Alengrin Profile

One of two special BBA editions of Zwarte Bron’s flagship quadrupel, aged on Heaven Hill bourbon barrels (the other on Woodford Reserve). Thanks Jan! Medium thick, pale greyish beige, moussey, slowly breaking but generally stable head on a misty deep chestnut brown robe with ruddy-burgundy glow. Aroma of caramel candy, chestnut cream, walnut liqueur, pronounced vanilla-like impressions from oak and bourbon, plum jam, fig compote, sirop de Liège, ripe pear, cognac, dark candi sugar, almond, touch milk chocolate. Sweet onset, dark-sugary but not sticky, rich ripe dark fruit notes ranging from ripe pear over dried plum to blackberry coulis and fried apple, softly carbonated with full, very rounded body; caramelly malts with hazelnutty and toffeeish layers underneath, even a thin chocolatey edge (at least more so than is typical in a quad), remaining sweet but in a noble, not too sticky way, leading to a rich, soothing, warming finish of vanilla-tinged oak wood (low in tannic effects though), sweet and boozy bourbon (the Heaven Hill clearly recognisable though nowhere too ‘hot’) and lingering dark malts, supported by a subtle hoppy undertone, yet without explicit hop bitterness. This is high quality Belgian ‘pralines’ in a glass: the features of the base beer seem even more ‘dense’ and concentrated than before, while the bourbon is applied generously enough without overpowering – it is woven seamlessly into the beer and enriches it, with a finesse reminiscent of the barrel aged trappist quads by Chimay and La Trappe. Yet this one is notably sweeter, more liquid candy-like, more ‘desserty’ – the term ‘pastry quad’ almost seems in order, even though no lactose was used; the sweetness, however prominent, is nevertheless kept smooth and sleek, rather than sticky and candy-like. Very cleverly constructed, complex beer, perfected into detail. Impressive.

Tried on 17 Jul 2025 at 17:27

7.3

Alengrin (11609) reviewed Martin’s White IPA from John Martin 7 months ago

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Times have changed dramatically in beer land - and I do not just mean the revolution that is American style craft beer having swept all over Europe since the early years of this century: it is not so long ago that John Martin's hypercommercial beer producing company, of which we all knew they did not brew themselves, kept the brewing locations of their beers a complete secret (though it was a kind of open secret that their ales mostly came from Palm and their lagers mostly from Bavaria, now Swinckels and the owner of Palm). With this attempt at white IPA, they apparently shyly admit that it is executed by Antwerpse Brouw Compagnie - shyly, because the actual label on the actual bottle limits itself to "brewed in Belgium". Still, the fact that now they let us in on this kind of information, in stark contrast with the old days, does elicit a kind of trust and benevolence in me - and everyone can check here how harsh I have been in reviewing (most of) their beers throughout the years. Anyways: medium thick, egg-white, even- and fine-bubbled, slowly opening but otherwise stable head on a lightly hazed, yellow-glowing straw blonde robe with olive-greenish tinge. Aroma of orange and kiwi but in a rather artificial way, strong coriander seed (in an IPA - why, for heaven's sake?), powder sugar, honey pomelo, desiccated orange peel, dried lemongrass, spice cookies, crisps with green herbs, old apple cake, white soap and aloë vera, wet North Sea beach sand, chalk but not too annoyingly. Fruity onset, sweet with not just the purely aromatic 'hoppy' fruit-like sweetness one expects from an IPA nowadays but also from actual sugars, though fortunately not cloying; impressions of banana, pear and green melon. Smooth, slick core, clear wheat soapiness paired with simple pale malt graininess, aromatised by a citrusy and herbal hoppiness admittedly seeming genuinely dry-hopped - lemongrass-, dried lime peel- and pomelo-ish, though perhaps not as colourful and vibrant as one tends to expect from any IPA these days. Coriander seed annoyingly sneaks up on it all only to become quite 'loud' in the end - not to say dominant, in a way that seems completely out of place considering the intention was white IPA and not witbier, which are two different things. The fact that our other old friend curaçao palpably joins in as well, is, however, enough proof that old John Martin was never intending to treat us with a 'real' Anglo-Saxon IPA of whatever kind: this is a witbier pumped up with extra hoppiness, which does provide a moment of 'believable' citrus peel aromatics (though part of that comes from the curaçao of course) as well as a long, somewhat earty, leafy but altogether accessible bitterness - even a brief impression of 'hop burn' which, in spite of the fact that it normally is considered a flaw, could be seen as a plus in this specific context. I never though I would say this about a John Martin product, but this was not even the worst beer of the evening, and I can even see myself revisiting it (if nothing more decent is available, for all clarity); but it seems to repeat an old 'Belgian' mistake, namely that you cannot just turn a traditional Belgian ale - in this case, atypically, a classically spiced witbier - into an IPA simply by adding more hops... That said: quite pleasantly surprised, all things considered, and if you consider this an 'updated' postmodern version of witbier, you may even enjoy it.

