Beautiful beer. Super robust and just all around too notch. Billie’s craft beer fest 2024

25 cl tulip drat at La Source in Brussels, Belgium. The pour is a hazed yellow, slight golden with a foamy white head that fully coats the glass. The aroma is soft dank, grass hops, and cereal malt. The taste is a nice blend and balance of the cereal malt and the floral grass, dank hops; all super fresh and light. The palate is light bodied with active bright carbonation and the dank, smooth grass, dry finish. Easy drinking, and a really good body for a Session IPA.

Kettle sour brewed according to the 'SMaSH' principle (single malt, single hop), flavoured with Thai basil, lime and spirulina, the latter being a food supplement derived from cyanobacteria. Thanks tderoeck for sharing. Snow white, moussey, opening head over a clear pale yellow-golden beer with grass-green tinge. Aroma of lots of sweet Thai basil but also génépi and yarrow, clear lime juice and lime zest, lime blossom even, sourdough, sorrel, chalk. Crisp onset, immediately very lime-like in an elegant and refreshing way, with the lime adding a consistent citric sourness to the supple, fruity lactic sourness provided by the souring itself; light green apple notes, softish carbonation, smooth and lean body. Sourdoughy, slick, cereally core, not deeply penetrated by the sours and not expected to be, overwhelmed by this powerful basil fragrance, which now calls 'basil' much more retronasally than orthonasally - in other words, those génépi-, yarrow- and even vaguely ginger-like aspects have not fully returned at this point. This crisp and refreshing lime sourness keeps things focused and sharp, though not in an overly tart way; instead, the whole feels like some Thai dish, with that added chalky effect I assume comes from the spirulina. This latter ingredient feels uncalled for, but otherwise this is a gastronomically interesting little beer for sure, even within La Source's wide range of postmodern craft beers - this is the full craft beer spirit for sure, with one of these being more than enough. Nevertheless memorable and fascinating.

33 cl can at Nuetnigenough in Brussels, Belgium. The pour is a mostly clear golden with a white foam one inch head that falls with rocky lace. The aroma is soft herbal hop and grass. The taste is malt, sweet herbal, grass and finishes with some earth and mineral. The palate is medium bodied, an unfiltered mouth feel with grass and a softly bitter finish. Solid, nuanced classy IPA.

330ml can. Quasi black colour with huge, frothy, moderately lasting and lacing, dark beige to tan head. Roasty, dark malty and herbal, hoppy aroma, typical Sorachi flavours in the coconut, mint, eucalyptus, menthol spectrum, widely disguised hints of coffee. Taste is bitter, roasty dark malty and bitter, slightly herbal hoppy, Sorachi flavours again, subdued coffee. Oily texture, dry palate, fine, creamy, mildly prickly carbonation. Well crafted, fairly matching composition, though the roastiness and the Sorachi push into the same (bitter) direction and leave a lack that should/could be filled with some malty sweetness; nevertheless clever usage of the complicated Sorachi hop - decent.

Can from Geers.
A: hazy bright ochre, stable, foamy, white head.
A: mandarin peel, orange zest, pine, hashish, shallot, unripe peach.
T: sweetish peach & mandarin, sourish zest, spicy shallot.
F: piney hops, juicy citrus, spicy & dank.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
Classic stuff, really nice.

Can from Geers.
A: clear golden, thin, white head.
A: mandarin peel & zest, unripe peach, starfruit, physalis.
T: sweetish mandarin, sourish starfruit, citrus zest, bit wheaty.
F: herbal hops, bitter citrus peel & zest.
P: light to medium body, slick texture, soft carbonation.
Very fresh & refreshing.