Alengrin (11675) reviewed Spelt'Aap from Gistgeest 6 years ago
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
Strong saison brewed with spelt (so could have fallen under the 'specialty grain' category just as well), steinie bottle from Kevin Devos' BeerShop in Kontich near Antwerp. Gusher, slowly but stubbornly overflowing as I remove the crown cap. Mousy, initially thick and frothy but quickly receding, egg-white, sparsely lacing, opening head over a lightly hazy, warm peachy-orange beer with swirling strings of tiny, but numerous bubbles; turns equally misty with sediment poured in. Yeasty nose of orange flesh, half-dry mandarin peel, green kiwi, chewing gum, white bread dough, halfripe banana, green apple, ginger powder, dried basil, vague (phenolic) peppermint leaf note even, white rum, powder sugar, ripe peach, pear jelly candy. Sweet onset with pronounced banana isoamylacetate, bit bubblegummy, notes of ripe pear, pineapple and peach, light sourish undertone accentuated by sharply prickling, but not too coarse carbonation, quite minerally; soft and fluffy mouthfeel, a soft bready and slightly honeyish malt sweetishness soaked in ongoing fruity esters and spicy phenols, the latter assuming a clove-like and a tad minty form in the end but fortunately not descending into medicinal territory. Spelt provides a rustic but subtle multigrain-bread-ish spiciness to the fluffy malt body, a certain 'twang' that fits in well and matches nicely with the spicy, leafy bitter character of the hops in the end. These hops even have a very light grapefruity edge and deposit a resinous, but altogether fairly 'friendly', if confident bitterness on the tongue's root. Warming, gin-like alcohol is obvious without turning unpleasantly astringent, while yeast breadiness and spiciness linger. Starts off with sweetness (also in the nose) and ends spicy and bitter, though at the same time remaining very juicy and quaffable: this is, although quite classically Belgian in comparison with most of Gistgeest's other beers, a pleasant strong saison in the vein of Moinette, La Moneuse and other Wallonian classics of comparable strength. Not a bad effort at all for such a young brewery.
nathanvc (7053) reviewed RelaTiny from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
6 October 2018. At Modeste Bierfestival, Antwerp. Cheers to Anke & Elke!
Hazy black with a lasting, thin, frothy, beige head. Aroma of roasted peanut, fondant, black tea, burnt caramel, pear syrup, prune. Taste is light to medium roasted bitter, balancing coffee roast & roasted peanut, turning light malty sweet, chocolatey & caramelly with a touch of herbs & sourish prune. Dryish, toasty finish, lingering nutty maltiness, coffee roast, faint herbal & earthy hops, quite apparent, warming herbal liqueur alcohol. Medium, almost full body, slick/oily texture, fizzy carbonation. Belgian-style Quad Porter, anyone? Not a bad first attempt, needs some polishing indeed.
nathanvc (7053) reviewed Hoppy Ending from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
6 October 2018. At Modeste Bierfestival, Antwerp. Cheers to Anke & Elke!
Hazy brown with a small, slowly dissipating, frothy, off-white head; irregular lacing. Aroma of bayleaf, walnut, pine, roasted peanut, pink grapefruit peel, toast, prune. Taste is medium hoppy bitter, grapefruit peel & pine with a toasty accent, light fruity sweet, some caramel & nuts, sourish blackcurrant too. Dry & drying, piney & earthy hoppy finish, lingering nuttiness, toasted malt. Medium body, slick to creamy texture, fizzy carbonation. Good enough, needs some more punch.
Kraddel (15872) reviewed Weiss Weiss Baby from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
75 cl bottle thnx to the brewer! Pours surprisingly clear, pale yellow. Médium. Stable white head. Smell is mild. Some phenols ( but not the clove like phenols you'd expect in a weisse) tad hoppy. Not at all like a Belgian witbier, since it has no coriander or orange peel. I'd say it's more like an American wheat ale. Taste is sharp, wheat, tad to phenolic for me. Bitter ( assertively) with a mild hoparoma. High carbonation, medium-low mouthfeel. Not my favorite, but a well drinkin beer nevertheless.
