Alengrin
Ghent, Belgium 🇧🇪 MemberOptions
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Alengrin
updated a beer:
Ad Vitam Stout
brewed by Brasserie de Flandre
2 months ago
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Ad Vitam Triple from Brasserie de Flandre 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
The tripel in a series of three beers issued by the "Brasserie de Flandre", a very 'commercial' project intending to make money rather than to add something substantial to the Belgian beer culture, I have the impression - with all three beers seemingly commissioned from Boelens nowadays. This tripel, moreover, seems to appear here under different brand names, the other ones being Eagle and Quinks (the latter referring to the 'locofaulism' for the inhabitants of Gavere, where this fake 'brewery' is situated); doubtlessly these all need to be aliased to one and the same beer. In any case my sample here, purchased at the Carrefour supermarket of Sint-Denijs-Westrem, clearly says Ad Vitam (and mentions Boelens as the executive brewery - I know Boelens insists on being mentioned, which I think is a good thing, but apparently they no longer force their commissioners to use the Boelens crown caps nowadays...). Very thick and frothy, snow white, uneven-bubbled and irregularly shaped, shred-lacing, pillowy head, sitting stable on an initially near-clear, deep orange blonde beer, almost amberish, with tangerine glow (though calling it 'red-brown' as in the commissioner's own description is clearly taking it too far - and may mislead the consumer into thinking he is going to get an "oud bruin" or something); turns into a murky terracotta brownish-blonde with sediment. Aroma of ripe persimmon, old stale biscuits, raw radishes, pear, dust, coriander seed, dried hydrangeas, glazed beetroot, a side note of honey to even brown sugar but subtle, banana peel turning brown, clove, dried apricot, roses, tulips, vague bergamot tea and even something liquorice-like popping up every now and then, as well as a distant smokey accent somehow. Estery onset, sweetish but not too cloying, impressions or pear, medlar, persimmon and (dried) red apple, touch apricot perhaps, medium carbonated with smooth, full mouthfeel; some very light honeyish sugars linger over a rounded bready and biscuity middle, while clove-like phenols abound retronasally (4-vinyl-guaiacol) and an earthy, leafy hop bitterness builds, eventually 'gripping' the root of the tongue and lasting for quite a long time. Meanwhile these pear- and persimmon-like fruity-yeasty notes, along with certain herbal aspects (withered parsley) proliferate along with the clove phenols - helping in a kind of 'soggy breadiness', verging on dirtiness and almost feeling 'Wallonian' (which I mean in a positive way, to be clear). The alcohol remains very well hidden and has not bothered me anywhere; something thinly honeyish lingers at the back, overwhelmed by this earthy hop bitterness. A tad messy, overly yeasty and earthy, but technically correct and interesting for a tripel in being not too sleek, more malty and less simple-sweet than so many others; the earthy, floral and herbal notes here strongly remind me of Boelens's own classic honey beer Bieken, though, and so do the colour and ABV... Too many coincidences in one beer? I will not go as far as to state here that this is simply an alias of Bieken, primarily because I have not had any Bieken for at least fifteen years, but I remain suspicious. The Eagle and Quinks versions listed on this site, on the other hand, are very obviously aliases of this one and should be treated as such.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Ad Vitam Triple
by
Brasserie de Flandre
2 months ago
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Fantastic IPA from De Circus Brouwerij 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
