28/11/2015 - 15cl sample @WBF2015, Bierhalle Deconinck, Vichte. Clear blond with a small white head. Nose is fruity and fresh. Taste is banana, honey, some citrus, a bit sweetness, refreshing.

bottle from Abbey Nr 8. Looks like a big score ( only 3 ratings ? ) Pours rather clear blonde/amber. Ok white head. Smell is funky grains. Bit of power behind the smell, but its not boozy. More like an intensely vaporing maltyness. Taste is Bitter, bit ... weird. How can I describe this ? Malts, perfumy ( not like any other champagne beer though, not perfumy in a bad way as I usually mean it ) fruity, intense grains, as well as yeast. Funk, even though not at all brett ( not even close ), more like funk in a whole different category. Chewy, in a way. Regular body and Very nice carbo. Hmm... strangely enough, I like it...

Bottle. Opens with a loud POP. The cork is pressed heavy onto the bottle, so its really stuck even though there appears to be much power underneath. Pours very dark and deep red / purple. Big pink head fades rather fast. Smell is intense cherry-syrup of some sort. Taste is Bit bitter, the fruityness is intense but obviously intensified ( syrup ) and with much sugar added to it. The carbonation is high, but works. In the back, hints are to be found of the hopbitterness, and even some notes of grains. Overall, the syrup overpowers to much, and the syrup itself is a thing I’m not a big fan of anyways. On the other hand, for what it is, I kinda like the result. I mean, I don’t like champagnebeer, I dont like fruit-syrup things, but this is OK. A full bottle for myseld is too much though...

750 ml. bottle sampled. Purchased @ ALBO. Recommended serving temperature 4 – 6 °C (not a good sign). Faintly hazy / almost clear golden, industrial white head. Nose is chemical, washing powder, industrial, esters, hugely fizzy, esters, more chemicals, light oily fish guts,… Taste is very chemical, industrial, doughy, washing powder, powdery pills, esters, raw dough, chemical, touch fish guts,… Big carbonation + chemical, a bit oily. So industrial tasting, this is for pale lager fans & not specialty beer drinkers. I like this one way less than the regular one – I suppose this one is a win for Den Triest. Label is gorgeous as usual, that just reinforces the impression that this is marketing above everything else. Good luck to them, not for me.

Medium, off-white head, over finely, well-carbonated golden beer. Oxydized cookies, dried, lightstruck herbs. Oxydized, if less obstructive than the nose. Fiercely... neutral. Medium bodied, gristslickness. Ouch. Now I understand why the sur lie is cheaper than the filtered.

Bottle as a gift. Hazy golden colour, white foam. Medium carbonation. Vinous notes, malty. Some notes of citrus. Bitter, light hoppy. Bit unbalanced, ok.

Fonefan 300814. Golden colour with an off-white head. Aroma is fruit, pine, orange, citrus. Flavour is fruit, malt, apple, herbs, pine, orange, citrus. Ordinary beer.

Commissioned ’bière brut’ from a 75 cl bottle with, frankly, cheap label and hangtag; instead of a classic muselet, the cork is secured with a simple piece of rope. Pours a warm golden blonde, lightly hazy with fine sparkles (but not nearly as fierce as in champagne or the like), under a thick, moussy, cream white head with good retention. Aroma of damp cloth and cardboard at first, even lightstruck (green bottle again, cheaper than brown bottles, no coincidence!) fortunately receding and giving way to more seductive hints of peach, white grapes, flowers, cava, starfruit, freshly cut apple, gin, hay, white bread, dried apricot and baker’s yeast. Fresh fruity onset, pineapple and other exotic fruits, sweetish with even a slight honeyish sugary touch, vanilla, quite delicate actually, light mouthfeel, clearly less fizz than usual in this category of beers; honeyish malt sweetness, spicy yeasty notes, very flowery hop bitterishness and some gin-like alcohol make up the finish. I was a bit disappointed by the off-flavours at first but when those faded, this became quite enjoyable, though I find more graciousness and complexity in Malheur’s "bière bruts".