Kraddel (15872) reviewed Nonkel Hop from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle thnx to the brewers! Pours rather unclear, amber, médium small white head. Smell is strong, hoppy, in a nice and balanced way, but not as 'refined' as bigger brands ( non industrial, but I mean more experienced craft brewers) offer. Nothing wrong though, just perhaps a bit rough and honest, which makes it all the more 'craft' to me. Taste is strong bitter, perhaps à tad to strong for my personal liking. The aroma compound has not been forgotten though. Citrussy, yet not as boring as a Citra single hop ( cause this simply isn't), providing it some nice complexity as far as hops go. Maltbase seems reasonable simplex which is not bad for an IPA, but perhaps a bit more, slightly aromatic malt might counter the strong bitterness nicely. Lastly, the fermentation profile. It's surpringly clean. New craft brewers finally get to step away from Ester bombs, which will be a huge benefit for all IPA's in Belgium, I recon. The body is agreeable, carbonation to the higher side. Well yeah, it's still Belgium. It's a good beer. That shows some roughness still. Mostly, it's simply out of balance due to the high bitterness to me. But give these guys some time, and good, interesting things will happen I'm sure!
Benzai (24654) reviewed Hoppy Ending from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Sampled @ Modeste bierfestival, Antwerp, shared with 77ships. Dark red to red-brown color, average to medium sized off-white head. Smell and taste malts, dark malts, resinous bitter, bitter. Decent body and carbonation. Decent. 7-3-7-3-14.
Alengrin (11675) reviewed RelaTiny from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6.5
Coffee porter by this brand new Antwerp microbrewery, at Modeste 2018, Gistgeest's first public appearance. Thick and frothy, yellowish pale beige, moussy head over nearly pitch black beer with thin purplish-burgundy edges. Aroma of milk chocolate and even Ersatz chocolate ('koetjesreep'), fondant, hot black coffee, black peppercorn, burnt toast, brandy, methylated spirits even, beef stock, moist Cuban cigars. Sweet onset with umami edge, dried fig and slight beef stock, very strong and sharp overcarbonation (painful even and obviously way too much for an 8% ABV porter), slick but full, bit oily body, chocolatey and nutty maltiness, toffee but quickly turning roasted bitter, a bit ashy, with the roastedness strongly reinforced by a black bitter coffee effect and peppery hops - but then badly hidden, burning, whisky-like alcohol shows up way too early and way too brutally, strongly increasing the bitterness and creating a wry finish. Clearly needs more finesse and restraint, alcohol should be much better masked and carbonation as well as the coffee factor should be reined in - but apart from those obvious flaws, I must admit I that its robustness and daringness (in a Belgian context) demands some respect and considering the fact that I did like the other Gistgeest I tasted, there is no doubt that I will give this a second chance when I encounter it again.
Alengrin (11675) reviewed Nonkel Hop from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
One of the beers served by Gistgeest at their first public performance, at Modeste Bierfestival in Antwerp. Snow white, medium thick, moussy but opening head over a hazy peach blonde beer with orangey hue. Aroma of orange flesh, grapefruit peel, mango, pineapple, bread pulp, prickly pear, ripe apricot. Sweetish, very fruity onset, yellow kiwi, ripe pineapple, mandarin, fizzy carbonation, supple bready malt body with residual honeyish sweetness to it, aromatic and fragrant hoppy finish, mango and orange but with Belgian (or in this case: "Brett Brux Trois", which confusingly is not a Brettanomyces strain) yeast effect too, banana, bread, earthy finish with mildly spicy, elegant hop bitterness. Decent "Belgian style IPA", promising for this new Antwerp nanobrewery.
77ships (14509) reviewed Hoppy Ending from Gistgeest 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Thanks to Benzai. Bottle sampled @ Modeste 2018. Black mocha, tanned head. Nose is chocolate, mocha, caramel, too thin & BE. Too thin & fizzy,.. Poor thin, fizzy, BE, dark fruit & lacking hop.