7.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

7 June 2025. At Stroom brewery. Cheers to Matthias's stag do!

Hazy bright yellow, small, foamy, off-white head. Lemongrass, potatoes, cold french fries, crackers, plain salted crisps, melon, citrus zest. Taste has sweetish melon & mandarin in a dry bready and cracker-like malt body, slightly sourish. Herbal hops in the finish, lingering herbal lemongrass, citrus and pale maltiness. Medium body, slick texture, average carbonation. Relatively dry and refreshing at the same time, but not taking that premise to the next level.

7.1

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

7 June 2025. At Stroom brewery. Cheers to Matthias's stag do!

Hazy bright yellow, small, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of coffee bean, turnip mash, pineapple, orange juice, mandarin peel, grilled cauliflower (slight DMS). Taste has sweet apricot, pineapple & mandarin over sourish wheat & citrus zest in a doughy malt body surrounded by whiffs of coffee bean. Floral & earthy hops in the finish, lingering juicy citrus, earthy turnip and coffee. Medium body, fluffy texture, average carbonation. Somewhat earthy, bordering on dirty, but still well made.

7.3

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

33cl can from Carrefour market LA CHASSE (BRUSSEL).
F: huge, egg-white, good retention.
C: deep gold, hazy.
A: citrus, floral, mango, blood orange, lychee.
T: full malty base, citrus, orange, lychee, lemongrass, pomelo, decent bitterness, medium carbonation, good one, enjoyed.

7.1

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

33cl can from Carrefour market LA CHASSE (BRUSSEL).
F: big, white, good retention.
C: deep gold, hazy.
A: citrus, grapefruits, roasted onion, tangerine, biscuits, tropical fruits.
T: medium malty base, orange grapefruits, biscuits, tropical fruits, tangerine, caramel touch, nice balanced bitterness, medium carbonation, ok for the style yet nothing really special, enjoyed.

7.1

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

33cl can from Carrefour market LA CHASSE (BRUSSEL).
F: big, white, good retention.
C: blonde, light hazy.
A: yellow kiwi, grapefruits, floral, spicy, pears.
T: medium malty base, grapefruits, bit mineral, orange, bit yellow tropical fruits, nice balanced harmonic bitterness, medium carbonation, nice easy drinkable, enjoyed.

7

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

33cl can from Carrefour market LA CHASSE (BRUSSEL).
F: medium, pink, average retention.
C: reddish with coppery touch, hazy.
A: nice sour raspberries, lactic touch, sour red berries, yoghurt.
T: light malty base, sour raspberries, bit puckering, lemon touch, lactic, sour green apples, mellon touch, soft carbonation, nice for the style, refreshing.

8

Good stout. Very gentle whisky but there is a sweet note and a touch of booze. Nicely balanced.

5.9

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5

330 ml can. Pours a pale gold with light head. Aromas of biscuity malts and dull citrus. Flavors follow same with some additional stale hops and grain. Comes across like a non alcoholic beer.

7.9

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

Can from Hopduvel. Hazy black, thin, foamy, beige head. Aroma of dried fig, date, vanilla, praliné, fondant, sweet whisky, soy sauce, liquorice, almond, wood, varnish. Taste has sweetish fig & raisin in a dark-chocolatey malt body, complemented by herbal liquorice and umami soy. Herbal hoppy finish, touch of vanilla & wood, slightly roasted too but dominated by warming sweet whisky alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Tasty, with a firm BA profile.

7.3

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

One of Stroom's new beers, a "session pale ale" hopped with Magnum, Cascade (grown in Belgium), Citra and a dash of Simcoe and fermented with US-05 yeast, meaning that this one is intended as an American style ale rather than a Belgian style one (not surprising seen the source - and perhaps luckily so, in this case). Inches thick, beaten egg-white, membrane-lacing, regular, dense, foamy head over an initially crystal clear pale and pure golden blonde robe with disparate visible sparkling, turning misty and deeper golden further on. Aroma of grapefruit zest, orange pith, spiced dry crackers, lemon thyme, green apple skin, halfripe pear, sugared rhubarb stew, lemon orchard, jasmin blossoms, matcha, raw Kohlrabi, green algae faraway in the background. Crisp onset, lively carbonation with very stingy, minerally effects (hindering drinkability a bit initially), dryish with some vague hints at dried apple peel, green pear and unripe green plum - contrasting in its dryness with the sweet elements in the orthonasal aroma. Quite full-bodied middle in spite of its modest ABV, a straight-edged cereally and dry cracker-like pale maltiness, a bit grainy at the edges but rounder, quickly bittered by peppery, wormwoody and herbal (thyme) hops, offering a confident, leafy, somewhat tonic water-like bitterness which lasts for a long time. Retronasally, some tiny 'imperfections' appear, like in old dry potato starch disrupting the hops a bit - but all things considered, this beer does it Carlito's way, and is an interesting addition to Stroom's range, with a pleasant dryness and bitterness still combined with a certain 'roundness'. I can imagine myself drinking this all night in a pub near to the brewery (Kleine Kunst!), but there is something dusty and powdery to my sample which I reckon will not be present when sampled fresh, so I hope to encounter it from tap somewhere in Ghent.