7.1

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Saison by Aerts Paradijs, 33 cl bottle with (frankly unattractive) beige label and glossy green letters, so looking different now from the original label depicted here. Strong gusher, even with some preparations it proved impossible to open without loss. Foamy, big, rocky, snow white, large- but even-bubbled, pillowy head towering inches above an initially clear, pure yellow golden robe with slight 'old gold' tinge and a whirlwind of stormy sparkling sustaining the head; cloudy and a bit murky in the very end with deposit added. Aroma of sharp carbon dioxide initially, then moving to banana, clove, spiced bread, coriander seed (or seeds of paradise?), chamomile, sweetclover, hints of grass, white pepper, old crackers, something dusty, freshly cut green apple. Spritzy onset, but less sharp in carbonation than expected based on looks, minerally still, through fruity impressions of banana, apple slices and vague pear; bread-crusty, cereally malt backbone under lingering halfsweetish fruitiness and growing spicy phenols (clove), the spiciness accentuated by coriander and, a bit further on, grassy and floral hops, adding an elegant and pleasant, well-measured bitterness and dryness to an already fairly dryish beer. The fruity esters nonetheless keep things soft and balanced. Typical Belgian blonde of the drier, spicier kind dubbed 'saison' for commercial reasons - but there is no strict distinction anyway and considering effervescence, dryness and spiciness, I can accept this one as a 'true' traditional style saison - more than many others I have tasted in the past years. Accessible and easygoing, but apart from that gushing, no real flaws here, just a balanced, traditional, easy drinking Belgian blonde ale; considering the often low ratings below, I can only assume that this new batch is an improvement of the first one, because I have no complaints here - other than the gushing, as said.

6.8

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Slow gushing to medium yellow head over deep dark opaque brown beer. Very strong intense nose of old wood, cake, nuts. Portwine, madeirisation (still well within BBd). Sweet, caramel, again port-like, nutty, walnuts. A kind of premature aging is suspected. Feels better bodied, quite slick, but falls dead in the end. Tastes/feels somewhat amateuristic, but still, even with the premature aging, I tend to quite like it. Thanks to Stef!

5

kerstbierfestival essen 2019

7.8

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Imported from my RateBeer account as Paradijs Kriek (by 't Aerts Paradijs):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 16/20, MyTotalScore: 3.9/5

17/VII/17 - 75cl bottle from the brewer, shared @ the tasting without Jon (home) - BB: n/a, bottled: 17/VIII/14 (2017-1042) Thanks to the brewers for the gift!

Clear dark purple beer, small creamy irregular pink head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: very fruity, lots of cherries, some tannins. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: lots of cherries, quite some tannins, little bitter, soft acidity. Aftertaste: more cherries, fruity, slightly sourish with some tannins. Nice stuff!

7.3

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

25/09/2016 - 50cl bottle gently shared by tderoeck @his place. Clear amber to brown, nice creamy head. Nose has much peat, fruits, caramel, sour touch. Taste has sour start, fruits, little peat, some tannins, earthy.

6.8

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Special and more limited version of Paradijs Brons, shared by tderoeck. Thick, frothy, yellowish beige, lacing head, hazy burgundy bronze robe, looking identical to Paradijs Brons. Aroma of dried red berries, caramel, whisky, candied banana, old cake, green plum, apple, almond, sugared tea, hazelnut. Fruity onset, estery with hints of medlar, ripe plum, banana and some sourish redcurrant providing balance, medium carbo (a tad less fizzy than the Brons), caramelly malt sweet middle establishing a smooth, almost resinous but ’full’ mouthfeel; toasted edge somewhere at the back pairing with a herbal hop bitterish accent, drying sourish accent remaining, some earthy yeastiness and warming alcohol. Most notably, however, is a drier flavor in general: clearly this special version, whatever its intention is, contains less residual sugar than the ordinary Brons - which was a bit too sweet for a dubbel (certainly to my personal taste) so this is obviously an improvement compared to the regular, as far as I’m concerned.

6.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 6

One of the newer Aerts Paradijs beers, shared by tderoeck. Thick and frothy, lightly lacing, coarse, pale beige-ish head on top of a hazy mahogany beer with orangey bronze hue. Aroma of almond, banana, medlar, caramel, brown bread, Kirsch, candied cherries or cherry liqueur, candi sugar. Fruity onset, hints of peach, banana and strawberry, almond flavor apparent (as in almond cookies - or indeed frangipane), lingering residual brown sugar sweetness, fizzy carbo, sharpish even, coarsening an otherwise smooth mouthfeel. Caramelly malt sweet backbone with a somewhat chocolatey accent, just a little bit toasted, drying herbal hop bitterish touch but still the finish remains dominated by persisting, even slightly cloying brown sugar sweetness; touch of warming, brandy-ish alcohol as well. Aromatic and rather unusual interpretation of a dubbel - or a Belgian brown ale in general - but too sweet for my tooth.

6.5

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6

Imported from my RateBeer account as Paradijs Brons HB (by 't Aerts Paradijs):
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 12/20, MyTotalScore: 3.2/5

31/X/16 - 50cl bottle from Diesters Bierfestival @ home - Ster's first Ghentian tasting, BB: n/a, bottled: 20/VII/15 (2016-1259) Thanks to Mark and Sabine for bringing me the bottle!

Clear reddish purple beer, aery big beige head, little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: sweet, caramel, dried fruits, spicy, some cinnamon. MF: soft carbon, medium body. Taste: bit sourish, some dried fruits, little hoppy, very yeasty, banana. Aftertaste: slightly bitter, more banana, some mocha, little sweet, yeasty, sourish touch.

5.9

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5

Imported from my RateBeer account as Paradijs Brons (by 't Aerts Paradijs):
Aroma: 6/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 5/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 11/20, MyTotalScore: 2.9/5

31/X/16 - 75cl bottle from the brewery at 8.2%abv @ home - Ster's first Ghentian tasting, BB: n/a, bottled: 30/III/15 (2016-1258) Thanks to the brewers for the delivery!

Clear purple brown beer, big fizzy aery beige head, dissipates quickly, non adhesive. Aroma: lots of alcohol, phenols and fusels, some banana. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: alcohol, bit sweet, caramel, dried fruits, lots of brown sugar, ripe banana. Aftertaste: slightly malty, sweet, biscuits, caramel, lots of ripe banana.