16/IV/24 - 33cl can from the brewery, shared with Klaas @ seating in the big hall in front of the brewery, BB: 18/IX/24 (2024-239) Thanks to La Source for the can!

Little cloudy yellow to gold blond beer, big creamy white head, pretty stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: very malty, grassy, grains. Not very interesting. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice, good bitterness, a little fruity, juicy touch. Aftertaste: more fruity, a little malty, sweet touch, good bitterness, a bit juicy, nice one, I like it despite the lack of much aroma.

Sour, Brett, funk

Black IPA by La Source, one of Brussels' most accomplished craft breweries when it comes to imitating U.S. and now global style idioms, hopped with Mosaic, Simcoe and new superstar Strata. Thick and dense, membrane-lacing, pale brownish beige, very moussey head on a very dark chocolate brown beer, as good as black, with just an edge of clear mahogany. Aroma of grapefruit peel, burnt toast, wormwood, roasted walnuts, brown bread crust, freshly crushed black peppercorns, wet leather, salmiak, dried elderberries, unsmoked cigar leaf, freshly grated nutmeg, rainwater, bayleaf, green olive. Cleanish, crisp onset, some 'dried' fruitiness (dried fig, dried apple peel) but low in sweetness with a vague hint at umami (black olive), lively carbonated but in a 'fine-bubbled way' so acceptable for the intended style. Brown-bread-crusty malts quickly shifting to a darker tone, with torrefied character increasing further on, moving into roasted walnut, toast and eventually coffee grounds - but then this wormwoody, piney, dried grapefruit peel- and toasted onion-like hoppiness appears and takes over, not entirely perhaps (which should have been the case), but still strong enough to manifest itself in a West Coast-like way, with drying, leafy effect. Alas, it does not last quite long enough to achieve a full black IPA effect: in the end, the earthy, mouth-filling, warming bitterness of roasted malts and grains takes over again. The nose was very promising here, revealing a convincing grapefruity and wormwoody hop character, but as is all too often the case with this genre (especially in Europe), the hops fade too soon and a hoppy porter or stout is what is left. Something beef stock-like lingers amidst the roastiness. Black IPA really must be the most difficult style to master in terms of balance: the roasted malts can be displayed at first, but at a certain point the (New World) hop character should take over completely to convey a full IPA experience - and many of them fail at this point, at least in my personal view. This one too feels like a hoppy porter more than a true black IPA - which feels like a missed opportunity, especially considering the aromatic potential of the 'chique' hop varieties used here. More hops next time guys, not for bitterness 'per se' but certainly for aroma - this is close, but no cigar, even if it comes closer than many other Euro BIPAs I tasted in all those years. Have a point for honouring the rare stag beetle, though...

33cl can, BB 29/01/2025, batch# P805-806.
Dorée/Claire, col épais crémeux blanc bien tenace.
Arôme sur un léger herbacé, floral de verger, thym avec un Spalter Select qui brille de mille feux.
Palais sur une base pils classique mais bien menée – smooth avec un côté de bouche crémeux. Le tout est fruité avec un côté zest d’orange voire orange sanguine, concombre, floral, thé vert, citronnelle sur une fine douceur rappelant le coing. A cela se combine une belle amertume houblonnée mais aussi une amertume de ce malt pils qui ajoute une belle sécheresse de fin de bouche.

7/IV/24 - 33cl can from La Source (webshop), shared @ Barjac (FR), BB: 3/V/25, lot P823 (2024-217)

Clear light pale straw yellowish beer, creamy white head, unstable, dissipates quickly. Aroma: very floral, a bit funky, fruity, some white fruits, a little zesty, more floral, lavender, some honey. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice, zesty, citrus notes, tonic flavour, gentle acidity, soft bitterness, tonka beans impression, good! Aftertaste: juicy, zesty, citrus, some grapefruit, dry, refreshing, lime, juniper, tonka beans, cinnamon.

On tap at Moeder Lambic, Brussels, Sat 6th April 2024. Pours mid hazy gold with a white head. Pours yellow, hazy with a mid sized white head. Decent IPA, describes itself as something of a crossover in terms of style and I sort of get that. Light sweetness, some juiciness with both citrus and resinous touches showing and a little tropical element sitting in the background. A touch dank, middling bitterness, nice.

4/IV/24 - 33cl can from La Source (webshop), shared @ Barjac (FR), BB: 4/IX/24 (2024-200)

Clear light bright yellow beer, irregular creamy head, a little stable, collapses onto itself quickly, a bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: nice, lots of citrus, lychee, som peaches, a little funky, some sulphur, tropical fruits, passion fruit, mango, very nice! MF: ok carbon, medium to light body. Taste: good bitter start, grassy, a bit metallic, malty, tropical fruits, citrus, some grapefruit, a little watery, nice! Aftertaste: slightly sourish, lychee, some peaches, hoppy finish.

29/III/24 - 33cl can from La Source (webshop), shared @ home, BB: 29/I/25 (2024-188)

Clear gold yellow beer, big aery irregular white head, pretty stable, falls down after a short while, a little adhesive. Aroma: rather fruity, some grapes, citrus notes, malty touch, grains, a hint of caramel. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: good bitterness up front, a bit malty, some citrus, a bit herbal. Aftertaste: malty, some citrus, bitter, grains, hay.