Õlle on selline jook, et iga uus kord kui klaasi või pudeli suule tõstad, siis leiad midagi uut, sõltuvalt tuhandest-miljonist pisiasjast, mis hetke olukorda mõjutavad. Seega piirdun iga õlle juures selle tekstiga.

Õlle on selline jook, et iga uus kord kui klaasi või pudeli suule tõstad, siis leiad midagi uut, sõltuvalt tuhandest-miljonist pisiasjast, mis hetke olukorda mõjutavad. Seega piirdun iga õlle juures selle tekstiga.

Bottle 33cl. @home poured into an English pint. Opaque deep dark brown, tall creamy macropore tan head, good retention, good lacing. Aroma roasted malts, cocoa, coffee, dark caramel, raisins, figs. Taste above medium sweet and above light bitter, malty, chocolate, coffee groundings, liquorice, spicy notes. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, smooth sweetbitter aftertaste, alcoholic notes in the finish, really good.

Bottle 33cl. @home poured into a chalice. Hazy medium golden colour, small steady frothy white head, slowly diminishing, yeast islets and a thin rim remain, light lacing. Aroma sweet malt, grain, orange peel, yeast, light caramel, grassy hops, something stinky. Taste medium sweet and light bitter, grain, light pear, touch of honey, yeast, spicy notes. Full to medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, smooth sweetbitter aftertaste, grain, spicy notes, light alcohol, well-made and well-balanced classic tripel, very nice.

New tripel by this starting microbrewery in Ypres, run by a couple whose last names are both incorporated in the company name. Thick and moussy, snow white, cobweb-lacing, bit irregular but stable head on an initially clear ‘old-golden’ robe turning misty and more peachy with sediment. Aroma of drying white bread, banana peel, oxidizing red apple slices, cooked turnip, coriander seed, old dough, pear, straw, some soap, honey, peach, grass. Sweet-fruity onset, banana, red apple and light pineapple and pear, medium to lively carbonated with a full, smooth mouthfeel as it ought to be in this style; white-bready and cereally maltiness with slight soapy accent from the wheat that was used, old coriander seed, soggy-grainy and potato peel-like aspects towards the finish, mildly bittering from floral, softly spicy hoppiness and warming, ‘jenever’-like alcohol. Some banana ester lingers in the finish but not in an annoyingly sweet way – the overall balance of sweet and bitter has been carried out well here, and considering there are no off-flavours or other flaws either, this is a very solid tripel for such a young brewery; that said, it is also very cliché and predictable, especially after that successful imperial stout they launched as their first beer some months ago. I guess what comes next, will more clearly outline the path this brewery will follow from now on; benefit of the doubt for now.

Eigenzinnig Iepers bier - usually a description like this fails to enthuse me because it typically announces yet another unnecessary blond or tripel, but this case is different: this Ieperlink is an imperial stout, a less evident choice for a first beer by a brand new microbrewery. This brewery is set up by Erjen Adriaensen and his wife Conny Adriaen (hence the name of the brewery, combining both their last names) in a building owned by the employer of the latter, so we are not dealing with another client brewer here posing as a brewery - this is an actual microbrewery, and judging by this first beer, quite an interesting one... Mousy, mocha-beige, bit irregular but dense and stable, medium sized head on a black beer with hazy burgundy edges. Aroma of hard caramel, cappuccino, 'Haagse hopjes', toasted walnut, 'drop', paprika powder, 'fondant' chocolate, hints of Brazilian cigars, prunes, burnt brown sugar, dried blackberries, molasses. Densely sweetish onset, fig jam, raisins, slight sourish undertone, gently prickling carb (perhaps just a tad much for this style), full and slick body; nice deeply caramelly and pecan-nutty maltiness shifting to a more black-chocolatey character, while roasted bitterness appears, albeit on the gentle side, leading to an overall cappuccino-ish impression. Slight minerally effects from the carbonation linger, while spicy accents of liquorice or even 'drop', pipe tobacco and cinnamon appear in the background; quite leafy, long hop bitterness does tip the balance to finishing bitterness, accentuated by a warming glow of calvados-like alcohol. Belgian style imperial stout, I reckon - see the likes of Hopscheppers Imperial Kroezer, Het Nest Dead Man's Hand, Cabardouche Stout Mokke but also e.g. the imperial stout by the trappist monks of Spencer in the U.S. - but in that context, a surprisingly decent one, a tad overcarbonated for the style perhaps but rich and balanced, with a nicely clean, 'full' profile. Never saw this coming, I guess we also have to thank Joeri Devolder from Kaffee Bazaar to bring this one to the beer community's attention - and damn right he was. I guess for the next batch, Mr. and Mrs. Adriaen/sen will have to produce more than just 469 bottles, as was apparently the case with this first batch...