Alengrin
Ghent, Belgium 🇧🇪 MemberOptions
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Alengrin (11609) reviewed Sleeping Dog from Stadsbrouwerij 't Koelschip 2 months ago
Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5
Strong dark spiced ale by Koelschip, Ostend's self-proclaimed city brewery, now sold as a 'black stout' (a pleonasm if you ask me), but I am unsure how it was first marketed because I do not follow this particular brewery's output in the least. In fact, had I known that this one comes from Koelschip, I would not even have bought it, because I think they are technically among the very worst breweries in the country - and was proven right again when I tried to open the bottle: even when trying to remain as cautious and prudent as one can be, I could not avoid losing 1/4 of the content to the sink, because the stream of gushing beer that came out after removing the crown cap was simply unstoppable (and foam kept overflowing for minutes after that). Eventually medium sized, regular, uneven-bubbled but well-structured, stable, greyish pale beige head on a cloudy very dark chocolate brown beer - not literally black as most present-day strong stouts are, but very close; I should also mention this sediment of dark grit at the bottom of my glass, adding insult to injury after that extreme gushing. Aroma of wild blackberries, wet tree leaves, soaking wet old black chocolate bars, elderberries straight from the bush, damp forest floor, a solventy touch of varnish or fresh paint, balsamico, coffee grounds, cheap whisky, caramel, burnt tree branches, moss, cloves, anise and cinnamon present but 'distorted' by the infection effects. Estery, bit 'wild' onset, sweet and tart almost like an 'oud bruin', with blackberries, elderberries and wild plums prevailing - the tartness feeling all 'deep' and 'dirty', clearly hinting at an unwanted infection. This effect persists through a medium thick body of caramelly, brown-bready and toasty malts, bittersweet but more tart than either bitter or sweet. Roasty bitterness, as in chicory, does continue in the end, accentuated by leafy hops and warming, whisky-like alcohol, while varnish-like solvents and phenolic spiciness (thyme, clove) unfold, the latter overshadowed by actually added spices - but the cinnamon feels 'raw' and unaromatic, and the others are engulfed in this earthiness, dirty-leafiness and damp-forestiness the infection has brought forth. Quite a mess, like an amateur attempt at creating a strong version of 'oud bruin'; the spices have clearly infected this beer, which stylewise hovers somewhere between a Belgian style export stout (certainly not a true Anglo-Saxon stout, mind you) and a Belgian style Scotch. This brewery should be deeply ashamed of still throwing technically flawed beers onto market in spite of the fifteen (!) years of commercial experience they have - this kind of obstinate amateurism even makes me angry. That said, the flavours are still palatable here: I had much, much worse beers by this awful brewery. I remember what a mess the place itself was many years ago - their beer shop upstairs was more organised, but still - and I wonder if it still looks the same today... In any case, I will certainly avoid their products next time I go shopping at Drinks4U in Deinze.
Alengrin
updated a beer:
Sleeping Dog
brewed by Stadsbrouwerij 't Koelschip
2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
I still deeply regret the decision La Trappe made - years ago - to reduce the distribution of their Quadrupel Oak Aged series, making it a lot harder (and more expensive) for me to obtain them, because this is the original oak aged quad series after all and it has brought me a lot of joy in the years when it was still relatively easily available. Anyway, thanks to Bart again for sharing this 54th variant, aged on Bordeaux wine barrels. Pale greyish-white, medium thick, opening, membrane-lacing head over an initially clear bronze-brown robe with copper-red glow, misty further on. Aroma of caramel candy, almond, pronounced oak 'vanilla', dried lingonberries, brandy, brown sugar, gingerbread, bubblegum, sugared tea, banana peel. Sweet, rounded onset, candi-sugary but not cloying, banana ester mingled with impressions of blue plum, raisin and candied cherry, this time also with a grape-juicy undertone from the wine barrels; medium carb, full but smooth body. Caramelly and brown-bread-doughy malt core, bubblegummy edges, hints of toffee and almond here and there, evolving into a complex finish with a more vinous character, strongly coloured by woodiness (including that vanillin effect) but also very clearly showing red Bordeaux wine effects, even though the expected grapey and tannic tartness fails to materialise - for better or for worse. Instead, a warming brandy-ish alcohol effect comes in, highlighting the dark maltiness and fruitiness rather than the astringency of red wine. The Bordeaux is there, but somehow in a more smoothened way than I was expecting - but it remains a prime example of its ilk, and it felt really heartwarming to be able to revisit a fine series I have been missing out on for many years now. If only I could catch up with all of them...
