Pours unclear amber, fairly big white head. Scent is mildly spicy, both the pepper as well as the yeast - but not unbalanced or overpowering. Mild plain maltyness left. Taste is fairly exhausting, a bit sticky and overly yeasty to me (perhaps fermented a bit warm, but thats the whole idea of kveik) the pepper doesn't lift it up, in contrairy, it makes it even more exhausting. Not very sessionable, and as a degustation beer, it needs to be more interesting to me. Somewhat bitter, but that doesn't last too long. Malty, but nothing exceptionnal. Mouthfeel and body are medium, and so is my enthousiasm.

Light hazy orange/pinkish colour, white foam. Light tartness, notes of raspberry, a bit lemony, thin, easy drinkable, refreshing.

Can at home. Clear bright orange color, small white head. Aroma and flavor are malts, green hops, malt bitters. Not bad but not great either. Okay.

Philly sour with organically grown raspberries, the last of the - so far - regular Stroom beers I had to sample; can bought at Geers. Moussy, irregularly membrane-lacing, pink-tinged off-white, quite thick and stable head; near-clear, warm and deep orange-glowing amber robe with pink tinge and lively visible sparkling, turning deeper rosy-amber and cloudy with sediment. Aroma of clear sour and sweet red raspberries, tomato juice, milk going sour, fruit yoghurt, sweat, guava juice, watermelon, freshly cut cactus, dough, chalk. Crisp, tart onset but in a very lively, colourfully fruity way, teeming with sour raspberries straight from the bush, including both their fructose sweetness and citric acidity, the latter accentuated by a soft yoghurty lactic tartness from the Lachancea yeast (defining it as a Philly sour indeed); hints of sour tomato, rhubarb and green apple support the raspberry dominance through a smooth, slick cereally core, working towards a refreshingly citric finish in which the combination of Lachancea effects and raspberries acquires something almost tropical (pitaya, guava, watermelon - but all in the form of subtle hints). Some vague hoppiness is noticeable but very subtly so; drying yoghurty and fruity sourness remain key here, in a somewhat straightforward, but altogether tasty, vivid and very refreshing way, accompanied by a late and mild chalky touch. Lovely little fruit sour, in all, I wonder why I waited so long to tackle this one - but a hot summer day would probably have been a more suitable moment for this kind of beer than a dreary and gloomy winter day in mid-January.

The other barrel aged quad by Stroom, this time in rum barrels, also created in late 2022. Shared with Katia Warny and Ama Deke on a grey December afternoon, cheers guys! Pale greyish beige, moussy, dense but gradually opening head, misty bronze-brown robe with ruddy burgundy hue – looking exactly the same as the whiskey edition, though perhaps with somewhat less head retention. Aroma of caramel, freshly chopped oak wood, brown rum present but far less prominent than the whisky was in the other edition, brown bread, dried fig, nutmeg, toast, pear syrup, medlar, freshly cut red apple, ground hazelnuts. Sweet onset, raisins and medlar, dried fig and ripe pear, medium carbonation (somewhat less active than in the whisky version), full and rounded body. The same caramelly, hazelnutty and brown-bready malts fill the mouth, but a red apple flavour accompanies the whole much more outspokenly than in the whisky edition; toasty bitterish edge and lots of strong, vanilla-scenting oak like in the whisky edition, boozy finish too, but the rum remains a tad less dominant here than the whisky was in the other one. Still a rum flavour, including traces of that typical coconut association, is noticeable. Rich, sweet and powerful winter warmer, delicious and somehow a tad better balanced than the whisky edition, though differences are small; this one too, I think, would benefit from extended cellaring.

End of 2022, Stroom acquired a few wooden barrels, one previously containing Irish whiskey and the other rum, and created an ‘ad hoc’ quadrupel to mature it in. The result was bottled in 75 cl bottles, for sale at the brewery’s taproom; this rating concerns the whiskey edition. Shared with Katia Warny, cheers! Greyish pale beige, dense, moussy, somewhat irregular but surprisingly stable head (for this type of beer) on a misty bronze-brown robe with ruddy burgundy glow. Aroma of lots of vanilla-scenting oak wood, candi sugar, caramel, indeed clear whisky, hint of toast, dried prunes, ‘kramiek’, hazelnut, toffee, cookies, dry tea leaves. Sweet onset, clear dark candi sugariness but not sticky, fruity notes of fig, raisin, pear and slight banana, rather fizzy but luckily fine-bubbled carbonation, full and rounded body; caramelly, hazelnutty, brown-bready malt core, sweet with a toasty bitterish edge, almost Scotch-like. Lots of drying, even slightly astringent woody tannins with lovely retronasal ‘vanilla’ from the oak wood, plus clearly warming whisky booziness, paired with a leafy hop bitter accent and lingering caramelly and brown-bready maltiness. The whisky is quite outspoken here, but still fits into the whole well. Generally speaking a powerful, boozy, rich quad, probably very suitable for extended cellaring. Well done.

Experimental session IPA by Stroom, brewed with additional oats for creaminess. From tap at the brewery’s taproom. Snow white, membrane-lacing, moussy, stable head, clear pure golden blonde robe. Aroma of dried grapefruit peel, field flowers, dried lemonbalm, hay, bread crust, moist white pepper, leftover dough. Restrainedly fruity onset, some unripe banana and green pear, dryish and generally clean; lively carbonation, smooth and lean mouthfeel, but not as velvety as expected considering the oats. Bread-crusty and bit grainy core, ‘pure’ pale malt sweetishness but remaining dry in general, especially when the hops set in, making for a spicy and somewhat zesty, floral bitterness. Agreeable, modern, easygoing quencher – but to fully merit the ‘IPA’ moniker, it needs a lot more (New World) hop aroma in my book. In this form, it feels more like a light, hoppy saison than an ISA. Regardless, this is one to chug by the gallon on a warm summer afternoon (even if I tasted it in late December).

Can at home. Opaque black color with an average sized beige head. Aroma and flavor are malts, cocoa, light iron, oatmeal, slightly dusty but overall quite good. Pleasant beer, I like it.

17/XII/22 - 33cl can from the brewery, shared @ home, BB: 18/XI/23 (2022-1749)

Clear orange beer, big creamy off-white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: ripe banana, cloves, spicy touch, bubble gum, malty impression. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: lots of licorice, some banana, yeasty, bubble gum, gentle bitterness, more yeast, banana peel. Aftertaste: more yeast, licorice, more cloves, some aniseed, bitter, ok.