Generic NEIPA by Jopen which has apparently been around for years, originally bottled, now canned as well - with my can coming from the Albert Heijn supermarket in Lokeren. Thick and frothy, snow white, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, quite coarse yet dense and stable head on a hazy (duh) apricot blonde robe with glowing yolk-yellow hue. Aroma of papaya, honey pomelo, Maaza guava drink, Aloë vera body lotion, some granadilla, fresh white bread dough, jasmin rice, Chinese (non-smoked) tea, subtle side effects of wet paprika powder, pond water (even with a certain 'rotting algae' effect at the edges) and green kale. Juicy onset, light mango and lychee effects, honey pomelo, also ripe pear, cherimoya and peach - but all a tad restrained for the style, perhaps; a very fine-bubbled, minerally carbonation effect pierces through. Smooth, bit creamy body, with the soapiness of Aloë vera-scented body lotion springing to mind again; white bread doughy malt core soaked in tropical fruit-ish hops, not very exuberantly so, yet still somewhat reminiscent of pepino, granadilla and maybe rambutan, with floral side effects and thinly structured bitterness. This thin trace of hop bitterness lingers along with that strong soapiness which accompanies this beer from the orthonasal aroma to the depths of the finish - in other words, a soapiness that very quickly becomes annoying, and uncalled for in a NEIPA. Otherwise this works fine, but true greatness was clearly never the intention here - instead, when it was first launched, it seems the idea was to have a 'core' NEIPA with which to compete with the extremely heated and crowded Dutch craft beer market of the moment, including lots of fine IPAs coming from Uiltje, Frontaal, Kees and so on. The fact that it is still around seven years later, is perhaps proof that this idea was not such a bad one, but Jopen in general has certainly done better, also in the vast IPA field.

Blik 33cl thuis. Redelijk droog, hoppig, citrus, grapefruit, tropisch fruit, licht pine, bitters. (27-2-2026).

330ml can. Quasi black colour with average to huge, frothy to creamy, moderately lasting and lacing, beige head. Rather weak, roasty, minimally bready-grainy, dark malty aroma, hints of pumpernickel, a touch of burnt yeast dough. Taste is roasty, minimally bready, dark malty, hints of pumpernickel, a touch of treacle, blood, iron.
Oily-watery texture, smooth and soft, minimally greasy palate, medium, soft carbonation.
Rather weak and basic - OK.

From the sterk from Amsterdam, drinking it at home, Epalinges., two days ago, coming from the job. A regular and interesting ipa, creamy, malty, rather dry, note of peach, lychee, a bit resinous, regular bitterness, citrus, 05.10.22

NEDIPA by Jopen, now sold in cans in the Albert Heijn supermarket chain (I got mine from the Albert Heijn in Lokeren). Off-white, thin and open ring of foam still leaving shreds of lacing and flat 'islands' in the middle, hazy warm yolk-yellow robe with vague olive tinge. Aroma of lychee, 'diesel', gin, smoky ripe papaya, spiced bread, lemon-scented soap but not in an entirely artificial way, 'abrikozenjenever', yellow kiwi, canned guava juice, spruce tips, limoncello, touch puddle water, pineapple, spoiled green beans, methylated spirits, industrial shredded mozzarella. Sweet onset, spritzy carb but not too harshly so, honey pomelo, lychee and guava with dashes of mango and kiwi, smooth body - actually feeling thinner than the ABV would predict - of doughy pale malts soaked in residual sugars and indeed tropical hops (guava, lychee, honey pomelo all over again, perhaps pineapple too), bringing only a thin grassy bitterness in the end while the sweetness fades. Not unexpectedly seen the high ABV and the altogether thin structure in comparison, gin-like alcohol breaks in agressively before all this happens, with an astringent effect in the throat - more so than usual even in the style, which more often than not suffers from this when ABV approaches or exceeds the symbolic ten per cent. Starts off fine with an inviting sweet-tropical-fruity aroma as promised, but certain off-putting, 'hidden' side aromas unveil lazy work, and in the end this beer is crudely scorched by its alcohol content before it can create a balanced finish. Even minutes after swallowing, that annoying, wry and burning alcohol element remains noticeable - and keeps irritating me, because it should be the hop flavours that linger at this point and not much else. I hate this boozy, in this case even solventy effect thoroughly so this means a bunch of points off for me - luckily aroma and onset are agreeable enough.