Hazy (darkish) yellow head with a stable white head. Lemon, sweet citrus, mango, greapefruit, malt, white bread - nice one.

ISA from Fugu, a Belgian brewing project located in Brussels, hopped with classic Japanese Sorachi Ace (hence the Japan-inspired name and label) and Chinook cultivated in Belgium (who would have thought that would ever happen just two decades ago). Can from the Delhaize supermarket in Zele. Thick and frothy, egg-white, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, irregular but nicely stable head on a misty pale straw blonde robe with goldenrod-yellow tinge. Aroma of dried dill (strongly so even - in that sense immediately recognisable as Sorachi Ace!), starfruit, light guava, cucumber peel, hint raw turnip, cold oatmeal porridge without the sweetness, faint echoes of wild garlic, cilantro and lime (which should all be much more clear). Juicy onset, not too sweet though, hinting at green guava, starfruit and green pear, lively carbonated with important minerally effects - but in a very small-bubbled way; slick wheaty core with 'barley' white-breadiness at the edges, soft and fluffy, feeling a tad thicker than what one would expect at this ABV. The hops do not drown the malts completely - as is usually the case in any form of hazy IPA today - but creep in more gradually, eventually taking over with a retronasal reprisal of the guava, green pear and starfruit, superimposed by the dried dill effect and prolonged down below with a lingering herbal bitterishness lending more 'fullness' to the finish. Postmodern hazy session IPA with the classic Sorachi Ace signature written all over it (and let us not forget that Sorachi Ace has been around since the eighties already) - it delivers what it promises, but I know people who are not too fond of that dill-like quality of Sorachi Ace and exactly that aspect is very prominent here. If you do not mind that and are open to this quirky character of Japan's most famous hop variety, I think you will find a fine summer quencher in this beer in a very reasonable 'supermarket beer' price category.

Self-proclaimed "fruity sour" by Fugu, which has produced a decent IPA or two, flavoured with pear and yuzu (allegedly in fresh form, at least that is what the can says, but I think we need to take 'fresh' with a pinch of salt here). Can from - much to my surprise - the Delhaize supermarket in Lokeren. Medium sized, snow white, tiny-bubbled and dense yet slowly breaking, shred-lacing, generally well-retaining head over a clear pale yellow blonde robe with vaguely greenish tinge and some active visible sparkling. Aroma of ripe pear indeed but not in a fresh fruit form - rather pear jam, sugared fruit yoghurt, pear drops, brioche dough, lots of green banana, kiwi (as used in a pie rather than fresh), wheatpaste, skim milk, plaster - but hardly anything truly citrusy in the way of yuzu, unless, again, in a marmalade kind of form (which apparently exists). Sweetish onset, a bit sugary but in a 'slender' kind of way, pear-forward again as expected with a bottled pear juice feel to it, far less yuzu though I do get this perfumey, almost soapy effect with a certain citrusy streak to it - that must be it. Slender, almost thinnish body, very slick, wheaty with wheatpaste-like edges, slightly sourish edges which I suppose come from that yuzu more than from the actual beer - so once this element appears, combined with that earlier fruitiness I do get a sense of yuzu. Ends yellow-fruity, sweet but not sticky, very mildly tart(ish) and a bit bitterish, with light chalky and soapy aspects. Basically a thin kind of wheat ale flavoured with more pear than yuzu; there is a slight Florida Weisse-like vibe to it, but the emphasis lies on the fruit for sure - not sure how they came up with this somewhat far-fetched combo of flavours and ingredients, but I see how this may work commercially at least for zythologically uneducated hipsters thinking craft beer is always sweet, hazy, moderately alcoholic and easygoing... As for me: a more or less tolerable little beer on a hot summer evening I guess, but I cannot say I really enjoyed it either: it is weird, tries too hard to be fancy and has some minor flaws here and there. Not my cup of tea.

Cremiger, süßlich hopfiger Beginn. Feine Herbe, blumig, fast parfümiert hopfig, süßlich alkoholisch. Hellmalzig, die Süße nimmt zu, konstante Aromatik, okay. 10/9/8/9/11/9

330ml can from Delhaize Zedelgem. Pours a cloudy orange with a white head. Aromas & tastes of juicy lemon, lots of Citra & hops. Moderate body. Long resinous light bitter finish.