28 April 2019. At Zythos Bierfestival. Cheers to Anke, 77ships & tderoeck! Clear golden, unstable, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of old apple, garden herbs, flowers, lactic acid, wood, unripe apricot, vanilla. Taste is light fruity sweet, notes of young apple & pear on a thorough funky, lactic base, yeast & sourdough, a bit grassy bitter, spicy touch, bready malts for support. Dry, grassy, bit peppery hoppy finish, flowery, lingering subtle funkiness. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Interesting ‘mix’ for sure.

Belgoo's Bloemekei infused with lambic from Lambiek Fabriek and since Belgoo has discontinued its own lambic ventures (and will no longer produce its Bikske), leaving spontaneous fermentation completely to now good revolving Lambiek Fabriek, this beer will replace the former Belgoo Bloemekei Mè Bikske, which I sadly missed. This version I made sure not to miss, though, sampled at ZBF 2019. Creamy, mousy, dense, egg-white, stable head on a lightly hazy pale golden beer with subtly greenish tinge. Aroma does indeed reflect its premise, combining modern IPA hopping with a dash of sour: lots of lime peel, yellow curry, green onions, dough, sour apples, mango, white grapes, melon, vague background touch of something sulfuric. Crisp, fruity onset, lime, green apple, touch of unripe melon, softish carb, soft and fluffy 'doughy' maltiness with a mild sourish undertone reflecting the lambic - subtly so, but unmistakably at the same time. Finishes with an oniony and zesty hop character, soft bitterness with bready and somewhat chalky notes, while that lime peel sourness from the lambic continues - and matches very well with the hop character, providing an extremely refreshing quality. Utterly refreshing, modern 'sour IPA' but in reality just a 'versnijbier' of course - too bad I didn't get to compare this with Belgoo's own Bloemekei Mè Bikske, but I guess the end result was very comparable with this. Very surprising, with the properties of the New World hops and the lambic working together to create some truly unique aromas. Left me wondering what it was intended like, but my suspicions proved correct. Surely one to drink young and fresh from tap, though it does make one wonder how such an unusual and unlikely combination would age in a bottle...

Bottled at Pressklubben, Stockholm. Hazy bright orange colour, lively head. Citric nose with very mild tones of barnyard. Tart with medium body and spritzy mouthfeel. Citric with more tangerine than brett. Mildly bitter finish. Nice, but not great.

Hazy dark blond colour with no head. Aroma and flavour have nice chalky dryness and tartness too. Pleasantly woody and dry in the finish. Well balanced.

Straw blond with clumpy head. Aroma is exceptionally funky. Lots of hay and barnyard notes. Flavour has a little of that too but it's got a pleasantly crisp sharpness and dry finish.

Straw blond with no head. Aroma has pleasant fruity notes. Flavour is slightly too acidic with a light throat burn. Exceptionally dry. Both woody and chalky.