Tried on 12 Jul 2025 at 00:38

5.8

Alengrin (11609) reviewed Tervoerke Tripel from AD Brewing Co 7 months ago

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 5 | Flavor - 4.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6

Tripel in a young brand of beers executed at Craywinckelhof for AD Brewing, a 'bierfirma' erected by an Indian and a 'Leuvenaar' (which almost sounds like the start of a bad joke) - this kind of enterprises are in decline even in Belgium especially since the Covid pandemic, but apparently at least this one is resilient enough to keep their Tervoerke brand going. Steinie bottle with crown cap, the latter sporting the "T" representing the brand's name. Very thick, foamy, snow white, regular, densely pillowy and frothy, plaster-like lacing, stable head on a misty yellow-golden robe with ochre-ish tinge and a few thin and disparate strings of sparkling here and there. Aroma of some dominant spice first and foremost - minty and extremely soapy, as if actual shower gel was added; after a while it even becomes ethereal and 'medicinal', like something you would rub under the nose of someone who just fainted. I cannot put my finger on it, but white cardamom, lavender and hyssop seem to be potential candidates; other, far less pervasive impressions include banana peel, halfripe apricot, wet old cereals, damp straw, leftover white bread, green pear, parsnip, gin and a very distant whiff of, well, fart (excusez le mot). Spritzy onset, fruity and sweetish, notes of apple, green pear, peach and unripe banana, with lots of stingy carbonation (a bit much so even for style); smooth, quite 'full' mouthfeel. Cereally, white-bready pale maltiness under this huge dosage of spice, very herbal, very perfumey and very intrusive, even adding to a finishing wryness along with gin-like alcohol; in fact more bitterness seems to come from this "signature of spices", to quote the brewers, than from a much more modest floral hoppiness. Again this soapiness lingers, linked to a disturbing and downright unpleasant astringency established by whatever spice they used here in a fatal overdose - again white cardamom springs to mind, mingled with impressions of clove, lavender, coriander and hyssop. I do appreciate white cardamom, mostly so in an Indian cuisine context but even in beer (if rarely encountered), so there must be something else in here which bothers me a lot more; when sniffed long enough, this beer's aroma contains a very medicinal odour, as if becoming light in the head from being in an old-fashioned hospital for too long. Sniff it for too long and you will probably get a serious headache. Frankly, when I read that this was brewed at Craywinckelhof, I was hoping for at least a technically flawless, potentially boring, but in any case well-formed tripel; this could have been the case here if these guys would not have thrown so much of that damn spice in it. "True to style", they claim on the label: if the intended style is an oldskool Belgian spice beer based on tripel rather than actual tripel, then I can accept that. I guess the Indian initiator of this project could not resist reflecting his heritage in this beer - but as much as I love Indian cuisine with its endlessly complex application of spices (white cardamom being a prominent one among those, mind you), I hate it when spice or herb takes over a beer. Remove this dominant spice completely and you will have a much more stereotypical, but at least more enjoyable tripel - this is beer after all, not biryani!

