Porter made with not just roasted barley, but roasted wheat as well, something you do not often see, not even in craft beer, from this exciting young brewing project in Brussels. 'Taupe', the French word for mole, is also used in French as the name of a dark grey-brown colour similar to the colour of the mole's fur, hence the name. Creamy, very regular, deep yellow-beige, quite thick but slowly opening head, eventually reduced to a waferthin ring on a very dark chocolate brown beer, approaching black but not quite, with ruddy-bronze, hazy edges. Aroma of fondant chocolate bars, cappuccino, iron shavings, pecan nut pie, roasted hazelnuts, brown bread, dried figs, almond, hints of liquorice, dry earth, prunes, dough, nougat, cigar ashes - and a whiff of reduced gravy after adding the sediment. Sweetish onset, lightly estery with blue plum- and fig-like notes, sourish undertone which develops further later on (the wheat, no doubt) and is initially slightly accentuated by spritzy, yet nowhere harsh carbonation; toffeeish, brown-bready and black-chocolatey malts, bittersweet but quickly shifting to coffee powder-like roasted bitterness more than lingering sweetness, yet this bitterness remains soft enough to still qualify as a porter rather than a stout (ignoring the continuum between both terms). Ends roasty, chocolatey and coffeeish with a spicy hop twist and lingering yeasty bready aspects; all the way, there is a metallic aspect, that eventually remains longer than expected. A tad too metallic and perhaps even a little bit too yeasty, but generally speaking, this is a very easily drinkable and enjoyable offering, with the wheat adding an underlying sourish streak that actually fits well into the whole. La Source in general remains a brewery to watch if you are into U.S. style craft brewing in Belgium, but this may not be their most impressive achievement so far - at least compared with many of their other beers.

Cannette 33cl de LaSource Taproom, BB 15/2/2021.
Dorée paille assez trouble, col épais blanc crémeux.
Arôme est fruité - note de pin, fruité tropical, citron vert, rétro fin de mangue. Le houblonné sort très bien, le malté restant plus en retrait.

Palais est épais grains finement 'sour' avec un beau punch de fruité : retrouve des notes tropicales plaisantes, avec un retrait fin mentholé. Le Sabro brille de mille feu avec un léger côté cèdre. Citron vert en retrait, léger pin ponctue cela. L'effet sour est là sans jamais être surfait, pointe épicée revenant en retrait et du seigle.

Hazy DIPA with spelt and three very familiar hop varieties: the new generation German variety Hallertau Blanc in combination with New World stars Simcoe and Citra. Comes from a can with a sticker bearing nice artwork depicting a she-wolf and her cub. Tightly but irregularly paper-lacing, medium thick, yellowish egg-white, opening head on a completely cloudy, if not murky, pale straw blonde beer with apricot tinge and 'milky' edges. Aroma of fresh pomelo, lemon zest, blood orange flesh, halfripe pineapple, dough, curcuma powder, fresh lemonbalm leaves, Sichuan pepper, unripe mango, marijuana, biscuit crumbs, yellow kiwi, lilies. Juicy, fruity onset, sweetish but not overly so, hinting at raw pineapple, rambutan and papaja with a very citric edge (lime zest, pomelo), quite refreshing yet softly carbonated; very soft, fluffy, doughy, eventually powdery mouthfeel, full and very easily drinkable (dangerously so even, seen its ABV). Very doughy maltiness, again refraining from overt sweetness, remains completely soaked in citric and not-too-sweet tropical fruitiness from the hops, with a hard, unripe apricot aspect added in the finish as well; utterly refreshing, brightly citrusy but not becoming too dank or even sweet-tropical anywhere, instead the finish brings a powdery, peppery, drying, spicy (even marijuana-like) bitterness, not harshly so but still a tad more developed than average for a hazy IPA, with a gin-like alcohol aspect sitting at the tail and making itself noticeable only briefly and gently. I remember arguing that this La Source project was a promising one when their first beer (Epervier IPA) came out, but this one, only their second beer for me personally, exceeds my expectations. This is as contemporary and 'hip' as it gets, as if made by some new English, Scandinavian or Dutch craft brewer - the postmodern American craft beer idiom to the fullest. Double NEIPAs - or NEIPAs in general - are not my personal favorite in terms of style, but there is no denying that this one is very well executed, without shortcuts and apparently following the New England process and features in detail. There is nothing traditionally Belgian about this anymore: this brewery is clearly ready to specialize in the global craft beer style and nothing else, and there certainly is enough room for that in this country - heck, if it were for me, every town in Belgium would have a modern craft brewer like this, even if it is no coincidence that La Source is situated in metropolitan Brussels, of course (as the first 'US style' craft beer hot spots are usually the capitals, see also London, Madrid, Paris, Berlin, Moscow and so on).

Bottle at home from Malt Attacks, Brussels, 7th March 2020. Pours an orange IPA, aroma is peach and pineapple. Taste is sweet, caramelised orange, aromatic, on the malty side. It’s OK, should be more bitter and balanced.

Can from Malt Attacks, Brussels, at home 6th March 2020. Pours a cloudy orange beer. Aroma is tart fruit, floral. Taste is tart, smooth, oily mouth feel, refreshing sour and interesting.

Draft @ La Source taproom.
Brune foncée presque noire, col blanc-cassé.
Arôme donne le ton avec de belles notes caramélisées, impression de sucre résiduel, effluves de piments marquées en rétro-nasal offrant un côté fumé rappelant le chipotle.

Palais est épais, malté chocolaté et caractère de mélasse et toffee ainsi qu'une pointe rappelant la sauce soja.
Effet épicé bien là sans être surfait reste cependant assez notable et rehaussé par ce côté fumé - chipotle. Pas vraiment noté le fermenté opéré par les voisins de Fermenthings.