Ein feines Saison, das leicht trüb und recht hefig 🍄ist. Es ist eher leicht und obwohl es nicht zu spritzig ist, passt es mit den leicht säuerlich-fruchtigen Noten für heiße Tage🌡️. Es mag an Intensität fehlen, aber was da ist, ist wirklich schmackhaft.

Ein schönes, klassisches IPA belgischer Prägung, das eine nette Verbindung zwischen belgischen, eher malzlastigen Bieren zu amerikanischen, eher hopfenlastigen IPAs. So kommt neben Biskuit 🍰 eine volle Ladung Hopfen mit zitronigen 🍋 und grasigen 🌾 Noten gepaart mit der Trübung eine NEIPA, aber nicht so intensiv auf Hopfen getrimmt. Man könnte sicher noch mehr aus dem Bier 🍺 herausholen, aber ich fand es duch sehr angenehm zu trinken.

Curieuse Neus (En Stoemelings' tripel) aged on wine barrels with added pear and Brettanomyces, one of their more gastronomically ambitious one-off projects seeking experiment and elaboration of their core range. From a 75 cl bottle bought at Willems, shared with Craftmember. Off-white, medium thick, moussy, quickly disappearing head on a cloudy orange-glowing peach blonde robe. Aroma of stale armpit sweat (Brett!), indeed ripe (Doyenné) pear, strawberry, overripe onion, urine even, medlar, hint of stinky cheese, unripe orange, hints of band aid and other 'clinical' phenols, persimmon and rainwater. Sweet-sourish onset, persimmon, strawberry and indeed ripe sweet pear, soft carb, more or less vinous mouthfeel; residual honeyish candi-sugary sweetness on top of a yoghurty- and grape-soured, caramelly and slightly biscuity malt sweet core, buried deeply under exaggerated Bretty funkiness (sweat, urine, cow stable, overripe onion) which sadly overwhelms the delicacies of the Alsace wine and brings way too many phenolic effects too, ranging from innocent clove to offensive band aid. Light earthy bitterness in the tail, paired with soft woody tannins and lingering tripel fruitiness (even banana) - before a sour effect of strawberry vinegar returns, becoming a bit too sour for something not really intended as a true sour ale. Complex for sure, a lot of things are happening here - but they fail to meet each other in a satisfying synthesis, leaving a crude construction with little sophistication. Interesting but weird, perhaps the tripel was not the best choice for this kind of treatment, and the pears only propelled the phenolic effects of the Brett forward to a level I can no longer describe as pleasant. Who knows, maybe I should have cellared this one for a much longer time? Fact of the matter is: En Stoemelings has never really convinced me and in my humble opinion still lags behind on the true grandmasters of Brussels' 'nouvelle vague' (think Senne, Ermitage, No Science or Source, to name a few)... A missed opportunity to true greatness.

Troebel lichtgeel bier met mooie schuimkraag. Smaak is licht bitterzoet en ietwat bitter met iets van bloemen, wat kruiden en wat abrikoos. Fijn bier.

Donkergeel bier met schuim. Smaak is licht bitter hoppig met iets van citrus, wat grastonen en sinaasappel. Niks mis mee.

Bouteille 75cl, BB 10/2032, lot# ROB1122, bottle# 70. Partagée avec Vincent.
Pâle/dorée, col blanc fin peu tenace.
Arôme sur un bouquet de bretts, grains - céréales avec un apport boisé de la barrique. Raisin blanc, léger côté baies.
Palais sur un caractère belge pâle bien bretté, barrique apporte un délicat caractère de chêne avec une petite pointe fruitée rappelant une douceur de myrtille, pointe de cassis/mûre, raisin. Le tout reste assez sec en fin de bouche.

Bottle at the brewery. Medium body, medium carbonation. Medium bitterness, light sweetness. Medium phenolic spiciness, med-light general fruitiness, light caramelly maltiness. Drinkable, good, a little bit more resembling something you could call an IPA, than their core Jawa IPA, but still a definitely Belgian twist here, with rather weak hops character. Tasty and drinkable though.

Bottle from the brewery. Thin body, medium carbonation. Light bitterness and sweetness. Med-light floral and light spicy flavour. Overall easy drinking, sessionable. Tasty, albeit a bit watery. Good.

Bottle from the brewery. Med-thin body, med-low carbonation. Med-light sweetness, medium sourness, seems mostly acetic - much more than fits the doppelbock imo. Moderate dried fruits, raisins. Medium caramel. A hint of chocolate. Overall rather a sipper. I would prefer more malt complexity and less acetic acid in a BA doppelbock. But it is still nice.