‘Generic’ pale ale by Brouwbar but distinguished by making use of ‘wild hops’, so the botanical plant species Humulus lupulus (common here in woodlands, forest edges and so on), not any of its many cultivated varieties normally used in brewing – an interesting idea. Off-white, thin but mousy, opening head, hazy peachy, bit ‘dirty’ orange blonde robe. Aroma of fresh oranges, honey, sweetclover, tulips, caramel, lychee, minerals, sugared bread, ripe pear, sweet cherry tomato touch. Fruity onset in the typical clean, streamlined way I am used to from this brewpub, vaguely hinting at ripe pear, melon and lychee, lively and minerally carbonation, slick cereally and lightly caramelly malt body with a very light nutty touch, ending with only very mild hoppiness, a tad resinous and clearly floral (like sweetclover flowers), seemingly accentuating the beer’s own fruitiness with tones of apple, pear and melon, while actual bitterness remains very, very soft. Unexpectedly ‘unbitter’ for a modern pale ale – clearly wild hops contain way less alpha acids than its culvitated varieties, which should come as no surprise since those varieties are of course specifically selected and bred for their alpha acids; the hops do add an elegant, melon- and pear-like fruitiness I never saw coming. Interesting experiment in which the lack of alpha acids kind of takes away the whole APA / IPA paradigm one expects upon reading ‘pale ale’ these days – putting it closer to ‘historical’ English pale ale, in a sense…

8 September 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours hazy red with a lasting, slowly diminishing, foamy, pinkish head. Aroma of blackcurrant, brambleberry, fruity yoghurt, ripe red apple, banana slice, wheat. Taste is light to medium fruity sour, berries galore, black- & redcurrant with a touch of lemon, sweetish strawberry & very low esters underneath but more jam-like than anything else; subtle wheatiness & some bitter spices in the back. Softly tart, wheaty & fruity finish, lingering berries with a retronasal whiff of bread. Medium body, slick-creamy texture, fizzy carbonation. Extremely refreshing, feels ‘fresh’ and authentic too.

1 September 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours hazy amber-dark orange with a lasting, thin, frothy, tan head. Aroma of dark honey, plum, dried apricot, orange peel, apple cake, biscuit, cookie spices. Taste is medium to heavy malty sweet, thick biscuit & cake-like character, faint caramel, filled with candied fruit (plum, apricot, banana), some red apple; bitter orange peel & spices lead the way to a dryish, herbal hoppy finish with lingering biscuit & dried fruit notes, as well as warming alcohol (triple sec; herbal liqueur). Medium to full body, oily-syrupy texture, soft carbonation. Rather uncompromising in its sweetness, just enough balance, well-made again by Brouwbar.

1 September 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours clear golden-orange with a small, slowly thinning, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of ripe mango, pear, banana peel, dark honey, herbs, old bread, faint cellar. Taste is light to medium malty sweet, biscuity, caramelly & honeyish, paired with ripe orange, peach & apricot; bitter undertone of spices, herbs & yeast. Dryish, earthy hoppy finish, spicy, more honey, nicely warming gin-like alcohol. Medium body, slick-creamy texture, soft carbonation. Malty, almost honey-fueled Blonde with nice balancing touches.

1 September 2019. At Brouwbar, Ghent. Shared with Anke! Pours clear pale golden with a lasting, thin, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of yellow grapefruit, pomelo, tangerine, unripe peach, dough, herbs. Taste is light fruity sweet, young tangerine & peach over a yeasty & bready character, bitter stonefruit & grapefruit peel with a spicy touch, leading to a dry, earthy hoppy finish, a tad floral, with lingering unripe fruit, bread & a tonic-like effect. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Extremely drinkable Session Ale, less 'impressive' than other Brouwbar brews but still well-made.

The latest Brouwbar creation, made for some local event, a saison (with downgraded hop profile compared with the different saisons Brouwbar has created so far as such) with blackcurrants. Dense, mousy, thick, lacing, lilac-coloured head, hazy deep purple robe with wine red tinge. Aroma of clear fresh blackcurrant berries (cassis-like but still more reminiscent of the actual, fresh fruit), blueberry crumble, cream, white sandwiches, stewed plum, linseed, raw red cabbage, lime, soap. Softly sour onset, the acidity merely coming from the fruit and nothing else, so very gently yet refreshing, juicy without pumping things up to the extreme; softly tingling carbonation, slick and bit creamy, very supple body, light berry seed tannins at the back adding vague bitterishness but no real astringency. Crisp, juicy, bit lime-like berry sourness lingers, absorbed in a malt sweetish, bready, soft environment but never losing its colour. Sweetish ending with refreshing berry sour note. Perfectly designed, clean, balanced and streamlined ‘artisanal’ fruit beer with actual fruit, many top-fermented fruit beer attempts in Belgium can learn from this; it has Brouwbar’s typical restrained, balanced, clean profile, but remains very focused and to the point. Very pleasant surprise, as I was just dropping by and did not expect to find another new brew…

The newest embodiment of Brouwbar’s ongoing session IPA series, this time hopped with Huell Melon, Simcoe, Amarillo and Chinook. Egg-white, fluffy, mousy, stable and dense head, misty deep golden blonde with apricot hue. Aroma of lime zest, unripe green mango flesh, freshly cut grass, green melon, minerals, banana peel, white bread slices. Fruity onset in a very clean, crisp manner, very fizzy carbonation with minerally effects, slick cereally and white-bready malt base, very smooth. The hoppiness maintains a primarily green, grassy character but does add aspects of green onion, grapefruit and lime zest as well, though only providing mild bitterness. Refreshing, with minerally aspects lingering at the back. Seems a bit more restrained in aromatic hoppiness than the previous Brouwbar ISAs, but since this is a brewpub in a rather touristy part of the city where casual passers-by also need to be quenched, Brouwbar tends to ‘tightrope walk’ between introducing foreign craft beer styles to said passers-by on the one hand and offering them a beer they can easily digest on the other hand. And as usual, Brouwbar has completed this balancing exercise in a very elegant, focused and streamlined manner.