Imported from untappd on 02-05-2020

@home - 50cl bottle from Bierhalle Deconinck

One of Jef Piren's latest creations, a mind fucking blond beer according to the front label, but strangely anything but blonde - did he make a mistake there or is this really intended as a mind f*ck? Anyway, the actual beer seems to be a strong lager of sorts and indeed black like the name suggests, so possibly qualifying as a lighter Baltic porter? Initially medium thick, pale greyish beige, regular, mousy, slowly opening and eventually completely dissolving head (not a bubble left in the end); black robe with hazy, brown-mahogany-hued edges, wafer-thin initially but more 'visible' with sediment. Surprisingly sweet, quite delicate aroma of melting 'fondant' chocolate, Belgian 'pralines', caramel sauce, fig syrup, port-soaked raisins, candied cherries, cola, hints of raw cinnamon, young 'jenever', nutmeg, minerals, old liquorish. Sweet onset, candied cherry, fig, ripe pear, fruity but in a clean way and not so much estery - more malt fruitiness, so this could indeed be a lager; quite softish carb for this kind of beer, smooth and oily, also notably resinous mouthfeel. Toffeeish, caramel sauce- and pear syrup-like middle, slick maltiness with a mildly bitterish toasty edge, but sweetness dominates, with a sourish undertone providing balance; meanwhile a tingling, bit burning feeling on the tongue betrays the presence of alcohol, weirdly so at an ABV below 7%. Ends warming, rounded, with a minerally aspect and softly bittering toastiness and herbal hoppiness, with the bitterness a bit accentuated by the alcohol; caramelly malt sweetness, however, remains, in a 'real' caramelly, even weirdly cola-like way - leading me to suspect that this may indeed be a blonde beer (and perhaps, seen the cleanness, indeed a lager) that has been coloured black with some or other additive, possibly caramel, though the light toasty aspect does point at dark malts also having been thrown in here. In that sense, this is indeed a rather puzzling beer, difficult to classify like many other of DOM's creations; it does have the general profile of a Baltic porter (even if a bit less strong than is traditionally the case in that style), so I will contact the brewer in an attempt to find out what the intention was. Regardless of these stylistic question marks, though, it is by all means an enjoyable, heart-warming, rounded and well-made beer, that could just as well have been part of their ongoing Homo Beerectus series...

Pours viscously to a huge orange-russet head, thick and dense over black beer. Lots and lots of roast, black chocolate, rust, metallic, chocolate toffees, but also brandy. Good dose of typical stout acidity followed by roast, finishing bitter with metallic-rusty tang. Feels full-bodied, warming, chewy. I have the impression there's a lot of restsugars still unfermented. Alcohol is present, but still mute relatively to its whopping 12%. Good carbonation even if the ABV destroys the head quickly. A good example of the type of overpowering beer on steroids I've had often before. I Many thanks to Louis! /I

Bottle, bottled 2018, bottle 1146/1250. Color: Almost clear orange amber to copper, very thin to no head. Aroma: Alcoholic, sweetish, fruity Cognac, nuts. Taste: Wood, boozy, a lot of fruity and dry Cognac, sweetish and lighty bitter. Notes of nuts. Hints of caramel and raisins. Dried plum, dried grapes. Over medium body, low carbonation. Hard to rate this beer. In one way, I really like it, but on the other hand it's more like drinking Cognac, I presume. Sticky. Unbalanced, not much of the beer left. Should be sold in smaller bottles in my opinion to fully enjoy this one. Drinking it like Cognac. A full bottle is too much at once.

20/09/2019 - small draught glass @GIST. Cloudy amber, medium white head. Nose is malts, fruits, alcohol. Taste sweet malts, ripe fruits, dry, boozy, but in a nice way. Interesting.

Bottle at home. Nice dark red colored beer with an average sized off-white head. Aroma is odd, tart, sour red fruits. Flavor also has a tart hint, but also a sweetish slightly sugary note, spices, malts and some distant bitterness with a little bit of red fruit in the mix as well. Odd. Not my thing.

@ BXL Beer fest 2019. Hazy dark amber brownish colour, no foam. Sweet, boozy, light tart, lots of booze and alcohol along with some vinous notes. A bit unbalanced.

330ml bottle, no wrapper bottle. Vintage 2017, batch number 0022. Piana srednia i szybko opada, kolor brazowy z czerwonym przeswitem, po dolaniu resztek silnie zmetnione i bez jakichkolwiek przeswitow, piana bezowa. Poczatkowo lodkie, pierniki czekoladowym nadzieniem, marmolada lub powidla sliwkowe, dosladzane, fajne tresciwe i glebokie piwo.