nathanvc (6963) reviewed HW92 Hoppy Weizen from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
11 February 2023. At Brouwbar. Shared with the lovely Anke!
Hazy amber, small, foamy, off-white head. Aroma of banana bread & peel, cake, mango, mandarin peel, orange juice, plum, wheat. Taste has sweetish apple, unripe banana and vague plum in a doughy, dry-bready malt body with subtle hints of sourish citrus flesh & wheat. Floral, slightly herbal hoppy finish offering soft spicy notes, banana and dry apple. Medium body, slick texture, average carbonation. Enjoyable, perhaps a bit too dry and crisp.
tderoeck (22711) reviewed DS95 Dark Sour from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
1/IV/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar, BB: n/a (2023-284)
Clear dark brown to black beer, small creamy beige head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very nice, lots of red fruits, roasted, sourish impression, tastes a bit like a flemish red, some tobacco, earthy, wood notes, cherry and strawberry, sweet impression. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: wow, nice, good clean acidity, gentle roast, very fruity, lots of red fruits, red currants, sour cherries, grapes, red wine, some tannins, woody, a bit sweet, caramel, pretty complex, very nice! Aftertaste: acidic, sour, cherry jam, good roast, bitter, tannins, red fruits, wine, pretty dry finish, nice one, very good, not too sour, nice! Love it!
tderoeck (22711) reviewed Millie Strong Saison from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
1/IV/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar, BB: n/a (2023-283)
Pretty cloudy beige brown beer, creamy dense off-white head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: rather hoppy, tropical fruits, a bit spicy, funky, a little floral. MF: lively carbon, medium to full body. Taste: very hoppy, very bitter from the start, quite some alcohol, a bit spicy, some banana, fruity touch. Aftertaste: very bitter, hoppy, a bit resinous, grassy, malty touch, a bit piny, decent, alcohol, is pretty hidden, some floral notes, a little soapy in the finish.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed DS95 Dark Sour from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Strong dark ale soured with lactic acid – in a certain way, the stronger descendant of the sour porter Brouwbar created in 2019. From tap at – where else – Brouwbar in Ghent. Pale beige, thin, open ring for a head yet remaining for a long time, hazy very dark chocolate brown robe with ruddy hue. Aroma of white yoghurt and sourdough, overripe blackberries, fermenting brown bread, strong overripe medlar, Chinese black bean sauce, wet earth to even some manure, red wine vinegar, cassis, beef broth, pomelo, elderberry juice and a touch of ‘putteke’ (H2S) fading quickly. Estery onset, more so than I am used to from usually ‘clean’ Brouwbar, referring again to ripe elderberry, overripe blackberry, raspberry and medlar, lively carbonated, rounded and full body; caramelly and brown-bready maltiness with slight toasty-bitterish edge, dried by lactic acid which propels the fruitiness forward a bit as well. Some earthy hop bitter notes and warming, gin-like alcohol in the end, but maltiness and lactic acidity dominate – with a somewhat balsamico-like effect, even though the overall sourness remains soft and ‘superficial’. Complex sour ale, a kind of ‘oud bruin’ with traits of sour stout, but all things considered, quite idiosyncratic in general and distinct for Brouwbar in particular too.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Millie Strong Saison from Brouwbar 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
New strong saison by Brouwbar celebrating the birth of Millie, the brewing couple’s first daughter and a new companion to Remi, to whom a barleywine has already been dedicated in 2019. I guess like that beer, the intention here too is to keep samples aside for many years to come – at least until Millie has reached an age at which she can legally drink alcohol. Too bad that at that time, she will never know what it tasted like when fresh, so I will do my best to describe it as detailed as possible here… Irregularly edged, eggshell-white, moussy, stable head, hazy peach blonde robe with deep beige-ish tinge. Aroma of dried orange peel, white bread dough, almond, red apple slices, moist white pepper, gin, almond, unripe peach, dry earth, hints of milk, grass, white rum and petrichor. Fizzy onset with minerally effects, pleasantly elegant fruity notes of green melon, unripe banana, some peach and a touch pineapple; sourish orange peel-like touch too, all continuing restrainedly through a smooth white-bready malt core, some slight diacetyl (buttermilk) here and there but not disturbing (to me) at all. Quite hoppy in the finish, with zesty orange peel notes and returning melon and even apricot aromas; the bitterness is however gentle and lingers silently, floating on a glow of wodka-ish alcohol. Ends perhaps just a tad too boozy, but at this strength, this is nothing to be surprised about and some ageing will definitely shave that off too; apart from some spicy and earthy elements from the saison yeast, it is harder to taste a strong saison in this one than it is in e.g. Moinette or Bons Voeux, but then those two are made by the brewery most inherently associated with the style (Dupont) and I guess it will always be a challenge to match that if one does not simply want to imitate. Difficult to classify, in all, something tripel-ish with light double IPA-like aspects may perhaps describe the content better than ‘strong saison’; a tasty sipping beer, in any case, which will be very interesting to see evolving over the coming years. Big cheers to Millie, in any case!
