Alengrin
Ghent, Belgium 🇧🇪 MemberOptions
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Recently released 'geuze' version of a lambic dry-hopped with Talus created earlier this year, with the Talus, a 'daughter' of Sabro, being a new hop variety released in 2020 and supposedly imparting citrusy and piney aromas. Egg-white, dense and stable, slightly irregular but firm, medium thick head lasting for a long time on an initially crystal clear, warm 'old golden' robe with apricot glow and a whirlwind of lively, champagne-like sparkling - a beauty, turning misty in the end, with some tiny 'flakes' of (probably) protein dancing around. Aroma of grapefruit pith, wet old leather, lemon juice, sawdust, freshly sawn timber, dry hay, lightly toasted pumpkin seeds, black tea, freshly cut dandelions, bergamot, 'horseblanket' and something a bit sulphurous to even H2S-like ('putteke', as we say in Flanders) but not to the extent that it bothers me, dried lemonbalm (strong), minerals, arid farmland in midsummer. Very crisp onset, sharp champagne-like effervescence jumbling impressions of raw rhubarb, green gooseberry, unripe plum and lime juice and throwing them at a smooth-edged bread-crusty core dried by lactic acidity and strong woody tannins, with a combined astringent effect, even if the basic character of this lambic blend is rather 'mals'. Lovely leathery Brett effects throughout, very pronounced retronasally, adding complexity and funk, while the Talus effect I have been waiting for finally reveals itself towards the finish, in the form of a citrus peel-like, herbal bittersourness which blends perfectly with the citric-tart character of the lambic and the woodiness rather than contrasting with them. It accentuates a vibrant minerality too, with a sharp 'crystalline' effect in the finish - the perfect accompaniment to a plate of fried fish or fresh seafood, I reckon. Very crisp and clear 'geuze' (note how the creators in this case avoid the legally encumbered 'oude') - basically the sparkling version of that Talus-dry-hopped lambic they made in preparation of this one. The fraîcheur, crispness and acuteness of the hops are seamlessly integrated into the whole, adding to it in a way that is both subtle and powerful at the same time. Oud Beersel still ranks as one of the most accomplished lambic producers of our day and age in my personal opinion.
Alengrin
updated a beer:
Sparklin Infused Sweet Osmanthus Lambiek
brewed by Brouwerij Oud Beersel
2 weeks ago
Alengrin
added a new beer
Talus Dry-Hopped Geuze
by
Brouwerij Oud Beersel
2 weeks ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
"De roe" - I reckon I should have waited for a week or three more before opening this one, as its name refers to an aspect of the Saint Nicholas feast on December 6th (a beloved tradition in the Catholic part of the Low Countries), but this November night felt gloomy enough for a nightcap like this one: a strong walnut-flavoured stout by HopSaSam, my favourite East-Flemish supplier of strong malty beers in Anglo-Saxon styles. Medium thick, pale greyish beige, shred-lacing, dense head, breaking into flat 'islands' in the middle but otherwise stable; very dark chocolate brown robe, black in actual fact, with misty mahogany edges under bright light. Aroma of 'pure' bitter black chocolate (and very dominantly so even for a strong stout), high quality black coffee, toasted walnuts (for real this time: an actual walnut aroma, though less pronounced and more earthy than I was expecting), charred toast, burnt currants, whisky, salmiak, molasses (strong!), treacle piercing through (i.e. the brown sugar actually used here), Frisian rye bread, fresh bayleaf, roasted chicory - and coffee returning more than once, old pecan nuts, autumn leaves, liquorice and clove in the background. Dense onset, sweet from the brown sugar but nowhere sticky, with this sweetness behaving in a fruity way (dried fig, pear), plus a dim sourish undertone and a very light umami aspect (porcini), all understanding