26 April 2018. From tap at Brouwbar. Sample 4/6. Shared with Anke.
Pours clear pale golden with a lasting, small, foamy, white head; little lacing. The aroma contains clove & white pepper, wheat, ripe banana & apple, bitter & herbal hops, yeast, lemon & orange zest. It tastes light wheaty sour and light to medium hoppy bitter with yeast and bready malt in the back. Dry, hoppy, even peppery finish but lingering bread & wheat notes (also retronasally). Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Good take on the style!

The ninth beer by Ghent’s youngest brewpub to date, a bit of an experiment in which they modified their Hoppige Hefeweizen (HH05) into a saison-inspired beer simply by replacing the Weizen yeast of HH05 by a saison yeast – also resulting in a notably higher ABV because they let it ferment for a longer period of time. The end result is a clearly different beer from HH05, with a thick, snow white, papery lacing, irregular and coarse had and misty deep peach blonde, almost amberish robe. Aroma of dried apricots, unsmoked cigarette tobacco (a hint of vaguely smoky phenols, probably), banana, straw, dried apple peel, bread crust, cloves, field flowers, white pepper, dough, green melon. Estery fruity onset, some banana peel, pineapple and apricot notes, light sourish edges, fizzy carb adding minerally flavours, supple body. White bread- and somewhat bread crust-like maltiness as well as soapy wheatiness in the middle, dryish but remaining soft and juicy; spicy phenolic notes in the finish alongside a herbal, grassy and bit peppery hop bitterness obviously similar to that of HH05; light earthy yeast notes and lingering wheat soapiness at the back. More attenuated, stronger, more estery and phenolic than HH05, this is indeed a different beer, a nice illustration of how yeast determines the character of a beer (especially a Belgian ale) to a high extent. Not much is left of its Hefeweizen roots: this is in all respects a classically styled Belgian saison for me, perhaps even more so than the saison they already have (S04)…

26 April 2018. From tap at Brouwbar. Sample 6/6. Shared with Anke.
Brand new beer at Ghent's young craft brewery. Something between a Saison and a Hefeweizen... Pours hazy orange with a small, frothy, white head; lots of lacing. Strong aroma of yeast, clove, pepper, ripe mango, apple & banana, bitter & resinous hops, some citrus. It tastes medium hoppy bitter, notes of yeast, and very light wheaty sour. Dry, wheaty finish with some resinous hops coming through, increasing the impression of bitterness. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Interesting hybrid, although I'm not the biggest fan of its taste.

26 April 2018. From tap at Brouwbar. Sample 3/6. Shared with Anke.
Pours hazy golden with a lasting, small, foamy, white head; little lacing. The aroma contains bready malt, coriander, herbal hops, grass, ripe apple, citrus, flowers. It tastes medium spicy bitter & light wheaty sour, bready malt in the back. Dry, spicy, peppery hop finish. Medium body, slick texture, lively carbonation. Decent brew, again no flaws, albeit somewhat subdued in taste.

26 April 2018. From tap at Brouwbar. Sample 2/6. Shared with Anke.
Pours clear golden with a lasting, frothy, off-white head; little lacing. The aroma contains grapefruit, mango, fruity hops, grass, some spruce, biscuit malt. It tastes light to medium hoppy bitter, a bit piney & grassy, backed by a medium fruity & malty sweetness. Dry, hoppy, bittersweet finish. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. A new and modern brewery needs a modern IPA, and they succeeded at that.

26 April 2018. From tap at Brouwbar. Sample 1/6. Shared with Anke.
Pours hazy dark brown, red hue, with a lasting, small, foamy, tan head; some lacing. Subtle aroma of walnut, toasted (brown) bread, roasted malt & coffee ground, dark fruit, dough, hint of vanilla & caramelized candi sugar. It tastes medium malty & bready sweet, a bit nutty, and light to medium roasted bitter. Dry, toasty, (herbal) hop finish. Medium body, slick to watery texture, fizzy carbonation. No flaws detectable, enjoyable; too bad about the thinnish palate even if it is a 'session Porter'. There is potential, I'm wondering what the result will be should they brew an Imperial Porter or Stout.

Brouwbar’s latest, an attempt at the hippest beer style of the moment, tasted first from a bottle (thanks to Benjamin, the brewer, for sharing) and yesterday from tap (thanks Trevor). Moussy, snow white, lightly lacing head, opening in the middle; hazy egg yolk yellow blonde beer with pale khaki tinge. Surprisingly convincing, tropical, strong aroma of ripe mango, papaja, sweet onions, orange juice, pineapple, white bread dough, green banana, soap, some armpit sweat dankness. Sweetish onset, loaded with mango, starfruit and pineapple with a lime-like sourish edge, soft carb, creamy and fluffy (if somewhat thinnish) mouthfeel, soft doughy malt soil under a very aromatic, tropical hop finish, mango-, passionfruit- and a bit sweet onion-like, with some chalky and otherwise minerally side notes. Not many attempts at this hype have been made in Belgium so far and only BBP (in collaboration with Weird Beard) and Totem (in collaboration with LOC but actually brewed in the Netherlands) have been really successful at it so far – this is the third one. Brouwbar has surprised me before with their decidedly non-Belgian, clean and technically well-executed beers, but this one is perhaps even more reason to be proud than the others. If this NEIPA hype continues, I guess a few others in Belgium may come up with decent examples sooner or later, but this one ticks all the boxes if you’re into this style – a welcome alternative for having to buy or trade the highly sought after Trillium, Tree House or Cloudwater offerings in this style. Congratulations to Benjamin and Jolien!