Alengrin (11609) reviewed DI94 Double IPA from Brouwbar 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
The seventh double IPA by Brouwbar already (next to two imperial IPAs), released during their 5-year anniversary party last Saturday. Egg-white, frothy, stable, moussy head, misty orange-peach blonde robe. Aroma of orange pith, minneola, biscuit, Mandarine Napoléon, dry green peppercorns, red onion, unripe peach, rusk, gin, olive oil, green mango. Fruity onset, sweetish with very light umami accents here and there, impressions of tamarillo and persimmon edged by early hoppy orange peel effects, minerally and fizzy carbonation, full oily body – but supple and easily drinkable. Lovely cracker-, rusk- and lightly biscuit-like malt body with a waferthin toasty edge, increasingly bittered by a refreshingly citric (grapefruity) but also toasted-oniony, peppery and slightly piney wave of old school New World hoppiness – becoming a tad rooty in the end but remaining altogether relatively mild, just like many of these present-day West Coast style IPAs seem softer and more ‘compromizing’ in bitterness (or NEIPA-influenced) than the original ones were fifteen to twenty years (or more) years ago. A hint of gin-like alcohol is noticeable but does not disturb the play of malts and hops. Delicious new Brouwbar DIPA – like the six previous ones, to be fair – worthy to celebrate the fifth year of existence of this lovely little brewpub. Big cheers to Benjamin and Jolien, hopefully Brouwbar has many, many more years ahead!
tderoeck (22711) reviewed DI94 Double IPA from Brouwbar 3 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5
11/II/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2023-145)
Clear orange beer, small aery irregular off-white head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: nice and fruity, some tropical fruits, caramel malts, grains, more tropical fruits, juicy, a hint of diacetyl. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: oh boy, lots of diacetyl in this one. Not very pleasant, yoghurt and butter, very bitter, some tropical fruits, sweet, some cough syrup. Aftertaste: very bitter, lots of diacetyl, some mango, buttery, very bitter, resinous, some tropical fruits, more resin, meh.
Tasted this again at Gents Bierfestival in August 2023, by then the diacetyl had long gone and it was a very pleasant beer. Will update when entering my reviews from the festival.
tderoeck (22711) reviewed HW92 Hoppy Weizen from Brouwbar 3 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
11/II/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2023-144)
Clear yellow blond beer, creamy dense off-white head, pretty stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: fruity start, lots of citrus, more fruity, apples, nice stuff! MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: good bitterness up front, a bit sourish, tangy, some citrus notes, refreshing, not much Hefe to be honest, but I don’t really mind. Aftertaste: more sourish notes, gentle bitterness, grassy, a bit watery, soft acidity, wheat, hoppy, some orange peel, nice stuff! Even if it lacks the banana and cloves of a typical (Hefe)Weizen.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed HW92 Hoppy Weizen from Brouwbar 3 years ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
The follow-up to HW09 and HH05, both dating back to Brouwbar’s early days; at Brouwbar (obviously), which celebrates its fifth year of existence in a few days. Egg-white, membrane-lacing, thick and frothy, stable, hops-enhanced head over a hazy peach blonde beer with ‘dirty’ beige-ish tinge, a tad darker perhaps than the average Hopfenweizen. Aroma of dry old crackers, dried apricot, persimmon, orange peel, bread crust, apple peel, butter, rusk, biscuit, white pepper. Fruity onset in a sleek, cleanish way, dried apricot, persimmon and unripe banana, lively carbonated; smooth, bit oily mouthfeel, refreshened by the ongoing minerally effects of the carbonation. Nice rusk- and cracker-like, bready maltiness and wheatiness – but wheat slickness and sourishness remain oddly understated; dried orange peel and mandarin zest accents together with a light, peppery, bit herbal bitterness embody the ‘Hopfen’ part of this beer, which remains mild in a spicy kind of way and maintains perfect balance with the malts. Very solid, but could have been more wheaty for this genre; in any case very well balanced and a slight improvement for me in comparison with its predecessors of five years ago (with HW09 actually being among the very first beers Brouwbar ever served). Looking forward to the birthday party – and curious which new brew will be presented for the occasion!
tderoeck (22711) reviewed Q93 Quadrupel from Brouwbar 3 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
1/II/23 - on tap @ Brouwbar (Gent), BB: n/a (2023-100)
Clear reddish brown beer, small creamy irregular beige head, little stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: caramel, ripe banana, a hint of chocolate, sweet impression, malty. MF: soft carbon, medium to full body. Taste: little bitter, malty, gentle roast, some alcohol, hoppy, some caramel, chocolate touch, a little sweet. Aftertaste: bitter, a bit hoppy, some caramel, some banana, nice!