[33cl can from Beer52.] A hazy amber pour with a loose white head; fresh citrusy aroma; tropical fruit taste; and some citrus peel adding bitterness to the finish. A straightforward NEIPA.

Hazy straw with a whitelasting head A - tropical fruit stone fruits mango F - light malts ,tropical followed by mango and manderin soft mouthfeel, slight bitterness

After an ordinary blonde, this Zeevonk project continues the 'sea sparkle' theme with a tripel, essentially the stronger version of the first, also - almost certainly, the label remains silent - executed at BeerSelect; vichy bottle from De Picker in Zele. Thick, creamy, egg-white, audibly crackling, regular, membrane-lacing, firm head on a misty peach blonde robe with beige-ish tinge. Aroma of green pear, banana peel, clove, coriander seed, 'oude graanjenever', moist white pepper, old jute rope, dry potato peel, cold pasta, nutmeg, dandelion, unripe peach, plastic, hint of chicken soup. Fruity onset, quite crisp, sweetish with hints of halfripe banana, unripe peach and green pear, fizzily carbonated; slight sourish and even very faintly umami (green olive) undertones, moving forward into a smooth, rounded cerealliness with sweetish core, lightly bready and even very faintly biscuity, while the fruity esters continue and spicy phenols develop (clove, nutmeg) along with a 'real' coriander spiciness. Floral and slightly earthy hop bitter notes join in, while a 'jenever'-like alcohol presence unsubtly treads to the foreground and - as feared - deposits a wry, heating, astringent alcohol effect on the root of the tongue and in the throat, still accompanied by coriander, fruity esters and clove-like phenols. Very much a 'tripel' alright - in the most cliché, stereotypical way imaginable, adding absolutely nothing to the already vast ocean of tripels floating around in this country. Technically more or less correct, with this typical tripel aroma, coriander spicing, bittersweet booziness and fruitiness, but infathomably redundant. I bet the next Zeevonk beer will be a dubbel...

33cl bottle in the 'C-Bar' which is inside the Casino at Middelkerke on 2nd May 2024. Golden body, white crust. I little 'dry' and semi-bitter with a gentle hop bite, weak floral aroma, some salt like flavours in the taste also. All a bit bland and needing some food, luckily I got a free dish of chili/Japanese/Chinese crispy things to go with the beer, so it worked out OK!

Beer conceived in Koksijde on the Belgian south coast, executed by BeerSelect in Ghent (where else) and named after the sea sparkle, a bioluminescent dinoflagellate that can luminate waves in certain times of the year (but which sadly I never witnessed with my own eyes - so far). I saw bottles of this in a shop in Ghent last year and hesitated to buy them - eventually refrained, but now I have one to scrutinise, bought from Belgian Brewed. Opens with a hiss and some light 'gunsmoke', after which foam began to slowly creep out of the bottle - but no gushing. Thick and very dense, foamy, egg-white, plastery lacing, very pillowy and stable head on an initially crystal clear, pale straw 'metallic' blonde beer with disparate sparkling in the middle, turning misty and a bit more apricot-tinged further on. Aroma of green banana, drying white bread, grass, pumice, dry straw, coriander powder, moist white pepper, cold McDonald's fries, wet white paper, crayons, raw eggplant, green celery, even celery salt, unripe green apple, raw quince, white clover and other green garden weeds in the background, as well as something very vaguely sulphurous (burnt rubber). Crisp but somewhat 'empty' onset, some green banana, unripe pear and hard green apple fruitiness, low in sweetness with a very vague salty touch (fresh wakame - but this could be autosuggestion considering its Koksijde origins), minerally and sharpish carbonation adding to the salty experience, smooth and supple mouthfeel coarsened by the carb. Straightforward pale malt sweetishness and graininess ensues, like in an all-malt Pilsener or Helles, with a very vague sourish undertone; soft phenolic spiciness (clove) dastardly creeps in towards the end, soon overruled by a grassy, flour- and freshly cut garden weed-like hoppiness, providing a leafy, bit rooty, lasting bitterness sitting next to the remnants of this grainy pale maltiness and a 'dusty' effect of coriander powder. Otherwise not much is happening here - but as simple as it is, this beer does show basic technical skill and harbours a certain whiff of the seaside, again probably due to autosuggestion; all Belgian strong blondes that are cleaned up to resemble tripel as little as possible are in some or other way indebted to the old Duvel, and that defensibly goes for this seaside version as well, but none of them have managed to surpass the original. This one fits that mould, in the series of Satan, Cornet, Omer, Hapkin and so on - so it will certainly find its audience, if it remains as sleek and sharp as it is now; that does not, however, take away the fact that it is, all things considered, a relatively boring beer. I nevertheless wish both the initiators of this brand a lot of success - maybe they will some day find the inspiration to come up with something more exciting.

Appearance: Medium golden, clear. Decent, white head. Aroma: Light to medium fruits, sweet pale malt. Some Belgian yeast. Taste: Light fruits, some pale malt. Light caramel sweetness. Some Belgian yeast. Bought: Bavet (Oostende), 330 ml, €4.90 Info: 9/8-2023, BB: 2/5-2025

Bottle at Heerlijk Mariakerke. Hazy deep gold colour lasting white head. A soft blond beer. Easy drinking inoffensive. Well put together. Good spicy hop finish. Fine. Like a lot of Belgian blonds but really drinkable.