23 January 2022. At Hal 16 (Dok Brewing). Shared with the lovely Anke.

Hazy dark brown, blackish, thin, frothy, tan head. Aroma of date, dried fig, mocha, caramel sauce, chocolate powder, almond, coffee liqueur, apricot, toast, odd hint of Cola. Taste has sweet date, raisin & plum over a caramelly, chocolatey, bit toasty malt base; nutty and earthy-umami accents lead the way towards the herbal hoppy finish; lingering mocha, chocolate, clove, dried fruits and heating brandy-like alcohol; bitter effect but ongoing sweetish too. Full body, oily texture, average carbonation. Thick, chewy, very enjoyable.

23/II/22 - on tap @ DOK Brewing Company (Gent), BB: n/a (2022-210)

Clear deep red to red brown beer, small creamy white head, unstable, non adhesive. Aroma: weird, very sourish, vinegar notes, bit dirty. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: acidic start, some vinegar, a bit lemony, bitter, gentle roast, dry. Aftertaste: more dried fruits, some vinegar, sourish, bit lemony, quite some alcohol, a little bitter, some tannins.

Bottle shared. Mahogany with creamy beige head. Figs, caramel, sweet herbal candy, walnuts, alcohol, bitter hops. Quite sweet and bitter. Full bodied. Noice.

Tasty!

Decent base beer. Light, perhaps thin, bodied on top of very frontal flavours. The smoke is displayed in proper balance and intensity. Lacking complexity to some extent. A bit one-dimensional. Kleinr appel ams

Nordic style farmhouse ale by Butcher’s Tears in Amsterdam, from tap at Dok. Tiny-bubbled, creamy, pale beige ring of foam on a hazy burgundy-bronze beer with ruddy hue. Aroma of cranberries, caramel, cooked beetroot and beetroot juice, juniper berries, cherry tree resin, red apple peel, clove, dried prunes. Fruity, estery onset, red apple, some cherry and plum but all in a sweet kind of way, sharpish carb, full and smooth mouthfeel; hard-caramelly, lightly nutty and toasty-bitterish and slightly smoky malts, moderately sweet with bready yeasty and spicy aspects running wild, varying from added juniper berry to phenolic clove and herbal tea-like hoppiness – the latter providing only soft bitterness. Decent enough, with a certain Belgian yeastiness to it, leafy, phenolic and herbal, but the juniper effect does lend it a Nordic touch for sure – I initially even thought this beer was created by some Danish or Norwegian craft brewer. Mission accomplished, but lacking a bit in finesse for me.