Alengrin (11609) reviewed Murphy from Humboldt en Gauss 6 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
The latest Humboldt & Gauss, now brewed at De Feniks (since the loss of their own brewing space), launched several weeks ago; brewed with oat flakes and hopped with Ariana, Mandarina Bavaria, Hallertau Blanc and El Dorado. Inches thick, very dense, meringue-like, egg-white, fluffy, thickly shred-lacing head on a lightly hazy, deep and warm 'metallic' golden robe with orangey 'old gold' hue, fine bubbles rising up everywhere - this beer looks damn good and acquires a slightly 'bronzed' gold and attractively equal mistiness with the sediment poured in. Aroma of fresh lime peel, orange candy, wet biscuit, mandarin, green mango, watermelon, bath foam, moist white pepper, dough, raw celery, black radish peel, ginger and a vague whiff of damp earth but this latter aspect only shows up after the addition of the sediment. Cleanly, yet exuberantly fruity onset, lots of sweet peach, ripe mandarin and some papaja, but the sweetness remains elegant, refreshing, fruit juice-like and of the non-sticky kind; medium carbonation, tingling everywhere but in a very soft way. Slick, smooth-edged biscuity malt sweetness, very elegant again, cracker-like aspect, bittered gently but confidently by a long, peppery, citrus peel-like hop bitterness which releases a rainbow of mango, kumquat, lychee, melon and guava retronasally; a soft, powdery 'pepperiness' keeps the sweetness in place, whereas a light yeasty breadiness provides further softness. Very light metallic aspect too somewhere, but remaining utterly faint and of a 'natural', non-obnoxious kind and absorbed by that bright green hoppiness and bready aspects. This is a deliciously elegant, 'happy', brightly and colourfully shining IPA, a kind of 'archetypical' international style IPA typifying the sweet-and-fruity NEIPA influence without actually being a true NEIPA; maybe best described as an East Coast IPA with yeasty-bready Belgian aspects, but in any case a hybrid IPA not completely fitting any of the substyles. Whatever the intention, this is again a beautiful and remarkably modern, streamlined Humboldt en Gauss beer - keep up the good work, guys!
tderoeck (22711) reviewed Murphy from Humboldt en Gauss 6 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Imported from my RateBeer account as Humboldt en Gauss Murphy (by Humboldt en Gauss):
Aroma: 9/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 4/5, Overall: 16/20, MyTotalScore: 4/5
10/V/19 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: IV/2021 - (2019-694)
Damn backlog, could've been first! :p
Pretty clear orange beer, big aery irregular off-white head, little stable, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty darn fruity, lots of peaches, tropical fruits, some passion fruits and pineapple, carbon dioxide, bit grassy and herbal, malty touch. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: bit malty start, pretty bitter, citrus notes, some marzipan, little oxidized, fruity, grapefruit, nice! Aftertaste: gentle bitterness, little sweet, caramel malts, bit grassy, citrus, grapefruit, good one!
Bierridder (4318) reviewed Oatmeal Stout from Humboldt en Gauss 6 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
02/05/2019 @home - 33cl bottle from a trade with tderoeck. Clear light brown, pearly light tanned head. Nose is fruits, caramel, malts, bit “dirty” oud bruin notes. Tast is fruits, roast, milk chocolate, some hops, dry bitter soft roast ending.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Donau Lager from Humboldt en Gauss 6 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
This relatively 'shy' brewing project in Mariakerke, a village belonging to Ghent, has been producing interesting beers from the start and still maintains that momentum, this time (i.e. October last year to be precise) presenting us with a Vienna style lager ('Wiener') - a specific and classic 19th-century lager genre developed by Anton Dreher, still somewhat underexposed by the craft brewing revolution but interesting enough in basically being the bottom-fermented equivalent to the broader family of amber-coloured ales (Belgian amber or 'spéciale belge', German Alt, classic English-style pale ales, modern American amber ales...). Medium thick, yellowish egg-white, beautifully and very intricately 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, disparately opening but very firmly edge-retaining head, initially very lightly hazy, deep and very warm orange beer, amber of the purest kind, turning gently misty with sediment. Very purely malty aroma of fresh French toast, 'honey waffles', dry biscuit, rusk, carrot cake, lightly toasted peanuts, toasted white bread, dried orange zest, minerals and iron in a very natural way, hint of lavender and indeed bath foam, subtler accents of baked apple, fried pumpkin flesh, bitter honey, stewed parsnip. Crisp, clean, rounded onset, fruity notes (red apple, persimmon) but restrained in esteriness as is to be expected from a lager, more malt fruitiness in fact with a lovely smooth, (pea)nutty malt body with a soft and sweet caramelly and even very lightly honeyish side and an equally very lightly toasted bitterish tail, gently but adequately carbonated; soft minerally and slight soapy notes accompany this all-malt programme to a florally hopped finish, with mildly spicy bitterness which only accentuates the malts rather than distracting from them, but also with a quite colourful, perfumey, indeed lavender-like retronasal touch. When I sampled their first beer at Geus van Gent more than a year ago, I was immediately convinced that these young guys are very focused and have great technical skills in brewing. Ignoring that stout attempt which wasn't a stout, the odd one out so to speak, all of their beers have been consistently good so far, straightforward and streamlined, elegant and very soft-edged all at the same time - in other words, they have developed their own house style, and this Wiener fits right in. Even from mere style considerations, this is an astonishingly well-crafted example - of a relatively unfamiliar style only very few Belgian brewers have ever tackled. Wieners are rare so comparison is, by consequence, not that easy especially from a Belgian perspective, but this may well be the most interesting one I had to date. Humboldt & Gauss at their very best - so far...
