Peated dark beer by Stefaan Beaumont, the man behind Schooiersbier who goes by the alias Stef McDef apparently, hence the name. Limitedly brewed last year by Steeman but following the same recipe as Steeman's own Knife & Fork, bottled in Vichy bottles and carrying 9.9% ABV; a second version has apparently been brewed afterwards but at Brouwerij Danny, bottled in Steinie bottles and with 9.0% ABV, yet with all the same ingredients. Complicated case, but certainly an interesting one... Anyway, I have the Steeman version in front of me, courtesy of tderoeck. Begins with very violent gushing, beer spouting out of the bottle upon opening - it's a good thing I opened this over the sink... Very thick and foamy, membrane-like lacing, very mousy, ecru-beige head over a misty, very dark chocolate brown beer, superficially blackish but actually still translucent with a deep, burgundy-red hue. Strong peat in the nose indeed - noticeable from a yard away - reminiscent of course of an Islay whisky and actual wet peat, cigar ashes, fresh seaweed, toffee, candi sugar, stewed plums, chocolate cake, candied figs, fresh thyme, brown bread dough. Fruity, sweet onset, dark candi sugar but nothing cloying, hints of dates, medlar and a whiff of banana, very lively carbonated (related to the gushing) but not too 'painfully' so - small-bubbled, as it were; essentially very soft, fluffy body harshened by this overcarbonation. Brown-bready and notably toffeeish maltiness, sweet with a toasted bitter edge coming a bit more to the foreground in the end, when it gets almost completely soaked up by this very pronounced, smoky and almost 'salty', iodine-like peatiness - combining with warming, glowing alcohol to create a very whisky-like effect. Bittersweet toffeeish maltiness (though much more sweet than bitter), fruity esters and a dash of herbal hop bitterness linger along. I never had Steeman's own Fork & Knife but assuming it is more or less the same beer (though even stronger apparently), I should probably begin to pay more attention to that brewery... This is quite a daring move for a local Belgian brewery, not far removed from the peaty beers produced by Dochter van de Korenaar, though unfortunately not at the same level of technical mastery. Still, in spite of the gushing and overcarbonation, this is a very enjoyable, powerful beer - provided of course that you really, really love peat(ed whisky), something even many experienced beer drinkers tend to eschew, from what I hear in the beer world. Not for the faint-hearted - or even the average Belgian 'speciaalbierdrinker' - but one worth noting, unknown as it may be. I am left wondering if the Danny version is an improvement of this one, or not - I should perhaps contact this Mr. McDef again and try to obtain a bottle through him.

11/X/19 - 33cl bottle @ Biernamaals bierfestival (Gent), BB: n/a - (2019-1723)

Clear red brown beer, small creamy beige head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: very peated, sweet impression, caramel, some ripe banana. MF: very carbonated, too much, medium body. Taste: very peated, nice roast, malty, little sweet, bitter touch, more peat, some caramel. Aftertaste: caramel, dry, very peated, smoky, some dark chocolate, more peat.

24 February 2019. Wieze Bierfestival - cheers to Meeki, Ama Deke & the lovely Anke! Clear pale golden with a lasting, small, frothy, off-white head. Aroma of mandarin peel, bitter mango, grain, yeast, breadcrust, lime, unripe apple & pear, spring onion. Taste is light fruity sweet, apple peel, pear & pineapple, quickly turning medium hoppy bitter with bitter mango flesh & mandarin peel, bit 'crude' grainy, yeasty & dank oniony, some sourish lime in the back. Dryish, floral hoppy finish, somewhat dank & yeasty again, some grapefruit peel too. Medium body, slick texture, fizzy carbonation. Still a bit crude in execution but certainly a good try.

Imported from my RateBeer account as Steeman Knife & Fork (by Brouwerij Steeman):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, MyTotalScore: 3.7/5

26/XII/18 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ Thomas' place, BB: 14/XI/20 - (2018-2031)
Clear dark brown beer, big creamy fizzy beige head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: super smoky, lots of smoke actually! Some chocolate, soft roast, sweet malts. MF: very lively carbon, medium body. Taste: slightly sourish, very smoky, soft roast, some caramel, little bitter, more smoke. Aftertaste: bitter touch, cocoa powder, camp fire, roasted, chocolate notes. Nice one!

Imported from my RateBeer account as Steeman Dr. Rudi (by Brouwerij Steeman):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 4/5, Taste: 7/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 15/20, MyTotalScore: 3.7/5

26/XII/18 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ Thomas' place, BB: 21/VIII/20 - (2018-2030)
Clear blond beer, medium white creamy head, pretty stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: pretty fruity, lychees, sweet ripe fruits, some peaches. MF: lively carbon, medium to light body. Taste: bitter start, fruity notes, pretty bitter, hoppy, bit herbal, some peaches, dry, bit yeasty. Aftertaste: fruity, some grapefruit, hoppy, citrus, lychee touch, fruity, more citrus, nice one!

Imported from my RateBeer account as Steeman Hopmonkey (by Brouwerij Steeman):
Aroma: 8/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 8/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 16/20, MyTotalScore: 3.8/5

26/XII/18 - 33cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ Thomas' place, BB: 21/VIII/20 - (2018-2029)
Pretty clear blond to yellow beer, small creamy white head, pretty stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: fruity start, citrus, bit lemony, sour pineapples. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: little bitter, fruity, bit resinous, citrus, some grapefruit, nice and hoppy. Aftertaste: more citrus, some pineapple, bit herbal, grassy, bitter, fruity touch, bit acidic.

At Wieze Bierfestival, 18 March 2018. Deputy Taster: Anke.
Hazy dark brown with a big, lasting, foamy, tan head. Intense aroma of smoke, smoked meat, peated whisky, roasted malt, some dark fruits. It tastes medium malty sweet and light to medium roasted bitter with smoky tones; dry, roasted & smoky finish with warming (whisky) alcohol. Medium to full body, creamy texture, fizzy carbonation. Nicely done!

New IPA-intended ale from this young micro brewer and, according to the man himself, "a little bit dry-hopped with Citra" (why only a little bit?). Moussy, snow white, stable head, hazy peach blonde robe with ochre-ish hue. Aroma does indeed convey the present-day IPA characteristics: fresh lemon zest, stale lime juice, olive oil, sweet onions, dough, orange flesh, but some wet paper and soap as well. Fairly clean fruity onset (for a Belgian IPA especially), sweetish pineapple and pear notes, fizzy carbonation (a bit much so for this type of beer but acceptable), bit oily mouthfeel. Cereally, lightly bready maltiness, a tad grainy, supporting a long, oily, oniony and grapefruity hop bitter finish with spicy yeast notes scattered throughout - but it is still the hops which get all the credits here, and that is what IPA is all about. Not a game-changer of course, in a world teeming with hop-forward beers, but that said, this is remarkably to the point for a Belgian made one, the hoppiness sufficiently shines without being bothered too much by Belgian yeastiness (though its effects are certainly there). Nice surprise, actually, didn't expect this coming from Steeman...