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Steinbier from Brouwerij De Poes 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
New beer by De Poes in Tielt and it is something worth investigating: Belgium's very first 'Steinbier', brewed with three different grains to a 17th-century recipe - apparently in that era, heating the wort by plunging red-hot rocks in it was more widespread than I thought, because in more recent times, 'Steinbier' (the German term gives it away) is more associated with Central Europe: the technique as such survived in Carinthia until the early 20th century and was famously revided by Leikeim in Bavaria in 2007. Several more have emerged since then, I even remember an American strong ale by The Bruery having undergone this treatment, but it never quite caught on even in craft beer times, I guess because it involves a lot of hassle especially in relation to the fairly limited flavour effects it has. In any case this 'Steinbier' should be seen as a method applicable to practically any beer style rather than as an actual beer style (comparable with a term like 'Eisbock') and in this case, De Poes simply applied it to a blonde ale of Belgian signature. Medium sized, egg-white, dense and tiny-bubbled, almost creamy, plastery-lacing, slowly breaking but generally very stable head on a misty peach blonde robe with metallic-orangey glow and disparate, fine sparkling. Aroma of halfripe banana, apple peel, cooked turnip, potato juice, sandwiches, a touch of caramel but not necessarily from the rocks, unsugared chewing gum, clove, white peach, thyme, chervil and hints of freshly struck matches and asphalt which must be the rocks. Sweetish, fruity onset, hints of halfripe peach, banana, pear and red apple peel, moderately carbonated with slight minerally effect - making it hard to determine whether there is also a minerally effect from the rocks. Supple, slick mouthfeel, bubblegummy esters and some residual sugars moving on top of a rounded-cereally pale maltiness with a thin caramelly edge - but again it remains difficult to pinpoint whether this caramelliness has anything to do with the rocks or not. Herbal and slightly leafy hop bitterness in the tail - again with a trace of lingering minerality, and again it remains nearly impossible to pick that out as an effect of the hot rocks. There is something vaguely 'caramelised' in the general taste that lingers a bit after swallowing and which I think is lacking in similar De Poes beers; I believe this is the most clear effect of this Steinbier treatment, but it too remains subtle and vague, too much so to make this creation stand out as something entirely new in Belgium purely flavour-wise. It got a bronze medal at the last edition of the Brussels Beer Challenge, but do not get distracted by that: just expect a rather 'ordinary', if technically well-executed, typical Belgian strong(ish) blonde.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Steinbier
by
Brouwerij De Poes
2 months ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Inspired by Ulika, a Belgo-Croatian wine producer experimenting with unusual maturing techniques, this is Bogaerden (or Adelaar) geuze by Sako, aged at twenty meters deep in the Adriatic Sea on the shores of the city of Poreč for a year. However bizarre that may sound, it is actually not even the only geuze that has aged under the sea: no doubt Cantillon's Iroise (served at Quintessence) must have served as a source of inspiration here too, because what are the odds of something completely new happening to lambic (and beer in general) within the same year, of course... Anyway, since Iroise was eventually added here as a separate entry, I guess this one deserves the same treatment, even though Sako - contrary to Cantillon - did not even bother to come up with a new hangtag and simply attached the existing Bascule geuze hangtag to the bottle, which is why I hesitated about the name of this product: is it De Bascule or Bogaerden? Note also that the specification 'Adriatico' to refer to the Adriatic Sea is used in the media but nowhere on the packaging... Anyhow: the bottle itself, of course, showed very fascinating signs of spending so much time on the bottom of the sea - we even found a dead Hexaplex trunculus still attached to it, a sea snail indigenous to those waters. And even though the muselet had rusted, both it and the cork were still firmly in place - even taking some effort to be removed, but when that was achieved, no one in the room was prepared for the huge amount of gushing that ensued; it is said that the constant rocking back and forth of the bottles in the sea (due to currents) has its own special effect on the wild yeasts inside - it seems this has rendered the yeasts all stressed up and overly active... Anyway, after losing 1/4 of the bottle: snow white, medium thick, irregular and opening head on a hazy apricot blonde robe with orangey glow. Aroma indeed with a very light 'sea breeze' - even more detectable than I was expecting, thinly draped over the usual impressions of lemon rind, gooseberry, unripe peach, sourdough, old wood, old dusty yellow curry powder, green apple peel, dry hay and, again, something vaguely reminiscent of raw mussels. Tart onset yet 'mals', unripe apricot, sour grape, lemony touch - sharper and drier than I recall from the 'ordinary' Bascule geuze but in line with the regular Bogaerden (formerly Adelaar); finely tingling effervescence, mellow sourdoughy-bready core under yoghurty-fruity lactic tartness, unripe stonefruit accents and woodiness, with a thin yet assertive lemony edge persisting. Under this all lurks a very light touch of saltiness - the people present at the table who actually had Cantillon's Iroise testified that in comparison, this Adriatico geuze showed a much clearer effect from the sea for some reason. Too bad for the violent gushing, but generally a very interesting experiment indeed - I must thank my neighbour Jo for fixing these unique bottles!