Rubin77 (10187) reviewed Populist from Humboldt en Gauss 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
F: huge, light tan, long lasting. C: milky pale gold, totally hazy, opaque. A: tangerine, grapefruits, mellow sweet tropical fruits, bit caramel. T: light malty backbone, grapefruits, tangerine, orange, mango, pineapple, pine resin, medium dry on the palate, fresh fruity feeling, medium body and soft carbonation, nice one, enjoyed, sample @ 5de Winters Bier Festival in Waregem.
Rubin77 (10187) reviewed Armada from Humboldt en Gauss 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
F: medium, tan, good retention. C: dark coppery, hazy. A: caramel malty, grapefruits, orange, pine, passion fruits, toasted onion. T: thick malty backbone, orange, grapefruits, tropical fruits, caramel, roasted onion, pine resin, medium to almost full body, soft carbonation, very good balanced and enjoyed, sample @ 5de Winters Bier Festival in Waregem.
tderoeck (22711) reviewed Donau Lager from Humboldt en Gauss 7 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Imported from my RateBeer account as Humboldt en Gauss Donau Lager (by Humboldt en Gauss):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 16/20, MyTotalScore: 3.7/5
16/XI/18 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: 19/IV/20 - (2018-1674)
Clear dark amber to red brown beer, small creamy light beige irregular head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very malty, grains, caramel, some banana, nice stuff! MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: very malty, caramel, some dark chocolate, pretty bitter, dry, grain, nice stuff here! Aftertaste: more malts, some caramel, slightly sweet, grains, soft bitterness, good one!
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Vienna & Brux from Humboldt en Gauss 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Sampled at Just Beer, Kortrijk. Brett-refermented version of what is intended as a Vienna lager, so a 'wild lager' I suppose... Never had a lager refermented with wild yeast, now that I come to think of it, but with the growing popularity of lagers in the modern craft beer world, who knows, maybe this will lead to a whole new string of interesting beers. Very densely creamy, thick, 'plastery' lacing, yellowish beige head, cloudy amber robe with brownish-ochre hue. Aroma of strong Brett indeed, old orange rind, wet leather, damp hay, sweat, lightly toasted bread, dried apricots, pink pepper, overripe apple. Soft onset with fruity peach and stewed apple notes which I assume come from the Brett, light sourish undercurrent, softish carb, creamy, bit powdery mouthfeel; fluffy, rusk- and wet toast-like maltiness, sweetish with a soft bitterish edge merging effortlessly with an orange-zesty hoppiness and Bretty sweat and hay effects, ending dry and juice at the same time. Interesting idea, very well executed, hopefully this one will be continued as currently the brewer is unsure whether to extend its availability beyond the Just Beer festival or not...
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Superlative Ale from Humboldt en Gauss 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7.5
New beer by this young beer company in Mariakerke, Ghent, tasted from tap at Kantien. Thick, densely creamy, regular, papery lacing, eggshell-white head slowly dissipating in the middle but otherwise stable, misty deep bronze-tinged amber colour. Aroma of cashew nuts, red apple, dried orange peel, ripe apricot, hard caramel candy, wet toast, melon. Sweetish onset, lots of ripe red apple, hints of blood orange and apricot, but the actual flavour is masked by a very sharp, literally painfully stinging overcarbonation; rounded peanutty, bit caramelly and eventually lightly toasty malt body, full and clean, with the toasty bitter aspect eventually reinforced by a peppery and floral hop bitterness, a tad resiny in the end but softly so, so that the nutty malt sweetishness remains the dominant factor. My first impression was that of an EPA, but apparently it is intended as an ESB (which is very close to EPA of course), a little bit yeastier (read ‘Belgian’) perhaps, if not in an excessive way; even for an ESB, though, it could have done with a cleaner, more streamlined maltiness and more outspoken finishing hop bitterness. That said, it remains a very pleasant and ‘easy’ beer to drink, apart from that overcarbonation, which perhaps is not an issue at all when bottled (though at this moment I have only seen it – twice – on tap). Nice, might revisit from bottle.
tderoeck (22711) reviewed Superlative Ale from Humboldt en Gauss 7 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Imported from my RateBeer account as Humboldt en Gauss Superlative Ale (by Humboldt en Gauss):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 11/20, MyTotalScore: 2.9/5
18/X/18 - on tap @ De Kantien (Gent), BB: n/a - (2018-1582)
Cloudy beige brown beer, small irregular off-white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet, cookies, caramel, yeasty, some banana, sweetish. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: bit fruity, yeasty, very bitter, some citrus, bit chemical, cloves. Aftertaste: very very bitter, dry finish, yeasty, banana peel.