The eighth one in a series of 'Nostalgia' beers by Kompel in Limburg, honouring the mining industry which once thrived in the eastern and southern parts of Belgium. This one in particular depicts the headframe of an abandoned mine being demolished - a powerful symbol of the end of the mining era (the last coalmine in Belgium, also in Limburg, was closed in 1992). Flavoured with orange peel, candi sugar and a 'beer liquor', I assume a distillate of one of Kompel's own beers. Thick and frothy, heavily cobweb-lacing, pale greyish beige, uneven-bubbled, pillowy but stable head, lightly hazed ruddy chestnut brown beer with mahogany glow and very fine sparkling everywhere. Aroma of brown bread crust, hard caramel, a whiff of coffee grounds, roasted walnuts but lightly so, dried dates, pear, medlar, dried orange peel, 'oude jenever', nutmeg, hints of liquorish, old dry apple cake, chicory root, clove, dry earth. Fruity onset, sweet but nowhere cloying, hints of dried dates, apple peel, some pear and medlar, fizzily carbonated with minerally side effects (a bit much so for a beer like this, but okay); rounded, slick mouthfeel, perhaps not quite as 'full' as one would expect from a dark Belgian of this strength. Smooth-edged caramelly and brown-bready malts, some traces of candi sugar travelling along but remaining on the drier side of the spectrum, turning more toasty in the finish, when a spicy dried orange peel accent shows up too; vague reminiscences of coffee grounds and liquorice, but hard caramel and thick brown bread crust keep prevailing. A 'jenever'-like warmth and spiciness graces the finish, avoiding unpleasant astringency by a hair especially when an earthy hop bitterness comes to support the toasty bitter malt aspect; slight earthy and phenolic (clove, nutmeg) notes here and there, but 'jenever', brown bread crust and toast remain my final impressions after swallowing. The first of those three elements must somehow embody the 'beer liqueur' that went in here - luckily it is not more than that, because I tend to be very wary when I see 'infused with' on any beer label. In all, a bit slender and feeble-bodied for a dark Belgian ale of 8+% ABV, but tasty enough, without major flaws; stylistically, I would classify this under the Scotch (or 'wee heavy') category, because it remains relatively clean, has the right ABV for it and contains a portion of roasted malts, but since this old-fashioned term is mentioned nowhere on the label, I finally decided to let brewer's intent prevail in entering this beer and kept it deliberately vague with the 'Belgian strong dark ale' category. Memories of visits to abandoned Belgian coalmines, the history of which is celebrated not only in the Nostalgia series but in the entirety of Kompel's range and even its name (kompel being Dutch for miner), come to mind, including the one in Marcinelle where in the fifties hundreds of miners were killed in Belgium's worst mining disaster - and this fascinating but loaded history does add a bit to the experience here (though this is obviously a personal thing which has nothing to do with rating the beer itself). Decent, in all, but somehow I get the feeling that this Kompel brewery can do better.

Bottle at home, orange amber beer, small head. Aroma is fruity, alcohol, malty, sweet. Taste is the same, sweet, malt, fruity, alcohol, light oak, not too bad.

Bottle 33cl. @home poured into a shaker. Slightly unclear pale golden colour, good frothy white head, mostly diminishing, light lacing. Aroma wheat, yeast, lemon, light coriander, Taste medium sweet and light bitter, touch of acidity, wheat, yeast, lemon, spicy notes. Light to medium body, watery texture, soft carbonation, sweetbitter aftertaste, chalky notes, cardboard, okay.

330ml bottle. Slightly cloudy, orange golden colour with average to huge, frothy moderately lasting, minimally lacing, off-white head. Citrusy and slightly tropical fruity, hoppy aroma, sweet-ish, minimally sugary, pale malty background, notes of mandarine, mango, some orange, peach, a touch of pineapple. Taste is mildly bitter, tropical fruity and zesty, citrusy fruity hoppy, minimally mineral and herbal-leafy, yeasty spicy, notes of tangerine, some mango, peach, mandarine, bitter orange, sweet-ish, minimally sugary, pale malty basis. Watery texture, dry palate, medium, prickly carbonation. Balanced, not overly intense, almost a bit light for 8% abv - nice.

Fles 33cl thuis. Fruitig, Belgisch gist, licht citrus, bittertonen, kruidnagel, wat kruidig, redelijk zoet, banaan. (18-6-2022).

Fles 33cl thuis. Flink heidehoning, zoet, licht kruidig, bittertonen, bloemig, citrus, koriander, redelijk krachtig. (11-6-2022).

0.33 l bottle from 'Carrefour' (Maasmechelen), best before October 2023. Almost clear, deep ruby with a medium large, foamy, almost stable, beige head. Sweetish-malty, slightly fruity and a bit roasty aroma of caramel, leaves, some raisins and light nuts. Gently sweet, malty, moderately bitter, slightly fruity taste of caramel, leaves, raisins and some nuts, followed by a short, gently bitter, quite dry, a bit grassy, minimally roasty and a little yeasty finish. Medium body, gently effervescent mouthfeel, average carbonation. Nice!

0.33 l bottle from 'Carrefour' (Maasmechelen), best before September 2023. Clear, golden amber with a large, dense, stable, white head. Sweetish, gently fruity-grassy, slightly yeasty-spicy aroma of lemon peel, pineapple, fresh grass, some banana and a touch of clove. Gently sweet, malty, moderately bitter, quite fruity-grassy, slightly floral taste of grains, lemon peel, pineapple, fresh grass, honey, some clove and light banana, followed by a short, gently bitter, slightly yeasty-spicy, quite grassy finish. Medium to full body, quite effervescent mouthfeel, average carbonation. Tasty Blond, nicely grassy and fresh.