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.

@Papagayo Beach Bar, Westende

30 April 2019. At Dirk's First Home-made Beer Tasting. Cheers to all! Pours hazy yellow with a big, slowly thinning, frothy, white head. Aroma of wort, honey, butter, pear, apricot, banana peel, cabbage and weirdly, white chocolate. Taste is medium fruity sweet, ripe pear & apricot with faint banana, sourish touches, spicy bitter core of clove & pepper, yeasty edge, bready & honeyish maltiness leading into a dryish, faintly grassy hoppy finish that is quite phenolic as well, with the ripe fruit lingering and some warming gin-like alcohol. Medium body, creamy texture, soft carbonation. Weird mix in the aroma and slightly off as well, taste-wise only decent.

Hazy blond colour, white foam. Bit sweet with harsh bitter notes. Notes of spices, very yeasty. Bit unbalanced.