Bottle. Pale hazy yellow, white cream. Farty citric, bretty, wooden, grape, gooseberry nose. Medium dry foamy body. kiwi skin, mineral and earth, berry retronasal. Fresh, fun.

Deutlicher Brettgeruch. Trockener, weich herber Beginn. Hefig, weich würzig, hohe Süffigkeit. Spritzig, trocken bleibend, spritzig. Wenig Brettaroma, mittellanger Abgang. 10/9/9/9/12/9

One of six beers exclusively made for BXL BeerFest of this year - sadly the event had to be cancelled again due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences, but the beers were made nonetheless, luckily. The strong version of regular Éric (hence "Le Grand"), coming from a 75 cl bottle with crown cap, bottled in July, shared with my girlfriend Goedele. Bubbly, moussy, opening, audibly fizzing, snow white head, unstable and dissolving; misty cherry red robe with vermillion glow and lots of lively sparkling. Aroma of strong raspberry purée - and only little of that typical tomato aspect I always get in a raspberry beer probably just because purée was used instead of real fruit, bread crust, freshly cut grass, lime juice, roses, rosé wine indeed and getting stronger when warming up, minerals, red apple, kefir, vague sweaty Brett but remaining very subtle, hints of dust and even old worn out (natural) rubber. Very spritzy onset, lots of fizzing carbonation like sparkling water, very minerally, but soon enough the sweet, fresh red raspberry flavour comes up, edged by its own soft acidity, but also something lime-like from the beer itself; red apple and plum notes appear as well. Supple body - actually feeling quite light for its ABV - cereally and bready, the latter also relatable to the use of rye, even that dim, faint spice bread element is recognizable if you try hard enough. Meanwhile, that raspberry sour-and-sweetness continues, but from the middle onwards, gradually makes place for the rosé wine, coming up like a wave that washes many of the initial 'fruit sour beer' elements away; very grapey, juicy and vinous in the end, dominance of rosé wine even, with very little that I can associate with Brett (probably not very active yet at this age). A warming, again wine-like alcohol glow in the finishing stage only reinforces the sparkling rosé wine or rosé champagne effect. This beverage moves from a typical raspberry-flavoured kettle sour to a fizzing rosé wine - a cleverly constructed shift of flavours, and worthy of that recurring term 'beer-wine hybrid'. Unusual in that sense, but tasty, and no doubt recommendable to people who are into (rosé) wine as well, in a more convincing way than is often the case in beers flirting with wine culture and wine techniques. Pleasantly surprised, if not very beery; I hope I can get a chance to taste this one again with, say, four to six months of ageing on it, if only to see what the Brett will have done by that time as now, at a month and a half, this element, though announced on the label, remains remarkably absent (or nearly so).

EIn Sauerbier, das irgendwie mit Orange WIne gemixt wurde. Es ist auch vom Auftreten eher als Wein als Bier zu sehen, nut mit viel weniger Säure und einen karamelligen Unterton als klassicher (Orange) Wein. Als abendlicher Schlummertrunk im Stielglas nicht schlecht, aber nochmals würde ich es nicht kaufen.

Black with a foamy head of modest duration. Aroma of coffee grounds, ashes, nutmeg, and vinegar. Taste is mix of burnt bitterness and Brett tartness. Finishes sour with lingering hints of coffee and soy sauce. Body to the full side of medium, moderate carbonation. The alcohol is perfectly hidden. Well made, but this mix of flavors would not be among the more enticing for me.

33cl bottle. A black beer with a tan head. Aroma of dark roasted malt, coffee, dark fruits. Taste of dark roasted malt, liquorice, dark fruits, coffee.

🖥️🍂🤰🍊

33cl bottle. A slightly hazy yellow golden beer with a white head. Aroma of yeast, herbal malt, grains. Taste of grainy malt, pale malt, herbal malt, yeast.