Tried on 12 Jul 2025 at 00:06

Alengrin (11609) reviewed Tripel from De Achelse Kluis 7 months ago

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8

The new embodiment of the old Achel 8 Blond, the Limburg trappist tripel which ceased to be a trappist beer since two years ago, the last trappist monk left for Westmalle and the abbey - including its brewery - was sold to a private investor. This investor promised to keep the site alive and maintain the brewery it became known for since the late nineties, vowing to leave the recipes unaltered - but it seems rather hard to believe that in new hands, the recipes and brewing methods are still exactly the same and the only change that was made, is the addition of a few new beers (see the Passeur entries). In any case I already found last week that the Dubbel version, corresponding with the old Achel 8 Bruin, was not entirely the same anymore, though still very close; I expect to find the same here, but let us see. Snow white, foamy, pillowy, fluffy, uneven-bubbled but dense and irregularly cobweb-lacing head towering over an initially crystal clear, warm metallic 'old golden' robe with almost 'champenoise' strings of tiny carbon dioxide bubbles sustaining the head; turns misty and more ochre-tinged with sediment. Aroma - after that stingy, sourish, sharp carbon dioxide has faded - of wet cereals, chamomile and other field flowers, apple peel, green banana, coriander seed, added iron (unambiguously confirmed by the 'hand test'!), dried clover, cooked turnip, young 'graanjenever', hint cava, grass, wet brown cardboard, vague hint at toasted peanut. Moderately fruity, restrainedly sweet onset, hinting at apple peel, unripe banana and unripe apricot, with lots of stingy, even numbing overcarbonation; a vague - but natural - sourish undertone is accentuated by this carbon dioxide overdose. Smooth, lean body, cereally and sleek, even a bit grainy with less residual sugars than is custom in a tripel; unfortunately the iron effect, added as a head stabilising agent, becomes apparent in sheer flavour early on and will not go away till the end. Pleasant floral and somewhat herbal hop bitterness in the end, lingering a bit, with clove-, thyme- and especially coriander-like traces of spiciness in its wake, while 'jenever'-ish alcohol warms the tail without becoming overly obtrusive. Well, I guess I have to draw the same conclusion here as with the Dubbel: the new owner of the Achelse Kluis site may claim that the recipes have remained untouched, he remains a businessman well versed in selling things to customers - but he is not fooling me with his lies. In this case, the difference with the old trappist version is even more clear than in the case of the Dubbel, so clear in fact that I do not even have to consult my old ratings of the original one: I had it plenty of times when it was still around and kept sufficient memory of it to know that it did not contain any added iron like this one, was rounder and more 'moelleux', with more sweet yellow fruitiness, and even looked a tad more apricot-hued than this follow-up. The great question "to alias or not to alias", to paraphrase Hamlet, is easily answered here: let us simply ignore the new owner's sales pitch and observe the fact that not only does the beer look and taste different from before, it also sports a new name and label - clearly it is not the same thing. By no means bad, do not get me wrong, but is only now that I realise how much I will miss the old Achel trappists.

Tried on 11 Jul 2025 at 23:29

Alengrin has a new beer style achievement

Level 9 for Lambic Style - Gueuze ticks with a total of 200 ticks of this sub style.
Fond Geuze Bierpallieters (30 jaar) from Brouwerij F. Boon was the one that did it!
7 months ago

8.4

Alengrin (11609) reviewed Fond Geuze Bierpallieters (30 jaar) from Brouwerij F. Boon 7 months ago

