Brouwbar’s first barleywine, launched at the tenth edition of Gents Bierfestival and developed months ago with their triple IPA as the starting point (and I am proud to say that this was at my personal suggestion). Eggshell-white, mousy, irregularly edged head lacing in loose shreds over a deep copper-tinged orange-amber coloured beer. Aroma of sweet and soggy biscuit, melting caramel, candied orange, marmalade, honey liqueur, melon, cognac, paprika crisps, peach. Sweet onset, sugary even with impressions of candied peach, dried apricot, ripe melon and (strong) marmalade, softly carbonated; full, supple, oily mouthfeel, bit vinous, very round biscuity and caramelly malt body with a lot of marmalade- and honey-like sweetness on top, leading to a warming, brandy-like alcoholic finish with lingering sweetness as well as a more tangy orange peel hop bitter twist. Very desserty and very sweet, bit sticky even yet smooth with a candied orange-like profile: this is something that may divide opinions rather sharply but I certainly enjoyed it a lot and will revisit it next time at Brouwbar itself, no doubt about that. Still, (dry- and standard) hopping with a firm dosage of New World hops could uplift this beer even more, and bring it a step closer to the American barleywine intentions.

Imported from my RateBeer account as Brouwbar AB34 Remi (by Brouwbar):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, MyTotalScore: 3.6/5

18/VIII/19 - on tap @ Gents Bierfestival, BB: n/a - (2019-1287)
Cloudy orange beer, no head. Aroma: very cheesy, old hops, some tropical fruits. MF: almost no carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet, very sugary, caramel, alcohol, some dried fruits, pretty oxidized. Aftertaste: sugary, bitter touch, hoppy, bit resinous, lots of alcohol, oxidized.

I Draught /I Head gone in seconds; very muddy amber-ochre beer. Sweetish-spicy. Bit oppressive other grains. Cheese and lots of oxydation. Bitter-sweet & oxydated to the death. Sweet maltsyrup and runny cheese. Very slick-oily, big bodied. What went wrong here?

The third version of Brouwbar's New England IPA, a bit stronger than the previous ones, with Ekuanot joining in the hops department; tasted at Brouwbar during the local Patersholfeesten. Thick and frothy, creamy, egg-white, papery lacing, very stable head, hazy yellow blonde with pale apricot tinge. Aroma of green kiwi, ripe mango, starfruit, pineapple, dough, pomelo, lime zest, cream. Fruity onset in a clean way, hints of kiwi, mango and pineapple returning, sharply carbonated (even a bit numbing so a bit much for the intended style, with some minerally side effects); soft doughy malt base, restrained in sweetness, soaked in very juicy, zesty aromatic hops, bringing back the mango, green kiwi and pomelo aspects retronasally, while adding as good as no real bitterness; ends lightly creamy, fruity-hoppy and juicy with a very light spicy touch. Seems a bit cleaner and less exuberant than the two previous versions in spite of containing more hop varieties; a bit overcarbonated as well, so in all, strangely a little bit less NEIPA-like than NI08 and NI18, but the differences are small (I'm nitpicking here) and this third rendition sure is an accomplished IPA by this brewpub once again. Will revisit - and likely re-rate - next time at Brouwbar, too, because tasting circumstances were not ideal (plastic cups!) and I may have missed a nuance or two; so take this rating as a provisional one.

Imported from my RateBeer account as Brouwbar SB32 Strong Blonde (by Brouwbar):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 13/20, MyTotalScore: 3.2/5

9/VIII/19 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a - (2019-1158)
Clear orange beer, big solid creamy off-white head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty malty, little oxidized, some honey, sweet impression, some apples, bit of dried fruits, some acetyldehyde. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet start, honey, little oxidized, sourish touch, green apples, some acetyldehyde? Soft bitterness. Aftertaste: more green apples, bit malty, some honey, oxidized, soft bitterness, bit metallic, green apple skin, bit acidic, some tannins.

5 July 2019. At Dok Brewing Festival. Cheers to Anke & Ghent beer crew! Hazy golden-ochre with a lasting, small, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of ripe orange & mango, honey, banana peel, bread, cucumber, vegetable oil, lime. Taste is medium fruity sweet, notes of ripe orange & mango, subtler peach & pineapple, clashing with bitter pepper & grass on a bready, honey-like maltiness that has a somewhat spicy, yeasty & oniony edge. Dryish, piney hoppy finish, slightly floral with lingering ripe fruit, yeast & 'spicy' hoppiness, creating a warming gin-like alcohol effect. Medium body, slick-oily texture, fizzy carbonation. Clean & elegant as a whole again by Brouwbar, though a bit rougher in execution this time.

21/07/2019 @home - 33cl bottle from a trade with tderoeck. Cloudy blonde, nice white head. Nose is malts, fruits, bitterhops. TAste is malts, floral, nice bitterness.

Updated version of Brouwbar's B17, launched during their 'Gentbrouwtbar' event; tasted from tap there. Thick and frothy, egg-white, regularly edged, dense and stable head, hazy deep orangey peach blonde robe with fine sparkling. Lovely aroma of ripe orange, ripe peach, sweet brioche bread, pineapple, mandarin, melon, gin, pear. Sweet, brightly fruity onset, ripe pineapple and peach, melon, immediate orange fraîcheur as well, fizzy carb but perfectly fitting the style and adding minerally refreshment; very malt sweet body, caramelly and sweetbready, honeyish, with soft hop bitter finish forwarding an aromatic orange blossom, orange flesh and melon effect, followed by a gin-like, brief but tangy alcohol glow. Intentionally more malt-forward (and thus sweeter and darker) than its predecessor and hopped with Cascade, this beer continues Brouwbar's tendency to perfect previous recipes into new ones; for a 'tripel' (or rather an edelbier), this version is surprisingly refreshing, bright, 'sunny' and easy to drink, as well as very modern and distinct. Typical streamlined, clean Brouwbar style at its best.

Hazy blond with thin head. Aroma and flavour have some sweet tropical fruit hop notes. Easy to drink