each other well; moderate carb, or actually rather sharpish for this kind of beer, adding a minerally effect piercing through a full, oily 'stout' body, but also seemingly thinning it a bit - resulting in a dangerously high drinkability. Episodes of bitter black chocolate and black coffee fill the middle, complemented by toast, dark rye bread (with this typical dim rye spiciness clearly present) and a hint of dry caramel - the walnut then setting in subtly and remaining subtle, too subtle perhaps? If anything, it seems to add a layer of wryness - think green walnut, or that bitter layer of 'skin' on a ripe walnut - which was not really necessary here; I would rather have had an actual (sweeter) walnut flavour, as in walnut liqueur, but I guess this is difficult to accomplish when using actual walnuts. Retronasally, a walnut aroma is definitely noticeable, though. In any case the joined walnut and malt bitterness is soon amplified by a profound, leafy and earthy hop bitterness (unsurprisingly at 70 IBU) which lasts and lasts. It does carry that rather wry walnut bitterness on for a while, and the coffee-like roasted bitter malt aspect travels along with it as well, all highlighted by gin-like alcohol which further contributes to an overall astringency which I think should have been mitigated a bit. Somehow - but you are the brewer, Sam - it must be possible to enhance the sweet aspect of the walnut a bit for balance, because now this walnut stout combines just a bit too many different forms of wryness (alcohol being the most annoying one to my taste); then again I do appreciate Sam's audacity in creating something like this and retronasally the walnut certainly plays the lead. Bold, layered sipper, robust and powerful, but improvable as well: if both alcohol wryness and that 'brown-green' wryness of walnut skin are toned down a bit, ideally with an increase of walnut sweetness which is also part of walnut flavour for me, then I think this "rod" has the potential to become a truly great stout and one of HopSaSam's evergreens. Consider these minor criticisms, though: I certainly enjoyed this one as a nightcap on a mid-November evening.
Alengrin
updated a beer:
De Roe - Jouw Verdiende Pak Slaag In Een Glas!
brewed by HopSaSam
4 weeks ago
Alengrin (11561) reviewed Juicy Lucy from Uiltje Brewing Co. 4 weeks ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
One of the post-Heineken takeover NEIPAs by Uiltje (launched two years after said takeover, which took place in 2021) - now on the shelves of the Albert Heijn supermarkets. My can comes from the plant in Lokeren and was brewed in August - so I am tasting a hazy IPA from a supermarket at a mere three months old... I am still impressed by this radical evolution in beer, even despite the Heineken takeover in this case. Medium thick, off-white, 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, breaking but generally stable head on a hazed yellow blonde robe with warmer apricot tinge. Aroma of granadilla, overripe papaya, stale pomelo juice, gari, stewed sweet onions, 'diesel', dough, very ripe cucumber flesh, sweetclover, hints of mango, cooked green bell pepper and honey. Fruity onset from the hops - again granadilla and papaya, along with citric pomelo or even yuzu, but remaining quite low in sweet effects for this style; lively carb with minerally effects, smooth pale maltiness straightforwardly ensuing - but drenched in the hops, combining citrusiness with pepperiness and a dash of tropicalness, pushing forward retronasal aromas of lime blossom, fresh vine leaf, starfruit and pomelo peel. The hops even add some lingering bitterness, while a deeply situated yet persistent minerality also 'zings'. Fruity and zesty NEIPA - not as 'juicy' as expected perhaps based on its name, but decent enough. In rating this, I do not forget that I found this at less than three months old on a supermarket shelf - let that sink in, if you are old enough to remember what beer was in Western Europe two or three decades ago...
