Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Bottle. Pours cloudy straw yellow with huge white head. Aroma is malt, grapefruit, spruce and orange. Taste is medium sweet and light to medium bitter. Body is oily with medium carbonation. Finish is long and balanced sweet and bitter with notes of grapefruit, orange and malt
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
One of the Houppe beers, from a brewery in Namur which has steadily grown since it was erected about a decade ago (did not realise it was that long already), apparently classified here as an Anglo-Saxon golden ale though the label does not mention this style designation anywhere. Foamy, very thick, eggshell-white, plaster-lacing, frothy and firm, stable head on an initially lightly misty, pale straw blonde beer, more hazy with sediment. Aroma of freshly mown lawn, fresh lemonbalm leaves, spiced crackers, chamomile, some vague lime zest, white soap, cilantro leaves even, matcha, gypsum, raw Florence fennel, herb cheese, dried savory, spring water. Crisp yet somewhat neutral onset, very clean, fruity hints of green pear, unripe plum and some early signs of bitterness, propelled forward by minerally carbonation adding gypsum- and potassium-like effects, smooth body, thinnish but not more so than what one can expect at this ABV; white-bready and vaguely cracker-like pale maltiness in a dryish, slender, somewhat understated way, but the finish is enriched with a very fresh-herbal, grassy hop profile, with a lasting, quenching, bit peppery bitterness and an array of herbal aromas retronasally, ranging between fresh lemonbalm, parsley, savory and bergamot - the latter being an echo of citrusiness which eventually becomes a tad lime zest-like. Minerally side notes and something vaguely 'powdery' travel along this green, herbal hoppiness into a confidently drying bitterness. Quite a refreshing hoppy ale on a late summer evening, I suppose, but the herbaceousness of it is perhaps just a bit much for me; certainly original to Walloon standards, though, and offering a green tea-ish effect with citric edges (rather than citrusy hops with a herbal edge, which was probably the intention). Lacks the orangey aromatic power of a true APA (which is how RateBeer classifies it) and I also miss a tiny bit of biscuity maltiness, but having said that, this is, all things considered, a fairly original, crisp and elegant Belgian summer ale with a clear 'postmodern' signature.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Hazy amber colour, white foam. Light bready, hoppy, floral and citrussy. Easy drinkable. Good.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
33cl bottle from Carrefour market at train station in Namur.
F: big, white, long lasting.
C: pale gold, light hazy.
A: lemon, grapefruits, floral, pineapple, spicy, apples, herbal touch.
T: full malty base, pineapples, apples, spicy, lemongrass, citrus, decent bitterness, medium carbonation, not bad not great, enjoyed. --- Beer merged from original tick of Houppe / De La Sambre Brewrocks Baden Skiffle on 25 May 2024 at 19:37 - Score: Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5. Original review text: 33cl bottle from Carrefour market at train station in Namur. F: big, white, long lasting. C: pale gold, light hazy. A: lemon, grapefruits, floral, pineapple, spicy, apples, herbal touch. T: full malty base, pineapples, apples, spicy, lemongrass, citrus, decent bitterness, medium carbonation, not bad not great, enjoyed.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
New World-hopped Belgian IPA in the musically inspired Brewrocks series by Houppe in the Namur province, from a brown longneck bottle. Very thick and foamy, thickly cobweb-lacing, eggshell-white, fluffy and frothy, very stable head on a misty yellow blonde beer with ochre-ish tinge and fine strings of lively sparkling rising up from the middle. Aroma of lemon-scented hand soap but this effect fades a bit later on, pomelo, soggy white bread, Florence fennel, old ginger powder, dried lemon thyme, oxidized green apple slices, grapefruit zest, dry haystacks, raw parsnip, minced lemongrass, cilantro leaf, green pear, dandelion tea. Crisp, spritzy onset with lots of numbing, even painful overcarbonation at first, calming down further on, over fruity impressions of pear, unripe pineapple, green apple and vague pomelo (citrus), sweetish and very lightly sourish, moving onwards over a slender pale maltiness with a bready core and sharper grainy edges towards a drying finish, spicy in both a phenolic and a hoppy way, the first adding yeasty 'dirtiness' and clove- to even lightly fennel-like effects and the latter bringing retronasal aromas of old dried orange peel, dried lemongrass and green kiwi as well as a lingering, eventually rather rooty hop bitterness. The carbonation in this case helps to retain a fruity, juicy effect in the end, enhancing drinkability. Some of that fruity sweetness lingers too. In all, not an unpleasant beer, but clearly the intentions here were to create an Anglo-Saxon style IPA while in reality - as usual with such attempts in this country - the end result is more a yeast-fruity and yeast-spicy saison of sorts relished with a dash of inefficiently utilised New World hops. In short: the overcarbonation in the mouth and overt soapiness in the nose bothered me a bit initially, but once these effects had faded, I was able to enjoy this for what it really was, and that is a Walloon style 'Belgian IPA'. Oh well, at least I know what 'Baden Skiffle' is now...
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Clear pale golden color and a nice white head. Nice hoppy bitterness, straight. --- Beer merged from original tick of Slip on 17 Sep 2023 at 14:43 - Score: 7. Original review text: Clear pale golden color and a nice white head. Nice hoppy bitterness, straight,
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Almost clear, golden color and a nice white head. Fruity nose, lemon, faint tropical fruits. Taste is citric, lemon and lemon peel, grapefruit, a little old school style. Nice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Color: Slightly hazy golden, white head. Aroma: Yeasty, hoppy, floral and fruity hints. Taste: Hoppy, floral, citrus hints, yeasty notes, spicy. Dry hoppy and yeasty finish. Just over medium body, above average carbonation. Typical Belgium Pale Strong Ale. Nice one.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 6
Pale gold with a with a surging, frothy, white head. Aroma is vaguely floral with coriander on top. Taste has a slight, chalky bitterness accompanied by both a citric twist and a mild tartness, with the latter taking the finish. Medium-bodied, smooth, creamy feel. Subtle, perhaps too subtle. Good.
