Hazy brown colour, beige foam. Medium sweet, some sweet malts, caramel with some fruity raspberry notes. Medium bitterness. Well balanced. Ok.

New strong saison by the guys of Petre Devos Audenaerde, bottle from De Hopduvel in Ghent. Very thick and foamy, egg-white, mousy, papery lacing head over lightly hazed, deep 'metallic' orangey-tinged 'old gold' beer, turning into a misty peach blonde with sediment. Aroma of canned peaches, coriander seed, banana candy, sweet cider, pancakes, honey, calvados, bread crust, acacia blossoms, fried apple slices, ripe pear, Turkish delight, dried camomile. Sweet onset with hints of dried banana (so less explicit banana ester than expected), peach and cooked apple, even yellow raisin to a certain extent, lively carbonated with sharp minerally and initially even painfully stinging effects, light sourish undertone accentuated by this strong carbonation; smooth, somewhat glueish and vaguely soapy, full body. Sweet-caramelly and white-bready maltiness with a layer of honey-like residual sugars on top, ongoing fruity notes and growing spicy phenols, towards a spicy finish (clear coriander seed) with a relatively mild floral hop bitterishness and lingering honeyish sweetness - all heated by calvados-like, prominent, eventually somewhat astringent alcohol. The alcohol takes over too much in the finish, but more or less behaves decently before that; still, too boozy and sweet for me, like all those sweet and boozy tripels you see in Belgium, both in the old(er) days and today. I guess the aim was to arrive at something along the lines of Dupont's Moinette Blonde or Blaugies' La Moneuse, but those actually do have this seemingly 'wild' saison profile, whereas this one is only a saison in the brewery's description and intentions, but not in the glass. After lovely experiments with sour ales and a few other unusual brews, I cannot help but feeling that this is a bit of a step backwards for this range...

Quite good beige-cream head over fully opaque, orangey tinted brown beer. Very perfumey, almost effeminate marzipan-frangipane nose, but covering a much nicer woody-lactic acid aroma, consistent with good Oud Bruin. Bit of caramel. Very dry, and watery dark malt flavour with some wood, milkchocolate, but generally very dull. No more lactic acid, no more refreshing acidity, as promised by the nose. Perfumey, but lame dark malts. Not very well-bodied, lean and watery, and not very carbonated either. Aftertaste is bitterish metallic. Seriously disappointing.

24/IV/20 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home, BB: 10/X/21 (2020-368)

Clear red brown beer, big creamy beige head, stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: sickening sweet, overripe banana, overly spiced, lots of star anise, cardamom, some rotting fruits, caramel, chocolate notes, rotting autumn leafs. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sugary, lots of banana, red wine, bit oxidized, caramel, red berries, more rotting fruits, some tannins, unpleasant bitterness, puke. Aftertaste: weird unpleasant acidity, vomit, roasted touch, red wine, wood notes, some raspberry jam on warming up, soft roast, caramel, bitter finish. Not a fan of this beer.

Dense, lightly yellowish head over copper-amber clear beer, lively carbonated. Caramel, toasted malts, parsley, white candi sugar, bit garden herbs. Hops? Even more toasted in the flavour, lightly roasted nuts, autumn leaves. Very faint acidity; restsweetness is restrained, but the bitterness is r(t)oasted, and not hoppy. The only hint at hops is this leafy, dry flavour, gradually increasing a bit. Oats are revealed by the smooth, silky feel despite the lively carbonation. Medium bodied. br
1)This is what Belgian brewers call an IPA: something cruelly lacking in hops - for the name, not for the taste: tastewise this is a (quite good) Vienna brewed with top fermentation. br
2) The South African connection with the ANC flag is explained by the indiscernible hops. br
3) Apart from Petre Devos, at least 4 other brewers called a beer "wildebeest". Despite sixty years of nature documentaries, I fail to see any connection whatsoever between these ungainly antelopes and cerevisial products. br
4) But I'm a difficult person

21/III/20 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ home, BB: I/2022 (2020-273)

Clear orange beer, big creamy dense white head, pretty stable, bit adhesive, leaving some patches of foam in the glass. Aroma: malty, grains, some banana, herbal and spicy, bit grassy, some Saison Dupont yeast character, fruity. MF: ok carbon, medium to full body. Taste: malty start, lots of esters, banana, more banana, pretty bitter, quite some alcohol, sweet touch. Aftertaste: fruity, ripe banana, some peaches, spicy, pretty dry, bit peppery, more banana, some coriander, nice!

Pours a bit hazy blonde, small to medium sized white head. Smell is orange - the white skins between the peel and fruit itself. Taste is sharp, bitter, orange zests. Mild malty , not even remotely resembling a NEIPA. BE IPA, sure, drinkable beer, yes. But this is truly proof that yet another Belgian Brewing company, has no clue what this NEIPA style is all about.