On tap Brussels, Sat 6th April 2024. Pours mid hazy gold with a white head. Soft squishy sweet oranges on the nose, however also in the mouth, for a hazy NEIPA this appears to be following a recent tradition of going down a slightly bitter route. It's a very good beer and straddles the divide really well.

Stone fruits, melon, juicy

1/IV/24 - 33cl can from Hopduvel (Gent) @ T. & Claudia’s dumpling night, BB: 19/IV/25 09:45 (2024-197) Thanks to T. for sharing the can!

Clear orange blond beer, big solid creamy white head, a little stable, a bit adhesive. Aroma: nice, very fruity, tropical fruits, some citrus, a bit malty. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice, good bitterness, juicy, a little sweet, citrus, malty, a bit oxidized, decent. Aftertaste: bitter, a bit fruity, a little malty, some citrus, decent!

Rice IPA – with the rice element intentionally referring to East Asian lager, I assume – created for the BBP branch in Tokyo, which has meanwhile been discontinued again. This beer is allegedly a last salute to BBP’s Japanese adventure. Can at Geus van Gent, thanks Erwin P. for sharing! Thick and foamy, snow white, stable head towering over a clear and pure golden blonde beer with vague greenish tinge. Aroma of freshly grated grapefruit zest, toasted onion, indeed burnt rice (toasted rice being actually used here – I was expecting a more ‘rice waffle’-like effect), white pepper, dried wormwood, bitterroot, grass, old strawbales, hint dried thyme, minerals. Clean onset with sharp minerally carbonation, some vague dried apple peel or old lemon zest, very restrained in sweetness; grainy bread-crusty middle with slick rice noticeable, very slightly toasty indeed, under a long, grapefruity, wormwoody and oniony hoppiness, spicy and rooty, providing long quenching bitterness. Clean to the point where I would identify it as a cold IPA or even an IPL if tasted blind, firmly bitter but lacking a bit in New World hop aromas and the toasted rice does come through more or less, but I wonder if this addition does a lot to enhance the flavours here… Drinkable enough, but perhaps a bit ‘understated’ for a ‘goodbye beer’, no?

21/III/24 - 25cl bottle, forgot where I got it from, shared @ home, BB: n/a, bottled: 8/XI/18 (2024-176)

Clear dark red brown beer, no head. Aroma: funky, sourish impression, oxidized, some nail polish, vinegar, oxidized, dire fruits, red wine, a bit funky, wood notes. MF: no carbon, medium to full body. Taste: sourish start, some vinegar, woody, some tannins, very oxidized, alcohol warming the throat, port and Madeira notes, a bit oily. Aftertaste: very sour, vinegar, earthy, tobacco, oxidized, raisins, some alcohol, acidic finish, some caramel, a little bitter.

S: yeast - light biscuits - tart fruit A: clear amber body - thin off-white head T: funky - light hops - small fruitiness P: a touch tropically - brett - mellow O: complex - easy-drinking - yeast-forward 33 cL bottle - Total Wine: Laurel, Maryland - 20-July-2022 - US$22,49/four pack - best by: 14-January-2023 - sampled: 18-March-2024 before heading back to Maryland and Europe

Can 33cl. @ poured into a shaker. Clear pale golden colour, fair frothy white head, mostly diminishing, sticky lacing. Aroma pale malt, lemon, pineapple, grassy hops. Fruity taste, medium sweet and light bitter, some acidity, bit malty, lemon, pineapple, star fruit. Light body, watery texture, average carbonation, fruity semi-dry sweet and sourish aftertaste, refreshing, very decent.

Troebel goudgeel bier met weinig schuim. Smaak is bitterzoet en fruitig met iets van citrus, ananas en wat grapefruit. OK, maar wat waterig in de mond.

Bottle. Color: Lightly hazy pale golden, thin white head. Aroma: Light tartness, fruit, stable-like funk. Taste: Fruity gooseberry and citrus, lemon, horse stable funk, hay, oak wood. Quite a lot of tannins. Over moderate to medium tart, hints of old hop. Medium body, below average carbonation. Dry finish. Ok.