tderoeck (22711) reviewed S99 Saison from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
1/VI/23 - 33cl bottle from the brewery, shared @ home, BB: n/a (2023-421) Thanks to Benji & Jolien for the bottle!
Pretty clear blond yellow beer, small creamy and a bit irregular off-white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: a bit of banana, bubble gum, cloves, floral, a little malty, a bit of honey, bread notes, a bit fruity, more bubble gum. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: bitter start, malty bread notes, yeasty, ripe banana, slightly floral, grains. Aftertaste: fruity touch, green banana and banana peel, a bit sweet, little herbal, gentle bitterness, sweet malty finish with some honey even, lots of yeasty flavour.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed DN100 Double New England IPA from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Well, I guess this is it: after more than four years, Brouwbar's founders, the lovely young couple Benjamin and Jolien, have decided to withdraw from their successful brewpub in Ghent and sold it to Dok Brewing Company, which - at least very likely from what I heard - will not continue any brewing activities at the place, but turn it into a commercial platform for their own beers. I have written enough about this in other recent Brouwbar ratings so for the final time, I will pick up my pen and concentrate on this beer, the very last ever brewed by Benjamin - at least as owner of 'his' Brouwbar, one of my most beloved beer spots in this wonderful city. I was already expecting Brouwbar to end with something powerful and here it is: a NEDIPA of a very potent 10% ABV. Irregularly edged, snow white, medium thick, breaking but generally quite stable head over a cloudy apricot-golden beer with ochre-ish tinge. Aroma of ripe mango, overripe kiwi, strong buttermilk or 'botervlootjes' (obvious diacetyl), pineapple, margarine, wodka, grapefruit flesh, orange zest, lychee, young goat cheese, cooked yellow plum. Sweet onset, ripe pineapple and lychee with a dash of mango and some guava, moderately carbonated with full but smooth, bit oily body; doughy, sweetish pale maltiness soaked in tropical, sultry hops, but also carrying quite some diacetyl (buttermilk) at least at this young age. The hops, fortunately, take dominance in the finish, with lychee, exotic citrus fruit and mango returning, ending a tad citric more than tropical, but also with a light yet still peppery hop burn, accentuated by warming, wodka-like alcohol. This has all the (even overripe) tropical 'yellow' fruitiness one expects from the style, even that doughy maltiness is there, and in its clean and sleek execution, Brouwbar's classic thumbprint is all over it; sadly though, the hop burn is a bit much and so is the diacetyl. I am, however, confident that especially the latter will soon be gone and I am determined to make it to Brouwbar one last time before Benjamin and Jolien officially leave the building, so I will make sure to rerate this last of their brews then - there is no doubt in my mind that it will have strongly improved at that time. I would like to conclude by expressing my personal thanks and appreciation for what these friendly young people have established: it is sad that their era comes to a halt, with the family expansion and all, but I have thoroughly felt at home in their brewpub in these four years and I will miss it - and its owners - a lot. I wish them a lot of success in all their future endeavours. Cheers to Brouwbar!
Alengrin (11609) reviewed S99 Saison from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
The one but last Brouwbar beer, as sadly this cosy brewpub in the Ghent city centre is about to cease its brewing activities - cheers to Benjamin and Jolien for all those valuable memories. Snow white, moussy, medium thick, stable head on a hazy yellow-blonde beer with deep golden hue. Aroma of lemon zest, banana peel, yellow grapefruit peel, honeydew, sweetclover, dried basil, clove, ripe pear, lime zest, freshly cut grass, lemonbalm. Clean, slick onset, some banana, pear and light pineapple notes but not too sweet (yet sweeter than average for a beer intended as a saison), moderately carbonated with some minerally effects; slick, supple mouthfeel, cereally pale malt body with slight white-bready edges, quite brightly hopped in a 'noble' way, with sweetclover, grass and lemonbalm impressions, even lime zest in the end. Sweeter banana and pear aspects do pierce through, though, so dryish and crisp as it may be, it could perhaps improve with a few more weeks of conditioning on it; still, a very elegant, very typical Brouwbar blonde, clean and sleek as usual, with a gracious touch of (post)modernism for colour and brightness.
tderoeck (22711) reviewed SI98 Session Black IPA from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
26/IV/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2023-342)
Clear red purple to dark brown beer, creamy dense beige head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: lovely, very fruity, lots of tropical fruits, juicy, citrus notes, a bit dank, some caramel, gentle roast, very nice! MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice, very hoppy, bitter, a bit resinous, juicy, some citrus, tropical fruits, a bit dank, very bitter, good roast, a bit metallic, more dark roast. Aftertaste: dry, very bitter, dark roast, hoppy, tropical fruits, juicy, very dry, grassy, very nice, coffee notes, dank and hoppy finish.
