Brussels saison - for now - physically brewed in Ghent, not far from where I live; simple diamond-shaped label, like the other Vandekelder beers. Frothy, foamy, very thick, cobweb-lacing, eggshell-white, stable head on an initially clear orange peach blonde beer, turning cloudy and deeper amberish with sediment. Aroma of cooked cotton cloth, damp straw, old potatoes, soggy old bread, coriander powder, carrot soup, raw beetroot, considerable DMS (overcooked Brussels sprouts), apple peel, minerals, clove, 'cooked soup meat' (probably just the old 4-vinyl-guaiacol). Estery onset, sweetish fruitiness of ripe apricot, red apple and a light hint at banana, lively and minerally carbonation - a bit stingy even; supple body, reminiscent of soaking wet Betterfood cookies, soggy old sandwiches and raw cereals, leading to a more herbal finish bringing thyme and clove aspects, while the unavoidable DMS returns retronasally; a grassy hop bitter note does appear, but the clove-like phenolic effects are equally strong and the whole gets bogged down in overt yeastiness (a bit 'dirty' even), 'soupy' vegetable effects and dull malty breadiness. An unexpectedly long, leafy and very earthy hop bitterness does extend things beyond that, but needs more elegance to fully flourish - this whole beer feels 'dirty' and soupy, which in my book is not a good thing at all. This is not a successful saison for me, not even in the original, traditional Walloon sense of the word - sorry guys!

The second Vandekelder beer, a brand located in Brussels but commissioning their beers from BeerSelect, situated in Ghent some five kilometers from where I live... Very thick and foamy, clearly hops-enhanced, egg-white, pillowy, tightly cobweb-lacing head, slowly collapsing over a misty peach blonde beer with pale orangey tinge. Somewhat musty aroma of old rusk, dried field flowers, cotton cloth and even worn-out polyester fiber, dried apple peel, unripe apricot, old bread crust, old dried lemon peel, brown soap, old potatoes, cranesbill leaf, nutmeg, vague background note of meaty 4-vinyl-guaiacol. Fruity onset, restrained in sweetness with hints of unripe peach, dried apricot and apple peel, sharp and stinging, very minerally carbonation; bit soapy, lean mouthfeel. Rusk- and bread crust-like maltiness with a peanutty edge, feeling a bit 'old' and dusty, bittered by grassy, leafy hops that last for quite a while and offer some hay- and wild flower-like aromas retronasally; a tad rooty in the end, alongside bready yeastiness and that 4-vinyl-guaiacol (clove and cooked leftover 'soup' meat) returning in the background. Like the Chantecler IPA I had from Wallonia's Goupil earlier this evening, there is little IPA to this beer, at least not in the postmodern, 'American' but now actually global, sense of the word; feels much more like a hoppy saison, in its dryness, yeasty spiciness and bitterness. I am certain that this will be a disappointment to consumers that expect a true IPA - something only very progressive, I would almost say 'anti-Belgian-tradition' microbrewers in this country seem to master so far. Why not throw in a good dose of New World hops? You will still have a very 'Belgian' IPA then, but at least the IPA claim will be more convincing...