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.

‘Triple’ stout, in essence an imperial stout, made deliberately old school by basing it on a London recipe dating back to 1877, when the trade of imperial stouts from London to the Baltic still existed – oh how I would love to have a time machine… Sampled from tap at Dok in Hal 16, Ghent. Pale grey-beige, moussy, medium thick head on a jet black beer. Aroma of cappuccino, bitter black chocolate, bayleaf, espresso powder, wood glue, damp autumn leaves, nutmeg, toasted walnuts, chewing tobacco, brown rum, beef stock, rainwater. Sweetish onset (date, candied fig) under a significant amount of beef stock-like umami, medium carbonated; thick walnutty, hard-caramelly and toasted-bready middle with spicy notes of bayleaf and clove. A bitter chocolate effect as well as coffeeish roastedness set in in the finish, along with solventy effects, herbal hops and a glowing, whisky-like booziness. Powerful, thick stout alright, but too protein-, solvent- and ester-rich for my liking; it is hard to judge if this triple stout would have tasted like this back in the late 19th century, but judging by historical accounts as well as the few ‘authentic’ imperial stout brands that survived till today (or recently), I think the result should have been cleaner, which I would have preferred myself as well. Still an interesting one, and Butcher’s Tears does go up a notch in my book if they have started to explore historical recipes of now popular beer styles.

Bottle at home, picked up from Sterk in November, consumed 3rd January 2022. Pours a thick black stout. Aroma is dark chocolate, umami, soy. Taste is bitter chocolate and umami, soy and barrel, light liquor. Overall tasty and not too sweet.

33cl can from a trade with MonsterMagnet, thanks! A clear reddish brown beer with a beige head. Aroma of dark caramelized malt and bread. Taste of dark malt, some red fruits, caramel, nuts, spicy bitterness.

Can 33cl. @home poured into a fotted pilsner glass. Clear deep amberbrown colour, fluffy beige head, good retention and lacing. Aroma roasted malts, toffee, brown sugar, grain, molasses, earthy notes, retronasal roast and some smoke. Taste medium sweet and light bitter, malty, roasty, toffee, grain, brown bread, light molasses. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, roasty sweetbitter aftertaste, light spicy notes, touch of cocoa, tasty, good brew!