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Another one in this ongoing series of "bucketlist beers" by Musketeers, now operating from their own production site in 'my' Waasland region; this time they opted for a Berliner Weisse, launched in early June as a summer beer - so I will try to ignore the fact that we are already in mid-November meanwhile, and expect yet another, perhaps more wintery bucketlist beer to leave the brewery soon... Thick and frothy, delicately 'Brugse kant'-like lacing, snow white, uneven but stable head, slowly showing gaps over an initially crystal clear, pale platinum blonde robe with metallic, somewhat 'olive-greenish' tinge and strings of visible sparkling, turning misty and more yellow-golden with sediment. Aroma of sourdough, ripe Granny Smith apple, pickled pearl onions (but the big artisanal ones rather than the small industrial ones), wakame, the water from a jar of pickled gherkins, kimchi, grass, used gym shoes, minerals and sweet ripe peach piercing through every now and then. Crisp, spritzy onset, fruity with a restrained sweet side (peach, pear) and a somewhat more outspoken, yet altogether soft tart side (green apple, gooseberry); something faintly 'salty' lingers on the sides of the tongue, almost like in a Gose but far less outspoken, akin to salted cucumber or fresh green seaweed. Smooth body, light and supple, with dominant wheat slickness (and sourishness) complemented with thinnish pale malt breadiness. Meanwhile the lactic sour aspect has grown a bit, becoming somewhat lemony in the end, but lacking a bit in that typical 'chalky' Sauerkraut-like flavour I tend to expect from this genre. Grassy hops show up in a glimpse and provide a very brief moment of noticeable bitterness but leave almost none behind; lactic sourness, as in unsugared white yoghurt of kefir, trails behind, with accents of green apple and lime adding some colour. A bit 'sweaty', like kimchi, with a short finish as announced by the brewery; at the same time crisp and lemony, but not in a sharp way; light-bodied but clearly 'wheaty'... This is indeed a Berliner Weisse in the most classical guise possible: it even reminds me of the Berliner Kindl Weisse I had twenty years ago, one of the very few originals remaining at that time and my first encounter with the style. In tasting this one, I cannot say I feel an urge to skinny dip (fortunately), but I am taken back to that very first Berliner Weisse experience, so I guess this is a compliment for this beer. Never mind the fact that the genre has since spread throughout the Western World and now comes in all kinds of 'adorned', often fruited forms (also inspired by the way it was traditionally served in Berlin): this one turns to the very roots of the genre, as if the craft beer movement never happened, and does so in a subtle and unassuming manner. I am almost inclined to grant an extra point for that.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Bucketlist Series N°18: Go Skinny Dipping
by
Brouwerij The Musketeers
4 weeks ago
Alengrin
updated a beer:
Arvaria Blond
brewed by De Graal
4 weeks ago
Alengrin (11561) reviewed Piggly Wiggly from Brouwerij 't Verzet 4 weeks ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Blonde ale named after a horse which had a home win at Waregem Koerse in 1983 - apparently in that year the Waregem horse Piggly Wiggly won the Great Steeplechase of Flanders in a tradition going back to the 19th century (and one that basically put the town of Waregem on the map in this country). Developed by two home brewers who took to Verzet, located near Waregem, to produce their creation on a commercial scale, this is again one of those beers with a story far more elaborate than the beer itself - but given that it comes from Verzet, my expectations are higher than average for this category. Shows a tendency to gush apparently, so be cautious when opening. Huge, foamy, crackling, egg-white, dense, bath foam- to cauliflower-like, plaster-lacing head filling the glass instantly, initially clear but quickly misty, peach blonde robe with 'old golden' glow and fine strings of visible sparkling. Aroma of white bread crust and slight sourdough, oxidized green apple slices, unripe hard peach, cucumber peel, watercress, straw, raw potato. Quite crisp onset, not too sweet for this style, with notes of unripe peach, green pear and oxidized apple, lively carbonated with sharpish minerally effects, continuing through a smooth pale maltiness, dryish and quite grainy, quite quickly bittered by grassy, peppery, floral hops, persisting for quite a long time and eventually becoming rather wormwoody, coating the mouth cavity with a dandelion- and witloof-ish bitterness - a bit more so than is typically the case in this style. Spicy elements appear throughout as well, mostly clove-like but not too sharply so; a yeasty breadiness lingers, bittered by the hops. Even a progressive craft brewery like Verzet needs to survive sometimes by accepting commissions - and though it is clear that intrinsically and conceptually this simple Belgian blonde has nothing to do with their own 'house' creations, they did make it a feisty little one, with a dry, quite sleek profile and an above average hop bitterness. Not bad, but as said, the story is a lot more convincing than the actual beer, in spite of it being well executed technically; at least I have learned something about the history of Waregem Koerse today.