Japanese “pale ale”, or rather a pale ale from a Japanese style bottle, as this is actually brewed in Paris; bottle from the Delhaize supermarket at Watersportbaan in Ghent. Snow white, thick and frothy, ‘regular-bubbled’, stable head, initially near-clear orangey ‘old gold’ robe, deeper apricot blonde and misty with sediment, with fine strings of sparkling throughout. Aroma of ripe banana, herb cheese spread, jasmin tea, orange water and even Persian rice pudding, ginger candy, soap, old leeks, mild lightstruck effect quickly fading, dust. Cleanly fruity onset, clear and bubblegummy banana ester with a touch of red apple and pineapple, sharply stinging and very minerally carbonation, slick and lean mouthfeel; cereally pale malt sweetish body, bit on the thin side, with honeyish sugariness on top, very lightly caramelly; aromas in the finish are much more exotically floral (rosewater, orange water, jasmin) than credibly hoppy as one would expect from a pale ale in the modern sense of the word, perfumey almost, but there is a late grassy bitterness to the tail with a certain spiciness to it. Chalky and minerally accents lingering as well. Fairly enjoyable ale, all things considered, but hardly a pale ale in any serious way, with a weird and somewhat artificial perfumey character to it. Better than expected, still, but my expectations were low enough to begin with.

Small off-white head over finely carbonated pale orange-yellow beer. Nose with cookies, pipe tobacco, preserved ginger, sweetish-spiced, but hints at acidity. Again spicy, sweet ginger and this faint flavour, reminiscent of sauced pipe tobacco. Very thin body, feels spritzy to fizzy, watery (sparkling variety). Fake Japanese if you read closely. Fake beer if you ask me.