Donkerbruin bier met schuim. Smaak is bitterzoet, warm en krachtig met iets van koffie, wat kandij en een beetje fruit. Erg goed.

Robijnrood bier met mooie schuimkraag. Smaak is fris fruitig zuur met duidelijk krieken echter komen die niet echt in de smaak naar voren. Het komt puur natuurlijk over. Ik heb betere kriek gehad dan deze.

Bottle from Drinks Vanuxeem, Ploegsteert, Belgium. Label: 8.5%. Pours a very dark brown almost black colour with hardly any head. Aromas of chocolate, liquorice, molasses and dry dark fruits. Taste has a bit more dark fruit, molasses, caramel, some wood and a hint more liquorice in the background. Fizzy palate and very thin watery mouthfeel. The alcohol is fairly well hidden but other than that it is a terrible beer. Arguably one of the worst Belgium beers I’ve ever tried. Disappointing.

To my knowledge at least, the latest addition to the Dikke Jan range of stereotypical 20th-century style Belgian ales from Waregem in West-Flanders; bottle from the shop at the Deca brewery, where this range is physically produced. Pale greyish beige, moussy, shred-lacing, gradually opening head, initially clear caramel brown robe with vermillion glow, misty with sediment. Aroma of hard caramel, banana, bubblegum, burnt toast, young ‘jenever’, clove, brown bread dough, thyme, fermenting pear juice, nutmeg, hint of wood glue. Sweet onset, baked banana and old raisins, some pear, fizzy carb but full and pleasantly smooth, soft mouthfeel; caramelly and brown-bready malts with light toasty bitterish edge, further bittered by a dash of herbal hops and warming, ‘jenever’-like alcohol – all ‘spiced’ by strong phenols, clove-like initially, but becoming annoyingly solventy in the end as well. I guess this beer needed a bit more time to mature and then who knows, the solvent effects may be gone; in its basic make-up, this is not a badly structured quad, but I have to admit that – having ‘grown up’ with the great trappist classics in the genre – the toasty bitter aspect is unnecessary for me and I miss some extra dark fruit sweetness.

1/VIII/22 - 33cl bottle from Deca breweryshop (Woesten), shared @ France Holiday, BB: 8/II/27 (2022-962)

Pretty cloudy purple to brown beer, small creamy beige head, stable, non adhesive. Aroma: lots of ripe banana, some bubble gum, very malty, grains, caramel, some chocolate, more banana. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: lots and lots of alcohol, more alcohol, not much else going on here… after a while I’m getting a soft roast, a little malty touch and some bitterness. Aftertaste: a bit yeasty, dry, hoppy, lots of alcohol burn, some caramel, soft acidity, decent!

On tap @Bruges Beer Festival, April 9 & 10 2022. Color amarillo espuma blanca, aromas especiadas, cereal, malta, sabor malta cuerpo medio.

On tap @Bruges Beer Festival, April 9 & 10 2022. Color amarillo espuma blanca, aromas malta, especiada, sabor malta, dulce, cuerpo medio.

Bottle at home. Clear golden color, small white head. Aroma is surprisingly floral with a hint of citrus. Quite weird actually. Flavor is similar, a bit weird, sort of artificial, sweetish, artificial citrusy, floral. Weird. Don't like it tbh.

Bottle at home. Dark brown color, full sized beige head. Smell and taste malts, dark candi sugar, a bit sweet, brown malts, light iron. Medium body and carbonation.