Alengrin
added a new beer
Bogaerden Oude Geuze 'Adriatico' (Een Jaar Onder Water)
by
Brouwerij-Stokerij Sako
2 months ago
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Oude Geuze VAT 44 from Brouwerij F. Boon 2 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
The very first in this highly entertaining series of Boon Monoblends, released in 2013, with the main lambic (the one coming specifically from VAT 44 and constituting 90% of the blend) already brewed five years earlier than that. I have followed and loved this series ever since but strangely found that this original one was the only one I had not yet rated here in spite of having tasted it back then - due to the fact that most of my ratings here were imported from Ratebeer, which for some reason aliased this first edition to the VAT 77 edition released in 2014. I do not remember the reason why they considered both editions to be identical, but if all the others (VAT 16, VAT 31, VAT 108 and so on, and so forth) are separate, then it feels only logical to also keep VAT 44 and VAT 77 separate as it is done here - but this of course presented me with the challenge of finding a vintage bottle of the 44 to re-review, for which I cannot thank my beer buddy Bart enough. Needs a bit of forcing to develop a head but once it is there, it remains for the entire session, as an egg-white, densely structured, medium thick, partially breaking but regular, shred-lacing head, over an initially clear, warm old-golden beer with orangey glow and disparate, fine-bubbled sparkling, turning misty further on. Somewhat faded aroma of storage apples, wet wooden boards, unripe pear and unripe green peach, bread crust, yellow curry powder somewhere or perhaps even 'vin jaune', old wool blankets and jute bags, raw courgette, bitter garden weeds, a faint whiff of old dried orange pith and a bit of 'rusty' oxidation upon opening but completely vanishing in an instant (and not returning). Still crisp onset, but in a mellowed way, with lots of unripe stonefruit, wild apple and some gooseberry, only softly tart so notably 'mals' even for a Boon blend; this softness is, for a large part, due to the carbonation having partially dissolved (explaining the forcing needed to obtain a head as well), because even if minute bubbles are still visible in the beer, on the tongue they feel weakened compared with a fresh bottle of any representative of this series. Supple, rounded body, lactic tartness running through a very bready core - tasting more bready, especially in the finish, than when it was young, probably due to dead yeast effects but very agreeable. Astringent woody tannins in the finish, along with this continuing breadiness and mellowed tart fruit effects - with more sharpness coming from the wood than from any of the acids. Adding complexity, however, are a background of Brettanomyces funkiness (Michael Jackson's proverbial horseblanket), with these wild yeasts also having made the beer drier than it was when it was young; in the tail, a deep, 'dark green', earthy bitterness of old hops trails, lingering for a long time after swallowing. Retronasally a brief whiff of this typical 'rusty' oxidation is noticeable for a moment. After twelve years of ageing in the bottle, this blend still displays complexity, but it is clear that the 'sparkle' has faded, due to the flavours in generally having been leveled a bit, the carbon dioxide having escaped in an important degree and some vague and volatile oxidation having set in. Maybe these Monoblends are not the best options for long-time cellaring - after all, their sheer composition of 90% old lambic with only 10% young lambic probably already gives that away. I would not recommend keeping them for any longer than the twelve years this particular sample has been ageing - even those twelve years are already a bit of a stretch if you are particularly fussy about the quality of your lambic. But I am nitpicking here: the lingering effects of bread, sour apples and stonefruit as I am writing this, remaining in the throat long after the woody and old-hoppy effects have slowly disappeared, are highly enjoyable. First and foremost, though, I am very happy to have revisited this one after twelve years - the memory of first getting to know this series is a cherished one, and I admit I like filling in the gap as well, so big cheers to Bart for this bottle!
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Brew 4000 from Fremont Brewing Company 3 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9.5
The 4000th brew by this celebrated Seattle brewery - which calls for a special one, as was the case with the 1000th, 2000th and 3000th brews as well. Cheers to Martijn for sharing this gem at Proevertjesdag. Tiny-bubbled, open yet stable, yellow-beige head on a clear deep bronze robe with copper-red glow, a tad darker than average for any kind of barleywine. Aroma of Belgian chocolates, vanilla and indeed the bourbon behind it, oak, candied fig, madera, white port, pear syrup, dates, yellow raisins, 'boerenjongens', marzipan, toffee, cognac. Densely candied onset, sweet candied figs and cherries, Sultana raisins soaked in white rum, soft carb with full yet vinous mouthfeel - a tad sticky from the sugars, but not overly so, maintaining a relatively high degree of 'drinkability'. Layers of toffee, hazelnut paste and slight (milk) chocolate fill the middle, warmed by fortified wine-like alcohol more than actual bourbon - madera and port, but then indeed the bourbon does seep through, in all its vanillin glory, reinforced by oak. The wood brings tannins too, but everything remains smooth, sweet, candied, vinous and fortified wine-like in a thicker, toffeeish way, with a long, warming finish in which almonds, raisins and dates feature again. Slight nutty accents too, and then something brandy-like... This is one of those intricate, multidimensional barleywines that keep on giving, a thing of beauty to be savoured gently on a gloomy evening; feels very American, but at the same time, given its sweetness and maltiness, it does live up to its 'English barleywine' ambitions too - in fact I already guessed that before I knew it was even the intention. A masterpiece for sure so the very high scores here are completely deserved.