7.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7.5
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Session IPA somewhat paradoxically named after the tripel that started this series years ago; contains oat malts, wheat malts and three hop varieties and apparently carries the European organic logo (found this in an organic store in Ghent too). Very thick and dense, foamy, snow white, regular, stable head over a misty very pale straw blonde beer with notably pale grass-greenish tinge - in fact, when held against natural (evening) light, it oddly looks more green than yellow. Coincidentally or not, also a 'green' aroma of lemon peel, lime zest (very freshly so), green melon, freshly cut grass, minerals, green algae, rucola or watercress, gypsum, raw white celery, thinly sliced white bread. Spritzy onset, fruity notes of unripe banana, hard pear and some green apple, restrainedly sweetish with a vague sourish edge accentuated by sharp, minerally carbonation, on the brink of becoming unpleasantly numbing; slick, thinnish, smooth mouthfeel, thin pale cereally maltiness with oat and wheat soapiness at the edges, gradually and increasingly bittered by zesty, grassy, floral hops, adding retronasal aromas of actual blue- or soft-grass, chamomile, lime zest, pepino and unripe melon. The bitterness lingers a bit and lends structure to an otherwise thinly constructed, yet smooth and elegant beer; this is taking ISA to its most light-footed, flowery, gracious form, yet with enough bitterness to stand its own. In that sense, this is quite an achievement from a technical point of view; its overall 'green' feel, including even the colour in this case, only adds to its organic intentions and makes it utterly refreshing on a hot August evening. The ideal beer for the moment. More original and accomplished than I was expecting!
Tried
on 10 Aug 2024
at 19:15