily drinkable, soulless pale lager created by the industry in the late 19th and 20th centuries, but the slightly above average hoppiness and the subtle trace of yeasty breadiness lend it a bit more quality than, say, a can of Jupiler or Cara Pils so in all, certainly not the worst standard pale lager around in this country.

18/VIII/20 - on tap @ Haeseveld brewery (St. Amandsberg), BB: n/a (2020-798)

Clear orange to amber beer, big creamy off-white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet ripe banana, bubble gum, forest fruit flavoured candy, caramel, sugary sweet impression, hint of vanilla. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: very sweet and sugary start, very sticky, caramel, cloying sugar, very gentle bitterness, not getting any of that promised acidity from the description on the menu. Aftertaste: very sweet and sugary, cloying, lots of caramel, vanilla, bubble gum, very yeasty, more ripe banana, sugary finish, nog a big fan, way too sweet, very phenolic, some cloves, bubble gum, yeasty, autolyse maybe?

18/VIII/20 - on tap @ Haeseveld brewery (St. Amandsberg), BB: n/a (2020-797)

Clear red amber to red brown beer, big creamy dense light beige head, little stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: some ripe banana, some caramel touch, bit malty, bubble gum, grains, hint of milk chocolate. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty sweet, caramel notes, ripe banana, very yeasty, oxidized, almonds, lots of marzipan, maraschino cherries. Aftertaste: bit sweet and sugary, ripe banana, soft acidity, some chocolate notes, pretty sweet, bit malty, some chocolate milk, very soft bitterness, grains, not too shabby. Best of the 4 Haeseveld beers I’ve had.

18/VIII/20 - on tap @ Haeseveld brewery (St. Amandsberg), BB: n/a (2020-796)

Clear dark blond beer, big creamy solid off-white head, little stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: lots of ripe banana, bit oxidized, lots of marzipan, some grains and malts on warming up. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet, pretty chemical, lots of banana peel, weird bitterness, more almonds and marzipan, very yeasty. Aftertaste: banana peel, sweetish, ripe banana, some banana liqueur, banana flavoured candy, bit of a chemical impression.

18/VIII/20 - on tap @ Haeseveld brewery (St. Amandsberg), BB: n/a (2020-795)

Clear pale blond beer, big creamy off-white to white head, stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: very malty, grains, hay, more malts, hint of green banaan, some DMS, cooked cabbage. MF: ok carbon, medium body, pretty smooth texture. Taste: banana, malty, lots of grains, hay, bit sweet and sugary, corn syrup?? Aftertaste: little malty, bit metallic, unpleasant yet gentle bitterness, more banana.