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8

One-off geuze created in 2018 for the 30th birthday of the Bierpallieters, a dedicated Zythos club (formerly OBP) based in Buggenhout and perhaps best known for organising the yearly Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation, which I keep fond memories of, but which I really need to revisit some time as it has literally been decades. Anyway, this blend was created with Boon lambics of different ages, a large part of which was aged on vermouth barrels - probably the same lambics that were used in the collab with Mikkeller that was made the same year (!). I do not know to which extent the proportions of the lambic vintages differ between both, but they must certainly be very, very close to each other - but it has been seven years since I had the Boon x Mikkeller Vermouth Oude Geuze anyway so any comparison at all will have to be made with the notes I took back then. Bottle under high pressure (still after seven years), opening with a long hissing sound. Thick and firm, at first audibly fizzing, egg-white, irregular, lightly lacing head remaining quite stable (and closed) for a long time on an initially near clear, warm peach blonde robe with pale orange tinge and lots of sparkling in numerous lively strings, misty further on but given the age of the bottle, containing considerable lees in the end too. Aroma of grapefruit zest, orange pith, old Parmigiano, wild berries, bitter herbs as in indeed vermouth (young wormwood among others), wet gravel and even wet cement, tamarillo leaf, typical 'old Boon' chlorine and quite a lot of it, old crumbled spice cheese, vague notes of limestone, capers on vinegar, dried artisanal salami, pond water, rusty iron faraway in the background (oxidation already sneakily creeping in?). Very crisp, sour onset, a bit puckering at first but nothing vinegary, with impressions of old lemon, wild apple, green plum and unripe wild blackberry; lively, minerally carbonation, even after all those years. Smooth mouthfeel, very dry with bitter and sour elements intertwined and carried along by a strong current of lactic acid, woody tannins and bread-crusty graininess, altogether 'full' and remaining minerally thanks to the ongoing champagne-ish carbonation. Apart from strong woodiness and that typical chlorine effect of aged Boon lambic, it develops an underlying herbaceousness, reminiscent of young wormwood and juniper berry, very obviously linked to the vermouth - but then, not to the extent where it dominates everything. Instead, leathery Bretty funk, drying lemon juice flavours and tannic woodiness come to close the curtains, but lingering for a long time - only fading when that vermouth element has long gone. I was expecting a more prominent vermouth flavour because it is very recognisable orthonasally (at least in the 'beginning' of the bottle), but in the mouth this element only enriches the lambics, constituting quite a characterful, pungent, lively and entertaining geuze - indeed eerily close to that 2018 Boon and Mikkeller collab, perhaps even the same altogether, but then the only conclusion I can draw is that unsurprisingly seen their experience with the subject, the Bierpallieters have good taste. Not the easiest geuze even in comparison with other Boon variants (like their regular Oude Geuze, Mariage Parfait or Black Label), but a treat for the true geuze afficionado, for sure.

Tried on 11 Jul 2025 at 22:23

6.6

Alengrin (11609) reviewed 10 from OX Brewery 7 months ago

Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

The strong blonde - now explicitly dubbed 'tripel' - in this Ox range, a pseudo-revivalist brewery in Wevelgem southwest of Courtray referring to a 16th-century historical brewery there (I assume without any living descendants able to claim the name from these guys)... Bottle from the Carrefour supermarket in Sint-Denijs-Westrem. Medium thick, frothy, beautifully 'Kortrijkse kant'-like lacing, egg-white, very stable head on a misty peach blonde robe with orangey glow. Quite strong yet simple and not too inviting aroma of honey, old potatoes, soggy old bread, peach, cooked tomatoes, overcooked cauliflower (DMS), cold carrot soup, cooked pear, sugar beet, green tree leaves in summer, wodka. Sweet onset though not overly cloying, ripe peach and pear hints, low in banana (oddly perhaps), sweet red apple and a dash of yellow plum, estery and very 'Flemish', with active but small-bubbled carb and smooth, full, somewhat 'fluffy' mouthfeel. Soft sweet bready and sandwich-like maltiness then passes, already with a trail of 'dirtiness' behind it - a 'dead' yeastiness which has absorbed probably more (hop) bitterness than was the intention. Indeed a dried-flower-, dandelion-root-like earthy hop bitterness lingers at the back, in itself well in balance with the malts, sugars and esters at least to contemporary Flemish norms, but in my view insufficiently capable of countering that sweetness. Some warming wodka-like alcohol in the end, amidst this underachieving hoppiness, lingering esteriness and yeasty 'dirtiness' - highlighting not only those elements but also a whiff of coriander, as it apparently ought to be in Belgian tripels nowadays (note that the archetypes of the style did and do not contain a grain of coriander at all). Your typical present-day Flemish tripel: boorish, crude, sweet, coarse, earthy and boozy, with the residual sugar and coriander seed clichés applied all too generously. On top of all this, DMS persists all the way and I sincerely hate it. One for the less discriminating beer drinker who does not know any better and aspires for a quick buzz. Perhaps I would do the same if ever in Wevelgem, but I am not here to judge. Oh wait a minute - I am...

Tried on 05 Jul 2025 at 01:34

gave a cheers!

Alengrin updated a beer: 12 brewed by OX Brewery
7 months ago