tderoeck (22711) reviewed WH97 Wild Hop Pale Ale from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
26/IV/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2023-341)
Clear gold orange beer, big creamy solid off-white head, little stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: lots of bubble gum, overripe banana, sweet impression, a bit funky, some white grapes. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: lots of bitterness, bubble gum, grassy, hoppy, a bit rubbery, more bitter. Aftertaste: very bitter, a bit grassy, slightly sourish touch, not very good, rather unpleasant.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed SI98 Session Black IPA from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
One of the last Brouwbar beers, sadly, as they recently announced that they will pass over the brewpub to Dok and it remains to be seen what they have in mind; a black IPA at session strength, based on the regular version which is one of their most enduring creations. Pale greyish beige, moussy, thinnish, slowly opening head leaving cobweb-like lacing over a black beer with hazy chestnut brown edges. Aroma of burnt toast, dry green peppercorns, unsugared bitter cocoa, pine, roasted chicory, cigar ashes, wormwood, black tea, dandelion but also something oddly minty and something dankly sweaty. Clean, dry onset, crisp with some burnt raisin and blackcurrant fruitiness but hardly any sweetness, sharp carbonation with very minerally effect, adding a sourish streak too; oily body, feeling full for its ABV, in fact equally full as the regular version. Burnt toast-, brown bread crust- and roasted chicory-like middle, with this roasted bitterness filling the mouth and adding to the ’fullness’; rooty, quinine- and peppercorn-like, wormwoody, spicy hop bitterness with that mint leaf-ish aspect (even menthol, as in peppermint candy) briefly returning and then gone again. Very resinous and dry, with seemingly an even more spicy, pungent hop character than the regular one – and the lower ABV does not show at all. Quite bold and uncompromising, certainly for usually gentle and elegant Brouwbar.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed WH97 Wild Hop Pale Ale from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Brouwbar’s second take at brewing a modern pale ale with wild, botanical hops (something another Ghent microbrewery, Stroom, has also done last year) – and one of the last original Brouwbar beers, as they have recently announced that the enterprise will be taken over by ‘big brother’ Dok Brewing Company starting in June. Get there while it is still operated by the founders – though I admittedly trust Dok enough to make sure that this place remains an interesting stop for beer aficionados even after that. Off-white, medium thick, moussy, stable head over a misty straw blonde beer with golden glow. Aroma of freshly baked cookies, sweetclover, linden tea, grass, green melon, chamomile, white dead-nettle and red clover flowers, subtle touches of mandarin peel, bread crust, honey and minerals. Cleanly fruity onset, restrainedly sweetish with notes of unripe apricot, apple peel and green melon, with lots of minerally, even a bit stingy carbonation; smooth, slender body, cereally maltiness with a lovely dry cookie-like edge to it, finishing dryish and quenching, unsurprisingly (seen the low alpha acid levels) soft and mellow in bitterness though still a tad peppery, but more importantly, adding retronasal field flower-like, grassy and vaguely spring blossom-ish aromas. More colourful than the first one (WH37, in 2019) but in a soft, delicate, pastel colour pallet, matching the fragility of the early spring sun wonderfully well. This is Brouwbar elegance in its purest, most delicate and tender form.
nathanvc (6963) reviewed Q93 Quadrupel from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
11 February 2023. At Brouwbar. Shared with the lovely Anke!
Clear copper, thin, tan head. Aroma of sweet cherry, date, dried fig, red apple, brioche, toffee, toast, aniseed, liqueur. Taste has very sweet cherry, date, apple & plum in a thick malt body of toffee, brioche and some dark honey; bit spicy, vaguely toasty even. Herbal hoppy finish offering more dried fruit, brioche and warming herbal liqueur-like alcohol. Full body, oily-syrupy texture, soft carbonation. Recognisable 'Abt', hefty at 9.7% and lots going on, but still managing restraint.
gave a cheers!
nathanvc (6963) reviewed SB91 Strong Blond from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
11 February 2023. At Brouwbar. Shared with the lovely Anke!
Clear golden, thin, white head. Aroma of ripe apple, pear, banana, jenever, dough, flowers, soap, pepper. Taste has sweet yellow apple, pear & plum in a breadcrust-like malt body with vague bitter citrus pith and clove-like spiciness. Floral & peppery hoppy finish offering more spices, ripe yellow fruit and quite boozy jenever-like alcohol indeed. Medium body, slick texture, average carbonation. Rather crude and heavy brew for Brouwbar's standards, yet still more refined than any other commercial example (the awful Haeseveld's Strong Blond, to name one).
nathanvc (6963) reviewed DI94 Double IPA from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
11 February 2023. At Brouwbar. Shared with the lovely Anke!
Hazy golden, stable, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of biscuit, jam, orange peel, overripe mango, grapefruit juice, gin, triple sec, apricot, vague butter (but not disturbing). Taste has sweet mango, peach & tangerine in a biscuity malt body, balanced by bitter citrus peel and pine & herbs around it, slightly dank too. Dry, bitter, earthy hoppy finish with grapefruity and tonic-like elements; warming dash of alcohol somewhere between gin and sweeter triple sec. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation. Firm and well-structured DIPA, Brouwbar's so good at this.