Amber ale of a somewhat hybrid kind, intended to evoke both Belgian amber ('ambrée') and oldskool EPA (English pale ale); steinie bottle from a local supermarket in Büttgenbach. Thick and frothy, busily 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, egg-white, dense, fluffy, stable head on a hazed, 'dark blonde' peach coloured robe with ochre-ish tinge and lots of tiny bubbles rising up through the mist; with the deposit added, the colour becomes an opaque terracotta. Aroma of dried apricot, sandwiches, vague biscuit or even 'honingwafeltjes', pear, fried red apple slices, dust, fresh persimmon, old dried tree leaves, something fresh yellow plum-like in the background. Fruity, sweetish onset of pear, persimmon and (mostly) peach with a light sourish edge (the yellow plum effect), feeling ever so slightly 'dirty' - probably announcing infection, but luckily still under control and not bothering me at all, in fact it even adds something juicy and refreshing at this point. Lively carb but very fine-bubbled; fluffy, soft bready malt core with a light biscuity-sweetish edge, carrying onwards the fruity esters as well as that sourish aspect, which in the finish does become more 'dirty', dusty and dead-yeast-like - but the overall roundness and sweet-sourish freshness remain. Earthy finish primarily because of yeast and proteins, very bready too, with only soft, floral hop bitterishness not even outlasting the breadiness and lingering sweet fruitiness. Phenolic effects (clove) are present too, but not so abundant that they become bothersome. A typical Walloon 'ambrée' before anything else, with very little Anglo-Saxon to it - it has all the dirtiness, esteriness and maltiness one can expect from a Belgian amber, though. This brewery comes up with well-intended ideas, but so far fails to deliver on a technical level. Should they be able to clean up the messiness most of their beers have, then surely this would be a very interesting postmodern brewery capable of attracting attention beyond the Ostbelgien region...

APA by this Büttgenbach microbrewery, referring to a Rolling Stones song like their other beers (the brewer, a very friendly and generous guy by the way, is clearly a big fan). Thick and frothy yet rapidly diminishing, snow white, coarse, large-bubbled and irregular head over a murky ochre robe with beige tinge - looks more like homemade pear juice, to be honest. Aroma of pomelo peel, green melon, oatmeal porridge, freshly cut grass, green peppercorns, cooked fennel somewhere, white celery, bread pulp, wet sand. Fruity onset but in a hoppy, non-sweet kind of way, reminiscent of white peach, quince and green banana, moderately carbonated with slightly minerally effect; coarse oatmeal porridge- and bread pulp-like middle, feeling a bit 'raw' even though this is by no means a raw ale, under hops-induced white celery and green peppercorn effects, working to a grassy, peppery-bitter finish, weirdly 'green' and long, quite strong for an APA - too bitter in fact, but not unbearably harsh either. Murky, unbalanced 'hop soup' like their DIPA I had from tap at the brewery - I guess the same errors were made here... Too bad, as the actual flavours that are in here, are quite interesting as such, it just needs (a whole lot of) cleaning up.

IPA - apparently intended as 'American' which is so vague it could just as well have been left out of the description - hopped with Citra and Mosaic, sampled from tap at the brewery and from can; this rating concerns the latter. Thick and frothy, off-white, uneven-bubbled, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing head over a misty yellow-golden robe with vaguely greenish tinge and tiny dots of protein in suspension. Aroma of toasted onion, spice bread, withering wormwood, persimmon, green olive, nettle soup, cumin cheese, the water from a jar of green peppercorns, chervil, elderblossom, green curry, spoiled kitchen herbs. Crisp onset, quite clean, restrained in sweetness with vague impressions of persimmon and kumquat with a faint dash of caper-like umami, quite sharply carbonated; cereally core with a very light biscuity touch under growing peppery hop bitterness, acquiring grapefruit peel- and wormwood-like aromas retronasally along with something herbal, but not nearly the fragrant citrusiness one tends to expect from Citra - especially when it is supported by Mosaic. The bitterness lasts but does not become too severe - actually I would not even have minded it being more thorough and 'deep', in which case a classic West Coast feel might have been better approximated. Lacks technical control and hoppy freshness, but generally not a bad attempt at 'international' IPA at all - with the fresh sample from tap clearly topping the canned sample, something I will take into account in giving points here.

The basic 'Pilsener' by this Büttgenbach microbrewery, with a name referring to a Rolling Stones song like most others in their range - clearly the brewer is a huge fan. Foamy, snow white, very thick, membrane-lacing head slowly thinning over a misty yellow blonde robe with lively sparkling - clearly unfiltered. Aroma of wet white bread, clear DMS (overcooked broccoli), field flowers, watercress, spoiled cucumber, cold vegetable soup, cooked onion, sourdough and a very vague 'fishy' note of not really fresh seafood. Restrainedly sweetish onset, vague hints of apple and pear, prickly carb with still soft, even somewhat 'fluffy' mouthfeel; white-bready middle, cereally and round, with extra bready yeast effects but also something slightly 'dirty', plus the DMS which returns retronasally; mild floral hops bring some soft bitterness, while the bready yeastiness or yeasty breadiness continues. There is something 'fishy' about this - almost literally, with the cooked vegetable DMS effect not bringing any redemption - frankly I was not expecting such clear off-flavours in a style normally aiming for sleekness and cleanness (though I saw the brewing equipment and am almost sure that this is a top-fermented blonde rather than an actual lager, in which case it is perhaps more accurately referred to as a 'pseudo-Pilsener'...). Too bad.