Bottle from Stacks.
A: clear golden, small, white head.
A: wheat, yellow apple, melon, bread crust, citrus.
T: sweetish apple & melon, wheat, sourish citrus, spices.
F: bitter grassy hops, yellow fruit, bit alcoholic.
P: medium body, slick texture, average carbonation.
Pretty decent and bitter, needs some polishing to stand out.

The obligatory tripel in this new client brewer's range, executed here in (greater) Ghent by BeerSelect. Longneck bottle from Dranken Vanquathem, Rotsaert's competitor in Zedelgem, West Flanders. Thick, egg-white, frothy, foamy, membrane-like lacing, stable head on a near clear 'old golden' beer with apricot tinge and a suspension of proteins with 'misting' effect. Aroma of halfripe banana, brioche bread, red apple, ripe Conference pear, apricot, clove, rainwater, honey, dry cookies, hints of canned pineapple, rosewater, very vague mango, rosemary and raw carrot. Fruity onset, quite crisp yet sweet, with notes of ripe pear, red apple, light banana and even lighter pineapple with a dash of apricot, quite sharply and minerally carbonated; smooth, slick yet relatively full body. Brioche-bready, bit cake-like and very slightly biscuity maltiness with a thinnish layer of honey-like residual sugars on top, leading gently to an increasingly peppery finish in which clove- and white pepper-like phenols support - rather than disrupt - an elegant yet eventually firm floral and moderately spicy hop bitterness into a warming, gin-tinged boozy finish, in which not only the drying hop effect but also the ripe yellow fruit sweetness unabatedly continue. I had relatively high hopes for this one, after a very pleasant encounter with their Double Trouble (Belgian strong dark ale but actually almost stout-like) but somehow I knew that in the umpteenth tripel on the Belgian market, this was not going to happen; still I have to admit that technically this beer is impeccable, even in its BeerSelect form, with a good balance of sweetness and bitterness, alcohol kept well in place and enough sweet-bready maltiness to support the fruity esters. Nothing shocking here - 'shocking' or even 'surprising' are words I very rarely have to use in the tripel genre, alas - but doubtlessly a very well-executed, sweetish-fruity yet balanced and elegant tripel, even if we already have more than enough of those on the Belgian market. 'Solid' probably covers it best, but after Double Trouble, I guess I was hoping for something a tad more creative than just another sweet and commercial tripel, no matter how well it is technically executed ...

Strong dark ale by a young West-Flemish beer firm commissioning their production from BeerSelect; bottle from Drankencentrale Vanquathem in Zedelgem. Moussey, membrane-lacing, thick and stable, pale beige head on a very dark chocolate brown beer with copper red glow. Aroma of coffee grounds to roasted chicory, unsugared cocoa, burnt walnuts, dry caramel, toasted rye bread, dried red berries, nutmeg, vague hints of black tea, dry tree leaves, black pepper, leather. Moderately fruity onset, some dried prune and medlar, but generally very clean and non-estery, as well as subdued in sweetness; medium carb, touch of ‘blood’-like iron somewhere but unoffensively so and ‘natural’, rounded and resinous mouthfeel where some restrained red fruit notes linger over a very malty core, dry-caramelly, roasted rye-bready, a bit nutty and, more than anything, roasted bitter coffee-like, filling the mouth cavity. A confident peppery and leafy hoppiness accentuates this roasted bitter profile, to the point where terms like ‘robust porter’ or even ‘dry stout’ come peeping round the corner, especially in combination with the very clean, ‘Anglo-Saxon’ yeast profile. Feels quite ‘British’ in spite of being intended as a Belgian strong dark – the usually sweet and yeasty Belgian dubbels and quads are remarkably far away here. Somewhat Scotch- and even stout-like, quite unique and really tasty – I love a good old-fashioned malty beer and this surely is one. Nice surprise, I was expecting the umpteenth overcoriandered sweet dubbel, to be honest…

Bottle from Beers@Moviefun.
A: hazy ochre, small, foamy, off-white head.
A: orange peel, grapefruit, thyme, moist pepper, baker's yeast.
T: sweetish apricot, orange, bitter honey, spices & yeast.
F: floral & peppery hops, spicy yeast, bitter orange peel, warming jenever-like alcohol.
P: medium body, oily texture, average carbonation.
Pretty decent, 'revised' Tripel.

10 June 2023. At 15de Brugs Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, mom, dad, et al.

A: hazy dark brown, stable, foamy, beige head.
A: raisin, prune, cappuccino, milk chocolate, tobacco.
T: sweet prune, pear, milk chocolate, mocha, burnt biscuit.
F: herbal hops, bit bitter mocha, dried fruits.
P: medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation.
Decent brew by this relatively new brewery. Belgian esters are there, balanced by the roasty character. Belgian Stout-ish, but not quite, which makes it all the more interesting.

Hazy pale blond colour with lasting head. Aroma and flavour have tropical, juicy elements. Decent body too. Some strange lingering sulphur element though.