15/IV/20 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: IX/2021 (2020-337)

Clear pale blond beer, huge dense creamy white head, very stable, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: little fruity, bit malty, herbal hops, slightly floral, delicate fragrance. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: bit malty, nice bitterness, fruity touch, bit grassy, some citrus, little soapy, coriander. Aftertaste: spicy, dry bitter finish, some citrus, herbal, very good one.

Paired with fried halloumi, smash potatoes and a salad. Good pairing!

One of several collaborations between Galea near Antwerp in Belgium on the one hand and Maltgarden in Poland on the other hand, a strong NEIPA hopped with Mosaic, Enigma and Ekuanot. Eggshell-white, mousy, bit irregular, opening head leaving flat 'shreds' in the middle over a cloudy to even murky, beige-tinged ochre-ish 'blonde' beer, looking like homemade pear juice after the head has disappeared completely... Aroma of pomelo, lime zest, Sichuan pepper, unripe pineapple, lemon-scented hand soap, tonic water, old leftover dough, freshly cut celery, starfruit, roses, wet clay. Fruity onset, quite citric with hints of pomelo and lime peel, soapy starfruit note, softish carb; soft, eventually powdery body, doughy maltiness completely drenched in a kind of 'green-peppery' hoppiness with bright citric edges, spicy and grapefruity, ending in a remarkably firm, drying, spicy bitterness, very grapefruity again - and, importantly, very un-NEIPA. It sure looks like a NEIPA alright, but clearly the style has been misunderstood here by putting so much emphasis on bitterness, almost quinine-like, like an old school West Coast IPA would be; that said, I personally like a good deal of hop bitterness in anything IPA-labelled, so I frankly could not care less. Enjoyed it, in spite of having received a NEIPA-looking beer that hardly tastes like NEIPA at all...

Donker bruin tot zwart bier met schuim wat snel wegzakt. Smaak is licht bitterzuur en fruitig met iets van rode bessen. Geslaagd bier voor mij.

330 ml. bottle. Black flat syrup. Nose is varnish, overly boozy with unintegrated coconut, cinnamon, way too much flat varnish alcohol. Taste is clashing heavy coconut, flat overly sweet cloying Coca-Cola sweet, unpleasant flat, massively sweet syrup, Coca-Cola, flat mess, cinnamon on top, no carbonation, disappointing.

Four-grains beer (barley, wheat, rye and buckwheat) hopped with Simcoe, from one of Antwerp's more promising client brewers. Almost gushing, but with some patience and caution I managed to reduce the loss to exactly one drop... Towering high, audibly fizzing, egg-white, mousy, cobweb-lacing, foamy head on a misty pale yellow blonde beer with warmer apricot hue and lively sparkling. Aroma of lemon candy, ripe pineapple, mock-jito, yuzu, sourdough hint, meringue, green apples (strong), soapy starfruit, gypsum, a whiff of classic Fanta, white bread dough, vague dusty accent. Spritzy, crisp onset, very sharply carbonated distracting from the real flavour, but with still recognizable impressions of starfruit, pineapple, unripe pear and Granny Smith apple fruitiness; sweetish, but with a pronounced, citric-sourish edge, resulting in a somewhat lemonade-like effect (Fanta again, from a distance). Slick white-bready and cereally maltiness, lean and slender, remaining soaked in this sweet-and-sour lemonade effect, lime and green apple aspects at the sides (but strongly so) as well as minerally effects from the carbonation; some wheat soapiness, way less rye and buckwheat spiciness though. Ends with a floral and zesty hoppiness, crisp and 'yellow-green', but not necessarily identifiable as Simcoe; gentle floral and slightly leafy bitterness lingering, as well as minerally 'gypsum', a 'dusty' note and those sugared lime and green apple effects. Overcarbonated for sure, even for something intended as a summery quencher; not my personal cup of tea per se, but apart from the overcarbonation, this is admittedly an interesting one, even if the 'homemade' lemonade aspect bothered me. I wonder how intentional this effect was; did Galea envision a drink that can please both lemonade drinkers and beer lovers? Whatever the case, that poor Simcoe, still one of the brightest stars on the New World hops firmament as far as I'm concerned, never really got a chance to shine here, as I was already fearing. Not bad, all in all, but again one of those Belgian ales trying to be fancy by incorporating New World hops - and basically failing at it. Too bad, I expected more from Galea, to be honest.

Pours unclear yellow, small to no head. Smell is a bit pineapple. Mild citrus, bit malty. Taste is full, sharp and bitter, drying yeastyness, mild hopburn. Aroma seems a bit lost, and the beer is not as creamy as I had hoped. Decnet IPA to Belgian standards, but no compedator in the international market.