Bottle. Bier Huis, Ossett. Deep ruby red. Fine off white head. Nose has fig and date. Raisins. Some leafy hop. Some caramel. Taste is super sweet, with a leafy bitterness. Smooth enough on the palate with soft carbonation. Feels all of the ABV. Dries out on the finish. Tasty gear, albeit a bit unrefined.

24/X/21 - 33cl bottle from a trade, shared @ Arno & Meggy’s place, BB: VII/2021 (2021-1192) Thanks to Bierridder_S for the trade!

Clear red brown beer, practically no head. Aroma: dark caramel, milk chocolate, spicy, liquorice, star anise, coffee, overripe banana. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet and sugary start, lots of caramel, spicy, liquorice. Aftertaste: more spices, lots of anise, star anise, little bitter, more overripe banana. Not bad, but not very impressive either…

Small off-white head over hazy ochre-golden beer. Nose of sweet bread, suikerbrood , but then garden weeds, bit insectoid. Quite bitter, EU hops, bitterness turns metallic, whilst the beer becomes watery in the finish. Vegetable bitterness throughout, again the garden weeds, raw leaves, chicory. Good carbonation, light body; long metallic bitterness in the aftertaste. Jus de quoi? Wrong hops. Thanks to Stef!

Good foxy-cream head, rather stable over very dark brown beer. Melanoidins, dry, wood, old chocolate, classical dubbel. Much more sweet in the mouth, dry malts mixed with sweet chocolate, ovomaltine, melanoidins, caramel. Medium bodied at least, dry finish and aftertaste, good carbonation. OK, nothing more. Thanks to Stef!

06/VI/21 - 33cl bottle from a trade, shared @ BBQ at my sister’s place, BB: IV/2021 (2021-460) Thanks to Bierridder_S for the trade!

Clear deep blond to orange beer, huge frothy creamy white head, stable, adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: very oxidized, almonds, very yeasty, spicy, sweet impression, malty. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: sweet start, malty, bread, ripe to overripe banana, gentle bitterness, somewhat soapy, sugary. Aftertaste: almonds, ripe banana, hoppy touch, sweet and sugary, bit malty, bleh.

Bottle from Spar, Ostend. Hazy dark brown, thinning off-white head. Aroma of raisin, dried fig, plum, pear, toffee, jam, toast, clove, 'burnt' wheat. Taste has sweet fig, raisin & pear against a toffee-malty backbone with phenolic notes; sourish undertone of wheat, bitter toast & herbs in the middle. Herbal hoppy finish, more spicy phenols, clove & coriander, lingering sugary dried fruits and warming brandy alcohol in the very end. Medium body, slick-sticky texture, average carbonation. Conceptually boring but technically okay. Drinkable.

Dark brown colour, beige foam. Nose of caramel, dried fruit, brown sugar. Taste is sweet, lots of caramel, some light bitterness in the finish. Ok dubbel, maybe a bit too sweet.

The second Jus de Mer (‘sea juice’) beer from Middelkerke, a dark one of course – very predictably, I am willing to make a bet that the third one will be a tripel… Thick and frothy, mousy, yellowish pale beige head, gradually opening over an initially clear, warm mahogany brow beer with copper red glow. Aroma of caramel sauce, candied cherries, fig compote, dates, clove, hints of nutmeg, brown sugar, bubblegum, raisins, sugared tea, coriander seed, thyme, ruby port and ‘koetjesreep’. Cleanly fruity with notes of ripe pear, fig, banana and date, but more dominated by brown sugar sweetness in the onset, yet in a well-measured, sleek way and not too sticky; softish fizz with full, rather resinous mouthfeel. Quite thick caramelly maltiness with an Ersatz chocolate-like edge and a brown-bready core, slightly bubblegummy at its edges, leading to a more herbal finish with coriander-like spicing (albeit subtle, certainly for a traditionally conceived Belgian dubbel) as well as light phenolic clove notes and warming, port-like alcohol; the brown sugar and caramel sweetness remains the prevailing factor till the end, but manages to avoid unpleasant stickiness. Clearly aimed at commercial easiness and predictability, but nevertheless well-crafted and tasty, probably with some interesting cellaring potential as well. --- Beer merged from original tick of Dubbel 8 on 05 Nov 2020 at 15:23 - Score: Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6. Original review text: The second Jus de Mer (‘sea juice’) beer from Middelkerke, a dark one of course – very predictably, I am willing to make a bet that the third one will be a tripel… Thick and frothy, mousy, yellowish pale beige head, gradually opening over an initially clear, warm mahogany brow beer with copper red glow. Aroma of caramel sauce, candied cherries, fig compote, dates, clove, hints of nutmeg, brown sugar, bubblegum, raisins, sugared tea, coriander seed, thyme, ruby port and ‘koetjesreep’. Cleanly fruity with notes of ripe pear, fig, banana and date, but more dominated by brown sugar sweetness in the onset, yet in a well-measured, sleek way and not too sticky; softish fizz with full, rather resinous mouthfeel. Quite thick caramelly maltiness with an Ersatz chocolate-like edge and a brown-bready core, slightly bubblegummy at its edges, leading to a more herbal finish with coriander-like spicing (albeit subtle, certainly for a traditionally conceived Belgian dubbel) as well as light phenolic clove notes and warming, port-like alcohol; the brown sugar and caramel sweetness remains the prevailing factor till the end, but manages to avoid unpleasant stickiness. Clearly aimed at commercial easiness and predictability, but nevertheless well-crafted and tasty, probably with some interesting cellaring potential as well.