8.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

21 August 2021. At Gents Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, Kevin, Jerre & the Ghent beer crew! Hazy black, small, foamy, beige head. Aroma of old prune, dried fig, mushroom, earth, beef jerky, teriyaki, cold coffee, chicory. Taste has sweet prune, fig & pear in a thick chocolate-malty body, hint of toffee; bitter coffee & earthy-umami aspects in the middle. Herbal hoppy finish, lingering dried fruit, medicin & umami soy, warming coffee liqueur alcohol with chocolate note. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Good, utterly chocolatey & viscous.

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Hazy and intense light orange, with a quite big fluffy white head. Pretty good retention and lots of nice lacing. Good intensity and brightness in the aroma. Nice fruity profile: strong grapefruit, some more citric notes (tangerine and stuff), peach. A bit of herbal/resinous smell too, but in a kind of soft way. As the smell suggested, there's no bittering sharpness in this ipa, despite quite vivid bitterness. Soft malty foundation (can't really pick specific flavours), a mellow kind of grassy/resinous undernote, strong fruity notes (as per aroma). Again vivid and refreshing, maybe not super brightly defined. Balanced in both mouth and taste, with a fruity aftertaste. Medium body, medium or slightly below medium carbonation; it's a soft, light-bubbled kind of carbo, at least if compared to most ipas, resulting in a quite soft/smooth feel for the style. Overall: a mellow but still intense strong ipa; not especially deep but well made and very refreshing.

7.8

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8

Pours a hazy orange colour and a small dense white head. Aroma's: big citrus, sweet 'n' sour fruit, piney. Retronasal follows this. Flavour is moderate bitter, fruity sour and a bit sweet. Medium bodied. Dryish finish, moderate bitter.

7.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Imperial stout created for the 20th anniversary of Arendsnest, one of Holland's pioneering modern beer pubs and a must visit for me each time I am in Amsterdam - unsurprisingly brewed for Morebeer, the client brewery owned by the very founder of Arendsnest. Sample at Gents Bierfestival. Pale grey-beige, moussy ring for a head with some greyish flat veils in the middle; black robe with misty burgundy edges. Aroma of chocolate sauce, brown rum, toffee, fig compote, hazelnut paste, candied dates, golden raisins, walnut liqueur, mocha ice cream. Sweet, dense onset, blackberry coulis and candied date effects, softish carb, oily body, bit syrupy but not as thick as one might expect at this strength. Lovely milk-chocolatey, toffeeish malts, maple syrup touch at the edges, sweet madera somewhere, but remaining very low in roasted bitterness - ending with warming rum-like alcohol but little hops. Clearly based on contemporary American style imperial stout, chocolatey, sweet and boozy, but I always miss a bit of roasty and / or hoppy bitterness in this kind of brews, even if I certainly enjoyed it - and may even repeat it next time I make it to Amsterdam.

8.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

20/VIII/21 - on tap @ build-up Gents Bierfestival (Gent), BB: n/a (2021-895)

Clear dark brown to black beer, small creamy beige head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: very malty, good roast, alcohol, some chocolate notes. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: little smoky, lots of roast, bitter, quite peated. Aftertaste: little sourish, pretty peated, bitter, nice roast, lots of alcohol, good roast, caramel, little hoppy, very nice.

8.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

17/VIII/21 - on tap @ Craft & Draft (Amsterdam), BB: n/a (2021-848) Thanks to the misses for going on a beer tour with me!

Clear dark brown to black beer, big creamy beige head, stable, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: chocolate notes, some caramel, gentle roasted notes, sweet impression, bit malty. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: nice bitterness, good roast, sweet touch, lots of caramel. Aftertaste: little sweet, some vanilla, chocolate, slightly sourish, bit dry in the finish, very nice one.

6.6

Pretty neutral. Not much to it, lacking much spelt or anything exciting. Maybe the touch of smoke on a blonde beer makes it worth trying again. Tasting at craft & draft Amsterdam (3.4 july 2021) Again from bierkonig. 3.3

5.4

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Canned, 330 ml courtesy of and shared with Ambasada guys. Hazy orange, small white head. Malty, caramel, sweet, old hops all around, ripe fruit. Moderate carbonation. Medium bodied. This has seen better days, although it's not that old. Should re-rate.

7.6

A very nicely restrained and balanced pastry stout. Bitterness is offset perfectly by the sweetness. Just enough boozy strength to make it feel like a big stout. Beer loves food Amsterdam

6.6

This one might be yeasty from keg bottoms. But it’s okay. Cloudy. A bit muddy. Should be tried again. Beer loves food amsterdam