bottiglia 33 cl, schiuma bianca fine persistente, color giallo oro velato, al naso è molto speziata lieviti belgi zenzero mandarino mela verde, in bocca è pepata pompelmo frutta gialla, corpo rotondo, carbonazione moderata, oily, alcool ben bilanciato, dolce e lieve acidula astringente con amaro moderato. Buona ma un po’ troppo acidula e piatta. c. 1001birre.it 15.06.24

Fles 33cl. 8%. Bittertonen, fruitzoeten, Belgisch gist, wat banaan, steenfruit, vrij zacht, licht kruidig. (24-5-2024).

33cl bottle from Abeervinum, Rimini, Italy. Pours dark plum, almost black, with scarce foam, medium grained. Aroma is of toasted malt, wood, cherries. Body and carbonation are average. Taste is moderately sweet. Final is dry. Overall, a disappointment. Scarce aroma and taste, too flat!

Spiced blonde created for a music festival in Mol in the Kempen region but sold in several other places as well – such as the Zappa café in Scheldewindeke, where I got it from tap. Allegedly brewed under commission by Van Den Bossche, though no such information is disclosed on the label… Very dense, towering high, rocky, snow white, very tightly lacing and very stable head, hazy pale straw blonde robe with greenish tinge. Aroma of bread crumbs, coriander seed, freshly cut grass, fresh cucumber, green pear, halfripe banana, meadowsweet, dandelion leaves, flour and buttercups. Crisp onset from sharp and painfully numbing overcarbonation adding a lot of minerality; essentially sweetish, with notes of pear, green melon and light banana, lingering over a smooth pale maltiness with wheaty, powdery, white-bready core (not sure if wheat was actually used here but I suspect it was). Floral, grassy hop character, again meadowsweet, sweetclover and other field and marsh flowers, along with a touch of dried lemongrass; coriander seed as well, adding to that powdery effect, while the hops provide a medium long, altogether mild yet effective end bitterness. Crisp and focused, with some sharper edges mainly due to that overcarbonation (could be the tap system though – I should revisit this one from a bottle), but in being so, very refreshing as well. Decent blonde with clear witbier features in a sleek kind of way – better than I was expecting, really.

Marrón oscura, translúcida, de espuma ocre poco duradera. Aroma a té, especias. En boca tono licorico, cuerpo moderado, sabor a madera, té, fruta roja..

Aged bottle of this wine barrel aged Flemish stout, the first vintage of which came out in 2012; had this young too, but the 2014 vintage - at ten years of age - was significant enough to briefly do a 'batch rating' of it. From a 75 cl bottle shared by Erwin P. at Rock Circus in Ghent. Still producing moussey, pale grey-beige foam, opening and dissolving; murky chestnut brown robe with dark brown-beige glow. Lovely 'old' and maderised aroma: very old caramel candy, medium dry sherry, tawny port, oxidized red wine, balsamico, old brown bread, black cherries, tea, dark plums, some wood. Sweet onset, dried plum, medlar and fig jam, softish carb with very smooth, creamy mouthfeel; rounded caramelly and toffeeish malts, 'Koetjesreep' and hints of brown bread and hazelnut, under strong sherry- and madera-like oxidation, old red wine in a most noble and elegant way. Very mild wood and hop notes but the oxidized dark malts really get all the credit here. I was not as impressed by this when it just came out, but after ten years of ageing, it has admittedly acquired a lovely portorisation, even accentuating the basic sweetness a bit. Surprisingly good after ten years.

bottiglia 33 cl, bel cappello di schiuma bianca fine pannosa persistente, color giallo oro velato, al naso è intensa lieviti belgi spezie succo di pera note floreali coriandolo ananas, in bocca marmellata di pesche pera coriandolo frutta candita miele con buone note erbacee, corpo rotondo, carbonazione forte, lieve astringente, Dolce con amaro moderato. Da manuale. Molto buona. c. Cantina della birra 15.03.24

33cl bottle from Abeervinum, Rimini, Italy. Pours orange gold, partially hazy, with Aroma isestery and floral, some honey too. Body and carbonation are average. Taste is well balanced, moderate in bitterness. Final is on the dry side.

Draft @ Zappa, Moortsele. Hazy blond colour, white foam. Nose of citrus, some banana, some notes of biscuits, light bitter, some sweetness. Nice.