0.33 l bottle from 'Drinks & Gifts', best before June 2021. A little hazy, deep amber with a thin, foamy, almost stable, off-white head. Sweetish, slightly fruity-floral aroma of honey, some grains, a touch of orange jam and traces of white grapes. Gently sweet, slightly bitter, moderately fruity-floral taste of honey, caramel, grains, some orange jam and a touch of white grappes, followed by a short, moderately bitter, a bit grassy finish. Medium to full body, smooth and slightly effervescent mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Interesting beer, rather quaffable but not too outspoken, can't compare it with the original version by Christoffel as I've somehow never managed to get my hands on it.

(Draught at Arendsnest, Amsterdam, 29 Feb 2020) Amber colour with frothy, off-white head. Malty nose with notes of caramel, orange peel, toast and dried apricots. Malty, fruity taste with caramel, orange peel, toast, black-currant and a balanced citric bitterness in the finish. Medium body, with a certain malt sweetness. Tasty and well balanced. Nice one.

(Draught at De Drie Dorstige Herten, Utrecht, 27 Feb 2020) Pale amber colour with creamy, off-white head. Fruity nose with notes of dried fruit, candy sugar, caramel and candied papaya. Fruity taste with dried fruit, orange peel, candy sugar and a mild floral bitterness in the finish. Almost full body, with a certain sweetness. Tasty and well balanced tripel. Nice one.

(Draught at In De Wildeman, Amsterdam, 26 Feb 2020) Amber colour with lasting, off-white head. Malty, slightly roasted nose with crisp-bread, caramel, raisins and some burnt aromas. Malty, slightly roasted taste with notes of crisp-bread, raisins, toast and a balanced spicy bitterness. More than medium body, with a touch of sweetness. Tasty and well balanced doppelsticke. Quite nice.

Bottle. Color: Clear orange-red amber, yellow-ish off-white head. Aroma: Malt, caramel. Taste: Sweetish caramel malt, candi sugar, lightly sticky, floral hop in the background. Some more bitterness and notes of bitter orange peel at finish. Over medium and bit dense, slightly foamy body, below average carbonation. Complex fruity hints of blackberry, citrus and stone-fruit. Medium sweet, moderate to over moderate bitterness. Quite nice.

Lci

Fles gekregen van Maaike, thuis geprobeerd. Het is een amberkleurig bier met een beige schuim. Het heeft een moutige caramel achtige geur. De smaak is moutig, gebrand en dropachtig.

Blackberry porter (a ‘Baltic’ one apparently or at least intended as such, though I doubt if it is bottom-fermented) by one of the more ‘established’ and classically oriented players in the Dutch craft beer movement, from tap at Mout in Groningen. Creamy, membrane-lacing, very dense and thick, beige head, black robe with clear ruby hue visible when held under bright light. Aroma of roasted chicory, bitter black chocolate, charcoal, liquorish, touch of cassis rather than actual raspberry, nutmeg, glue-like solvents, hint dry earth, gravy. Immediately dry onset, very restrained in sweetness, light umami touch, fizzy carb, full and oily body; deeply toasted-nutty maltiness with outspoken roasted bitter tail and slightly ‘dirty’ sourish undertone from the fruit, but again more cassis-like in flavour (though very subtly so) than raspberry-like; liquorish (apparently added) and light bayleaf aspects in the finish along with peppery hop bitterness supporting the lingering, strong roasted, even ashy bitterness. Solventy an mildly boozy aspects as well as a light ‘dirtiness’ contribute to an overall astringent effect. In all, not a bad effort, with a straightforwardly roasted-bitter profile and hefty alcohol content that might indeed justify the ‘Baltic porter’ characterization; the raspberries, however, are only a faraway echo here and I would not have been able to identify them hadn’t I known that they were there. I think a touch more raspberry sweetness could ‘fill’ and thus further improve this beer.

Not a fan of liquorice but this one is pretty good. Definitely like the liquorice wine gums but more fruity.

33cl bottle at Locus Publicus. Thin beige head. Hazy light amber pour. Light bitterness.