#wheat

#wheat #wit

Pours unclear warm amberblonde. MEdium small white head fades fast, but not instantly. Scent is fairly mild on the funk, oak and lactic, almost like a AMLAM more than a lambic. Less agressive and fruity though, creating an experience that's more of a stand-alone. Taste is very phenolic (caught me a bit by surprise here) , brett, wood (very outspoken wood, even tannic - are these fresh barels?) and quite damn bitter (most bitter geuze-style to date to me) Acidity is mild. The beer isn't that balanced to me, bitterness should be way down, acidity (way) up , and a more complex yeast/funk character to be really 'in style'. As a beer on it's own, I still think this is far to bitter for it's balance. Shame, I expected quite a bit more of this one. As a huge fan of Sherry (Fino being one of them) I have no clue as to why the label states it has qualities of a Fino Sherry - it simply doesn't, nowhere near. I say this with the absolute most respect to Ronald, a very talented brewer, but this beer - if a Geuze style is the goal, should be tweaked quite a bit. If a Fino-like beer is the goal, perhaps it's best to start with a blank page.

8/VI/25 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ ElManana+1’s place, BB: 15/II/27, lot: 2025/0033 (2025-534)

Pretty clear orange blond beer, creamy dense white head, a little stable, non adhesive. Aroma: very malty, grains, hay, a bit oxidized, some honey, cow fodder, some cardboard. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice, a bit malty, pretty bitter, a bit sourish, grassy. Aftertaste: malty, oxidized, some tannins, bitter, orange peel, grains, more oxidation.

It has been a long time since I had a DVDK tick so I am looking forward to this: the cranberry 'fruit beer' version of Bien-Sûr, a sour ale aged in gin barrels. This derivative version was originally aged in gin barrels too (see the picture above for the original label explicitly mentioning it), but the present-day one just mentions barrel ageing in general, probably because the brewer did not want to be strictly attached to only gin barrels anymore and still wanted to continue this formula; I leave it to the admins to decide if this warrants a new entry or not (for me it does not, gin barrels are 'included' in barrels in general so the way it is currently brewed, is basically just an 'extension' of the original and does not contradict it). Thick and frothy, regular, pale greyish beige, fine-bubbled, slowly dissipating head over a dark chestnut brown robe with ruddy-burgundy glow. Aroma of indeed actual cranberries (as if gathered in the wild), wild blackberries, sour grapes, soggy dark brown bread, medium dry sherry, very old and oxidized red wine, Cumberland sauce for venison, fried oyster mushrooms, dry forest floor, vanillin from oak wood, passionfruit, still a background touch of gin or at least something 'botanical' as they say, beetroot. Unsurprisingly very fruity onset, clear cranberry flavour delivered generously, in a vinous, medium tart way - the tartness simultaneously stimulated by the beer's own blackberry-ish natural tartness and mitigated by a soft malty sweet element. Lively carbonation, fizzing on the tongue, also accentuates the sour side, which eventually gains the upper hand in a pleasantly refreshing, continuously red berry-like way, not really lemony, neither too wry or vinegary. Supple brown-bready maltiness under ongoing cranberry acidity, yoghurty lactic tartness and overall sour berry-like fruitiness - with those soft, sweet malts beautifully absorbing part of the sourness. Tannic wood effects in the finish, a tad astringent in combination with the sourness, but the noble oaky flavours match well with everything else - also with a toasty and eventually leafy-hoppy bitter note that graces the finishing stage. Herbal notes linger afterwards too, as in black tea, clove and Glühwein - subtle enough not to annoy me, but noticeable enough to bring up that gin association again, so I suspect my sample still at least partially made use of gin barrels. Needless to say, the sheer generosity of the cranberries ensures that this juicy, 'foresty' red berry flavour maintains dominance till the very last drop - aided by a yeasty earthiness reinforcing my associations with the woods and boglands in Upper Belgium where I found wild cranberries almost three decades ago. Plunging into nature in my earlier life and creating memories from it has helped me a lot in appreciating certain 'artisanal' beers later on, and this one is a nice example of that... Highly drinkable but complex enough to entertain from beginning to end, vinous, fruity in a 'dark' and autumny kind of way, rustic and balanced sour ale - a very nice offering from DVDK, once again.

On tap at Het Lagerhuys [as l'Esprit de l'Ete]. Pours dark brown with a beige head. Roasted malts, a touch coffee, some cinnamon and allspice. Flavour has light roast, stale bread, coffee, light winter spices. Pretty run-of-the-mill winter beer.

25/V/25 - 33cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker), shared @ home, BB: 15/XI/26, lot: 2024/0142 (2025-500)

Pretty clear dark brown beer, creamy irregular beige head, little stable, adhesive, leaving some lacing in the glass. Aroma: spicy, some cinnamon, pumpkin spices, gentle roast, ripe to overripe banana. MF: lively carbon, medium body. Taste: good roast, dark chocolate, very spicy, nutmeg, cloves, a hint of cinnamon, lots of pumpkin spices, caramel, pretty sweet. Aftertaste: spicy, cloves, gentle bitterness, good roast.