Draft @ Brouwbar. Dark brown/black colour, beige foam. Nose of roasted malts, coffee. Rather thin and easy drinkable. Taste is roasty, bitter, light sweet. Bit thin but easy drinkable. Nice porter!

Draft @ Brouwbar. Hazy yellow colour, creamy white foam. Yeasty, aroma of citrus peel, light spices. Taste is rather sweet, light bitter dry finish. Well balanced. Ok saison!

The extra hoppy version of Brouwbar's Hefeweizen, launched together with their four other first try-outs. Tasted from tap in a tasting flight during the opening day of this enthusiastic new brewpub. Irregularly lacing, moussy, egg-white head over a hazy peach blonde beer - clearly a notch darker and more orangey than their classic Hefeweizen, so clearly not the same malt bill. Aroma of orange peel, camomile, dried mango, straw, honey, cookie dough, canned pineapple, melon, sandwiches, green tea. Sweetish onset, pear, apricot, banana ester, light mango accent somewhere, sourish touch; softish carbo, fluffy, pleasantly soft, bit soapy mouthfeel. Sweetbread- and slightly honeyish malt sweetness makes up the core of this beer, leading to a mildly phenolic finish in which indeed an elegant, delicate citrusy and violet-like hoppiness shows up, yet providing only limited bitterness, albeit a tad more so than in the classic Hefeweizen. Interesting: maltier than the classic version, evidently hoppier, but in a subtle, aromatic way rather than bittering. I personally would not have minded more actual hop bitterness (which goes for most of their beers) but granted, this is an elegant creation, and I cannot immediately think of another 'hoppy Hefeweizen' - at least not in Belgium. Maybe a certain part of Schneider's Tap series served as the inspiration here?

One of the five first beers from this new Ghentian brewpub, a remarkable choice for a thoroughly German tradition in Belgium - I haven't seen many attempts at this style in this country. Medium thick, moussy, egg-white, opening head, not as frothy and pillowy as I am used to from this style, over a hazy, warm 'old gold' coloured beer. Aroma of overripe banana, lemon blossom, pastry dough, cloves, white pepper, apple sauce, pear, damp straw, some vague withering lettuce. Sweetish onset, lots of the expected (and intended) banana ester, ripe pear and fried pineapple notes, sourish wheatiness underneath becoming a tad soapy in the middle, but the 'fluffiness' I love in a good Weissbier is certainly there. Carbonation is medium. Breadiness increases in the finish, adorned with phenolic spice hints, lingering banana ester sweetishness and a subtle touch of floral hops. This is a textbook Hefeweizen, not a banana candy-like caricature as you often find in the Netherlands: this one has subtlety, elegance and sufficient depth. Likely the best Belgian attempt at this style I had so far, but that does not say a lot, obviously...

The only traditionally Belgian (in terms of style) beer in the first experiments made by Brouwbar, a brand new brewpub in Ghent. Quite loosely knit, quickly opening, large-bubbled, off-white head over a hazy straw blonde beer with greenish hue, looking paler than the average tripel. Aroma of refreshing (and surprising) lemongrass and orange zest, ripe banana, dough, jasmin and lime blossoms, apple sauce, gin. Sweet onset, classic banana ester but in a rather elegant way, adorned with subtler impressions of granadilla and kiwi, with a light sourishness positioned underneath; medium carbonation, supple and bit oily mouthfeel, a tad glueish even. Doughy, cereally, rounded malt sweetish body leading upwards to a warming, elegant, aromatic finish of returning lemongrass and citrus flowers, becoming a bit reminiscent of limoncello as the alcohol warmth sets in. Note the total absence of coriander - this one, even more so than the porter, the IPAs or the Hefeweizens, convinced me that these young and enthusiastic people have a keen idea of what 21st-century craft beer is about: this is not your umpteenth reiteration of the old coriandered, syrupy, boozy abbey style tripel, but actually adds something to this overexposed style. Feels like some Scandinavian or Anglo-Saxon craft brewery would have made a Belgian style tripel. Very elegant, refreshing in spite of it strength and at this young age, delicately aromatic. Another convincing sign of promise - I will be visiting this new brewpub every few weeks now, that much is certain.

A modern, young, craft-oriented new brewpub in Ghent naturally needs an IPA... Tasted from tap as part of a tasting flight but afterwards in full 33 cl form as well. Irregularly lacing, off-white, moussy, well-retaining head, hazy orangey peach blonde robe. Aroma strikes with a big wave of sweet fruitiness: mandarin juice, fresh blood orange, ripe mango, tangerine, thickly spread over a layer of pleasant biscuit and freshly baked cookies, with subtler hints of honey, sweet tropical flowers, marmelade and fennel seed. Cleanly fruity onset, sweet notes of mango, yellow kiwi, sweet oranges and melon, with a very light sourish accent; medium carbonation, with a very smooth, slick, bit oily mouthfeel. Pleasant sweet biscuity and dry cookie-ish malt middle, caramelly and very supple, but strangely, the finish remains primarily sweet, with marmelade- and mango chutney-like impressions; the expected hop bitterness remains very limited, with a somewhat thin ending as a result. Very elegant and pleasant beer for sure, highly aromatic in a sweet, orangey way, implicitly NEIPA-inspired (when is this craze going to end?) but lacking in creaminess to qualify as one. I, for one, still prefer classic West Coast bitterness over that fruit juice hype, and I believe that this little IPA would benefit from more actual bitterness. Other than that: completely flawless from a technical viewpoint, like all Brouwbar's first try-outs - and in that sense highly stimulating to keep following their works.

One of the five first beers from this brand new brewpub near the Patershol quarter in the city of Ghent, tasted there during their opening as part of a tasting flight. Tightly papery lacing, pale yellow-tinged beige, creamy and stable head, blackish beer with burgundy hue at its edges. Rather weak, subdued aroma, hinting at coffee grounds, black chocolate bars, hard butterscotch candy, toasted hazelnuts, hints of parsley, minerals and tea bags. Clean, sweetish onset, dried berries and figs, light sourish touch, medium carbonated with a smooth, lean mouthfeel. Classic butterscotch-, toffee- and walnut-like dark malt body, a tad on the thinnish side perhaps even at this (relatively) low AVB, with a thin metallic edge. Mildly bittering finish, toasty with a hint of roasted coffee bitterness but in a subtle and gentle way, minerally side notes and herbal, bit tea-ish, mildly spicy hop bitterness. Technically flawless, clean, to the point and up to date: absolutely nothing wrong here and decidedly non-traditionally Belgian, but at this ABV, it comes as no surprise that it remains a bit thin and superficial. Needs more depth and character, but viewed as the first try that it is, this is quite impressive.