An ordinary 'standard' blonde, one of the most popular styles in Belgium apart from industrial lager, as interpreted by Brouwbar. Snow white, membrane-lacing, moussy, medium thick and stable head, misty peach blonde robe with warm 'old' golden glow. Aroma of ripe peach, red apple, light biscuit, minerals, halfripe pineapple, rainwater, white bread, touches of grass and even a faint whiff of basil. Sweetish onset, cleanly fruity, pear and peach with an accent of pineapple; nothing cloying though, with lively and minerally carbonation and smooth body. Cereally, dryish-biscuity malt body, light and streamlined, with a floral but soft hop bitter tail; grassy and flowery accents linger along with this fruity sweetishness, but coriander, an overdose of residual sugars and other clichés typical for this style are nowhere to be seen - concluding in an indeed deliberately simple 'terrasjesblond' that still carries Brouwbar's house style of elegance and balance. Quite refined for the style, in all its simplicity.

Remake of DI55, Brouwbar's double IPA from last winter, with slightly altered recipe. Egg-white, frothy, thick and dense, stable head, hazy peach blonde robe with warm beige-ish orange glow. Aroma of orange juice and orange zest, mandarin, wet biscuit, ripe peach, some light sweaty dankness, minerals, orange cake, subtle hints of peanut, Turkish delight, apple peel and freshly cut cucumber. Cleanly fruity, sweetish onset, hinting at peach, melon and pineapple with a dash of lychee, minerally carbonated in a small-bubbled and very well-measured way; slick oily body, biscuity and lightly caramelly malt sweetness under a growing citric hoppiness, eventually displaying a retronasal wave of mandarin, pomelo and orange with accents of melon and papaya, colourful and gently bittering, the latter aspect propelled forward by a soft glow of gin-like alcohol. Classically designed 'West Coast' IPA in a friendly and elegant way, as fitting in Brouwbar's typical house style; I already liked Benjamin's earlier interpretations of strong IPAs a lot but this one is again an improvement on the already very pleasant DI55. Extra point for boasting an impressive 9% ABV and being able to (almost) perfectly hide it - drinkability is dangerously high in this one.

28/VII/21 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2021-682)

Cloudy orange blond beer, small creamy white head, unstable, falls down quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: spicy, peppery, bit funky, fruity, some malts, hint of lactic acidity. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: dry, soft acidity, little metallic, fruity, some citrus notes, lemon peel, little funky. Aftertaste: fruity, hint of green banana, bit sourish, malty notes, yeasty, soapy touch in the finish. Rather average farmhouse ale, but not bad.

28/VII/21 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2021-681)

Little cloudy deep orange beer, big solid dense creamy egg shell coloured head, very stable, adhesive, leaving lots of lacing in the glass. Aroma: lots and lots of diacetyl, pretty unpleasant, herbal, very minty character, little soapy, malty, grains, cow fodder, maybe not the best choice of hops for this beer? MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet and malty start, spicy and herbal, mint, some cardamom, very buttery, soft bitterness. Aftertaste: spicy, curcuma, cardamom, pretty bitter, bit grassy, some tropical fruits, more diacetyl, sweet touch, herbal green hops. Not a fan.

28/VII/21 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2021-680)

Slightly cloudy dark blond to orange beer, big creamy off-white head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: bit oxidized, soapy, orange peel, coriander, fruity touch, more oranges, yeasty, malt notes. MF: ok carbon ,medium body. Taste: pretty sweet in the start, caramel, hint of vanilla, gentle bitterness, soft acidity, some banana, yeasty, white chocolate. Aftertaste: soft bitterness, ripe banana, malty, grains, yeast, some more vanilla, bit sugary, not my cup of tea. Or beer for that matter. Fully aware I am not part of the intended target group of this beer. ;-)

Draft @ Brouwbar. Dark blond/amber colour, white foam. Nose of stone fruit, some spices, dry, yeasty, bitter and sweet. ABV is well hidden.

2/VII/21 - 33cl bottle from Brouwbar (Gent), shared @ home, BB: n/a (2021-559)

Clear deep orange beer, big creamy dense yellowish head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: yeasty, bit malty, caramel, some banana, bit spicy and herbal. MF: lively carbon, medium to full body. Taste: bit sweet, lots of yeast, some banana, good bitterness, alcohol, dry, a bit fruity. Aftertaste: dry, hoppy and spicy finish, some malts coming though, grains, yeasty, banana, little oxidized, slightly sweet, quite an alcohol burn. This one tastes a bit like a very alcoholic Westmalle Tripel clone. Which means the only thing I don’t like about it, is the obvious presence of the alcohol. ;-)

Paired with porcini ravioli, mushrooms, bacon and smoked chicken stock cream sauce. Nice pairing!

1/VII/21 - 33cl bottle from Brouwbar (Gent) shared @ home, BB: n/a (2021-551)

Pretty cloudy blond to beige beer, big noisy crackling white head, looks like dish wash foam, slowly collapsing, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: fruity notes when pouring, citrus, some tropical fruits, little oxidized, some honey, sweet peaches and apricots, hint of banana and bubble gum, some orange peel and orange flavoured candy. MF: lively carbon, medium to light body. Taste: nice bitterness up front, quite some citrus notes, grassy, little malty, some grapefruit, little watery. Aftertaste: bit fruity, pretty bitter, some grapefruit, orange peel, more citrus notes, still pretty darn ok, despite the (little) oxidation that’s starting to show.

The fourth NEIPA created by Brouwbar, and not even the last one, as NI62 came after this one – fortunately the brewpub still had a few bottles of this NI60, otherwise I would have missed it. Snow white, moussy, quite thick, papery lacing head on a misty apricot blonde robe with ochre-ish tinge. Aroma of fresh herbes de Provençe like young bayleaf, freshly cut sage leaves, a whiff of tarragon and fresh savory, even an impression of matcha and other green tea, paprika powder, kumquat, lime zest, lemon cake, lemonbalm, paraffin. Fruity onset but cleanly so, sweetish unripe banana and green melon, medium carb, supple and slick mouthfeel; white-bready, cereally, slender maltiness under this unexpectedly herbal hoppiness, bringing back this array of freshly cut Mediterranean kitchen herbs, along with green tea and refreshing lime zest aspects; ends mildly bitter, but less so than NI62. Unusual for a NEIPA, very herbal in a fresh, ‘deep green’ way, which is not what I normally associate with Sabro hops – because that was apparently the variety used here… Sure, the bottles were not farm fresh anymore so I did not drink this one as fresh as it was intended – and some of the remaining bottles did become too oxidized in the meantime to be enjoyable, but I was lucky enough to get one that had evolved into something unexpected. Even Benjamin, the brewer (and proprietor of the pub, which is among my favorites in Ghent), was not expecting this result at all, but it is clear that this version beats the other four Brouwbar NEIPAs at least in originality…