Fles 33cl thuis. Wat saai, kandij, weinig bitters, wat zuurtonen, rood fruit. Geen typische Imp. Stout. (2-2017).

Flesje gekregen van de buurman. Geel-oranjeachtig bier met gistvlokken. Matig schuim. Aroma van hooi en fruit. Smaak is zoet en fruitig. Nasmaak is iets bitter maar ebt snel weg.

Bottle from a Mitra in the Netherlands (I think), one of these Hommeles beers brewed at Sallands Landbier. Medium thick, irregular, off-white head quickly dissolving in the middle but leaving a steady, moussy rim around the edge; initially clear ’old gold’ colour with warm orange tinge, becoming more pronounced with sediment added, as the beer gets a bit hazy. Aroma of old dried orange peel, old apple, bread crumbs, dried apricot, Grand Marnier, bubblegum, honey, powder sugar, freshly ironed (and still warm) clothing, lots of ripe banana, lots of plastic, white pepper, young ’jenever’, hints of wet cardboard, grass, calvados, iron, overripe nectarine juice, old jute bags, overcooked Brussels sprouts, brandy. Sweetish onset, fruity in a relatively ’clean’ way, lots of banana, sweet pineapple slices and apricot, hint of red apple peel, some ’dull’ sourishness underneath but all subdued and not very lively, residual white candi sugar sweetness but quite subtly so, medium to sharp carbonation, minerally and a bit souring, metallic from the start - almost feeling like some cheap strong lager. Slick, supple mouthfeel due to a cereally and lightly caramelly middle with persisting honeyish sweetness though subtly so and much less subtle metallic effects, over which the limited, strictly restrained fruitiness tries to save itself, leading to a medium long finish in which the ’jenever’- or cheap brandy-like alcohol dominates along with ongoing caramelly flavours; hops remain restrained to an almost exclusively structural role, providing some herbal bitterishness but unfortunately not being fully adequate to halt the initial sweetness - though it is still the overt, even somewhat wry booziness as well as that unpleasantly metallic feel that bothers me in the end. The ’cooked’ and obnoxious ’wet cardboard’ smell in the aroma, the limited effect of fruity esters, the metallic aspect in the taste, the badly hidden alcohol and the general lack of depth all point in the same direction: either this is a very poor imitation of Belgian tripel, or this is not even a tripel, but a strong lager disguised as one. If this is top fermented, which I am doubting a bit, this is surely closer to an ’edelbier’ than to a real, bottle-refermented tripel; in all, this is way too boozy, too ’clean’ and too unbalanced to even qualify as an acceptable example of the classic tripel style. Did not like this at all, though technically there is not much wrong with it; in this particular case, I guess it’s the lack of ambition that probably bothers me more than anything else. Simply put: boring and unbalanced ’tripel’ trying to cash in on the general commercial success of the style. Not amused.

Bottle from Bierkonig. Black with a reddish hue, offwhite head. Aroma of burnt coffee. Flavour is maple coffee, ash, bittersweet finish.

Nice and hoppy, a bit herbal. Bitter. Fairly light. Not bad.

Bottle from Bierkonig. Amber with a thin head, good lacing. Aroma of bread malts. Flavour is caramel, bread, toffee, sweet, a little spice on the finish

33cl bottle shared with Kermis at Gras van Buren. Medium off white head. LOw carbonation. CLear almost black pour. Lots of coffee. VEry good .

Bottle at Gras van de Buren, Utrecht. Dark brown with a tan head. Aroma of coffee, roast, a little green, malt, chocolate and light caramel. Flavour is light moderate sweet and above moderate bitter. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.