trade with tderoeck

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

12/VI/20 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2020-498)

Clear black beer, small creamy beige head, little stable, falls down quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: good roast, caramel, coffee, dark chocolate, charcoal, bit malty, gentle smoky touch, peated. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: soft roast, nice bitterness, bitter coffee, some charcoal, slightly sourish, pretty dry. Aftertaste: soft smoke, slightly peated, good roast, some alcohol, slightly sourish.

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

12/VI/20 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2020-497)

Clear orange blond beer, small creamy white head, pretty stable, non adhesive. Aroma: fruity, some orange peel, citrus, sourish impressions. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty acidic, oranges, nice sour notes, little bitter, very refreshing. Aftertaste: lemony, lots and lots of citrus, clean acidity.

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

4/VI/20 - 33cl bottle from the brewery, shared @ home, BB: 7/VII/20 (2020-464)

Little cloudy (cause of the yeast, my bad) blond to gold beer, small dense creamy off-white head, stable, bit adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty yeasty, ripe banana, some banana peel, bit oxidized, some almonds,. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: soft acidity, sweet malts, some orange peel, ripe banana, yeasty, marzipan. Aftertaste: fruity, some peaches, apricots, soft acidity, little sweet, banana, pears, gentle bitterness, some bready malts.

Paired with a veggie pizza, paired very well!

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 7.5

Another new Brouwbar beer released during the coronavirus lockdown period, a dry-hopped reiteration of earlier saison interpretations, the last ones so far dating back to 2018 already. Bottle(s) straight from the brewery, cheers Benjamin! Medium thick, off-white, mousy, quickly opening but generally well-retaining head, misty deep and pure amber colour with 'rusty' to even pinkish tinge. Aroma of lychee, jasmin blossoms, melon, green pear, orange orchard, soggy biscuit, strawberry wine, crumbled dry orange cake, white grape juice, honey, hint of sweet cherry tomato. Sweetish onset with a very light sourish edge, softly carbonated, expressively but cleanly fruity with impressions of lychee, mandarin, melon and ripe pear, for the majority derived from the hops' aromatic effects; slender, slick body, bit oily. Lightly biscuity malt profile with a slight soapy edge to it (wheat) but not in an annoying way, retaining very high drinkability all the way through; retronasal lychee, sweet orange and even guava effects from the dry-hopping, some tropical floweriness as well, but only softly bittering in the end. Very softly even for a saison, and a somewhat more 'active' carbonation would probably be better as well - but even if I would not identify this one as a saison 'per se', there is no denying that it has a very distinct aromatic character that breathes elegance and graciousness in a very fruity way. Typical Brouwbar restraint, elegance and cleanness, highly agreeable on a sunny spring day. How I miss that pub!

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

New strong stout by Ghent's Brouwbar, brewed with whisky malt (dried with peat) and released during the coronavirus lockdown. Again thanks to Steve for getting me the bottle! Yellowish beige, mousy, regularly shaped, slowly opening but generally stable head on a black beer with thin, hazy burgundy edges. Aroma of roasted walnuts, dry peat indeed but no iodine or other exaggerated peat features, old cocoa powder, whisky, dried figs, cappuccino, toffee, even milk chocolate, bay leaf, blackberry jam, marmite, cashew nuts, vague undertone of dry beef stock cubes. Sweetish onset with slight blackberry-ish sourish edge, fig, stewed pear and raisin impressions, softishly carbonated; full, oily body. Smooth toffeeish and bitter chocolatey maltiness fills the mouth, with both sweet cashew nuts and bitter roasted coffee effects on the sides, but the latter aspect remains soft and mild; the peat, however, takes over at this point, adding its typical earthiness and spiciness without becoming overly dominant. Ground nuts-like 'dustiness' and a leafy, bit spicy hop bitterness grace the finish, highlighted by a gently warming, whisky-like alcohol glow, while chocolate powder and dry caramel aspects linger on. Wow, this is impressive indeed: Brouwbar has been gradually improving its stout interpretations from variant to variant, but this to me is the true culmination of those efforts, shaping an intrinsically robust beer type into something that shows enough audacity while still remaining true to Brouwbar's house style of elegance, smoothness and cleanness. A truly fantastic stout in my book and certainly among Brouwbar's greatest creations so far. Kudos to Benjamin (the brewer).

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

15 December 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours clear golden with an unstable, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of fresh mandarin, kiwi, yellow grapefruit, peach, papaya, faint spring onion. Taste has sweet peach, papaya, pairing well with sourish lime & kiwi, bready-biscuity malts leading the way to bitter grapefruit peel & pine; floral & earthy hops in the finish, more kiwi, yellow (tropical) fruit & even a hint of spices. Medium body, oily texture, fizzy carbonation. Packed with taste, this one, and indeed evoking some kind of New Zealand treatment.

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

15 December 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours hazy dark golden with a lasting, small, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of gooseberry, unripe mandarin, lemon peel, straw, yeast, pear, funk, I might add a faint 'Orval'-like touch to that. Taste has sourish gooseberry, lemon & unripe mandarin, sweetish fruity undercurrent with basic grapefruity, piney bitterness. Dryish, piney hoppy finish, lingering sourish fruit, yeast & bread returning retronasally. Medium body, oily texture, fizzy carbonation. Brouwbar creates a lot of accessible Ales but does a fine job at delivering them with an unexpected feat.

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

15 December 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours hazy amber with a lasting, small, foamy, tan head; some lacing. Aroma of banana, yellow apple, apricot, honey, breadcrust, peach, faint aceton (weirdly). Taste has sweetish banana, ripe yellow apple & some peach, estery all in all with spicy pepper & clove added to that, mild phenolic effect in yeasty-bready character. Dry, grassy & earthy hoppy finish, spicy, ripe fruit, softly warming gin-like alcohol. Medium body, slick texture, lively carbonation. Solid 'pumped-up' Farmhouse.

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

1 March 2020. At Brouwbar, Ghent; shared with Anke. Pours cloudy black with a slowly diminishing, foamy, beige head. Aroma of dark chocolate, coffee roast, cashew, roasted hazelnut, toast, dried fig, leather. Taste has sweetish chocolate, nuts & fig, introducing the bitter core of coffee roast, toast & roasted nuts with a creamy edge (more chocolatey than anything 'lactic') and a soft umami accent. Dry, toasty finish, giving off a powdery effect, earthy hops pairing with solid black coffee, warming impression of whisky-like alcohol. Full body, oily texture, soft carbonation. 'Prototype' Stout almost, accessible too I'd say but indeed very much Brouwbar's best Stout up till now. Retaste of the bottled version. More expressive 'black' character: toast, tobacco, wood, black pepper. Still a solid balance in the taste, perhaps more peppery in the finish with toast, tobacco & coffee liqueur-like alcohol. Points remain the same.