HopSaSam

Client Brewer in Oudenaarde, East Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪

Established in 2012

Contact
Sint-Salvatorsstraat 4, Oudenaarde, 9700, Belgium
Description
HopSaSam is an independent beer architect that loves to create new beer styles, flavours, combinations,...

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7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Whisky barrel aged stout by HopSaSam, who has so far very rarely disappointed; sampled at Gents Bierfestival. Yellowish pale beige, creamy and stable, firm, papery-lacing head, jet black robe. Aroma of dry old liquorice candy, dark chocolate, toffee, roasted walnuts, cinnamon rolls, toasted coconut, old wood, indeed whisky but not too overpowering - instead well-integrated, which is how I like it the most. Sweet onset in a dense, measured, non-cloying way, light umami accent (black olive, even a brief whiff of reduced gravy but never too much) with soft carb and full, oily body; roasted-nutty, toasty, bitter-chocolatey core with notes of coffee, liquorice and clove, some vague gingerbread even, but also vanillin from the oak wood - and even if the roasted bitterness holds out the longest, the whisky warms the finish without pushing itself to the foreground. Tilted to the sweet side and 'modern' in that sense, but still with a good dose of roasted bitterness and, more importantly, keeping its whisky levels perfectly in check, as an extra embellishment in a position where it truly shines - a very different story from the many liquor-soaked, boasty and boozy stouts one gets all too often these days. HopSaSam is clearly still capable of producing powerful beers with elegance and finesse - I love it.

Tried on 29 Aug 2023 at 13:30


8.5

Tried from Bottle on 25 Aug 2023 at 06:42


6.9
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

Gents Bier Festival 2023 - Black with thin head. Aroma and flavour have bitter, burnt malts. Something of forest fruit in there too.

Tried on 20 Aug 2023 at 19:16


7.6
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Small yellow rim over nearly black beer. Bit smoked, smoldering woodfire, cypress, dry green leaves and needles, undergrowth, lavender. Flavours of green holly, cypress, pine & dark conifer needles, alcohol, some fusels. Again lavender, if really restrained. Quite well-bodied, slick, alcoholheat. Quite good!

Tried from Bottle on 20 Aug 2023 at 11:06


8.5

Tried from Draft on 03 Jun 2023 at 14:50


6
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Bottle at Gent tasting. Opaque pitch black color, small white to off-white head. Aroma and flavor are malts, roasted malts, heavy peppery, quite hot. Doable but I don't understand why.

Tried on 04 Mar 2023 at 20:56


6
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

4/III/23 - 50cl bottle @ BBGG Winter 2023 ed. (Tim’s place), BB: n/a, bottled: 27/X/22 (2023-213) Thanks to Bierridder_S for sharing the bottle!

Clear dark brown to black beer, small creamy irregular beige head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: yeasty, some banana, alcohol, good roast. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: good roast, yeasty, banana, bitter, very spicy, alcohol, lots of peppers. Aftertaste: lots and lots of chillies, more roast, yeasty, alcohol, not very nice. A bit of a hot mess.

Tried from Bottle on 04 Mar 2023 at 20:45


7.5

Tried from Bottle on 11 Feb 2023 at 10:41


7
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottled. Ambery brown colour, mediumsized white head, which leaves some lace. Aroma is sweet malts, mild calvados, apple, some spices and mild wooden notes. Flavour is wooden, some apple, mild sweet malts, spices and some yeasty tones. A bit warming and burning alcohol in the flavour too.

Tried from Bottle on 30 Jan 2023 at 23:39


8.8
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Dark amberish brown colour, beige foam. Nose of dried fruit, plums, brown sugar, vanilla. Taste is smooth, lots of raisins, dried fruit, sweet with a bourbon aftertaste. Very well balanced. Great quadrupel!

Tried on 16 Jan 2023 at 08:53