IPA by this Circus brewery, operating in Zwevegem in West-Flanders, hopped with a line-up of classic New World hop varieties (Citra, Amarillo, Columbus, Mosaic and Ekuanot); steinie bottle from the Carrefour supermarket in Sint-Denijs-Westrem. Thick and frothy, crackling, snow white, coarse but densely structured, uneven-bubbled, shred-lacing, stable head, initially clear pure and deep 'old gold' coloured beer with brass tinge and columns of steady, strong, large-bubbled sparkling in the middle; turns misty and more ochre-ish with sediment. Aroma rather restrained for something calling itself 'IPA', impressions of dried grapefruit zest, old lemon peel, soggy bread crust, faint hints of green guava and lychee from the Ekuanot shyly piercing through here and there, kumquat, raw parsnip, dried herb-flavoured crackers, dandelion leaves, stale croissants, sweetclover, unripe peach, young mugwort, dry straw, white pepper, dried out cheese rind. Dryish onset, sharply carbonated with very minerally, but also somewhat stingy effect (too much for IPA in the true Anglo-Saxon sense at least - but certainly very 'Belgian'); notes of unripe peach and unsweet hard Conference pear, supple bread-crusty pale malt core with grainy edges - yet no residual sugars worth mentioning. Retronasally, a vague whiff of old cardboard passes by, while the hops have clearly faded: some dried citrus rind and field flower notes are there, even a shadow of what was once something lychee-like, but the underlying bitterness is much more powerful, with a rooty, peppery, leafy, wormwood-astringent effect. Slight bready yeast (and malt) notes linger, but this rooty hop bitterness prevails over everything, even if it gradually fades in the moments following. Clearly, this is not as fresh anymore as I probably should have tasted it, I believe that the hop aromas were more expressive when this was young - but more importantly it is more 'clean', dry and sleek than I was expecting. In all, closer to a Belgian 'bitter blond' more than true 'postmodern' IPA, but a very decent one at that.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Oude Geuze Villa Servais 10 Jaar Restauratie
by
Den Herberg
2 months ago
Alengrin has a new beer style achievement
Level 18 for Lambic Style ticks with a total of 800 ticks of this master style.
Oude Geuze Villa Servais 10 Jaar Restauratie from Stekerij Ambreus was the one that did it!
2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Geuze blended with lambics by Lindemans, De Troch and Den Herberg, also containing 4 year old lambic like the Limited Edition geuze Ambreus released earlier, but nevertheless a differently proportioned, specific blend - like two others made by Den Herberg itself and by Boon, all created to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the current exploitation by Geert De Poorter and his wife of Villa Servais. This was the villa of the Belgian cellist Adrien-François Servais in Halle, a building dating back to the middle of the 19th century which in its time welcomed famed musical guests like the composers Liszt, Vieuxtemps and Rubinstein; it has been an official heritage site since the eighties and was acquired and restored by the current owners ten years ago. They turned it into a classy hotel and event location and released a first 'house geuze' (blended by Boon) three years ago, reflecting their passion for local culture - so this year, with something special to celebrate, not one but three new ones were made. This Ambreus version produces a medium sized but rather quickly thinning and eventually dissolving, snow white, fizzing head, open in the middle but retaining around the edge, over a misty peach blonde robe with ochre-ish tinge and minute-bubbled sparkling which is actually hard to see with the naked eye. Aroma of freshly cut Granny Smith and Transparante apples, lemon flesh, unripe plums, pear blossoms, lemon butter, old oak wood, wet old leather (Brettanomyces), hints of raw rhubarb, sorrel, fresh pecorino romano, grape skin, quince, young grass shoots in spring, oxidising apple cores, hogweed, raw black radish, crumbling dry earth. Lemony sour onset, a bit puckering but refreshingly so, flavours of strong green apple (Lindemans mostly I think), unripe plum and unripe peach, with an astringent edge but also a softer side tucked underneath; very fine-tingling effervescence with persistent minerally effect reinforcing this astringency and sourness - piercing through a bread-crusty core. Lemon, green apple and green plum dominate till the end, with a lemon juice flavour even lingering beyond swallowing; oaky tannins are present but not too strongly so, while retronasal wild yeast aromas include old leather, dried garden weeds, a whiff of pecorino cheese and a funky hint of dried armpit sweat. Old hops provide a touch of balancing bitterness deep below but as said, the astingency and tartness of green fruits prevail. Very spritzy, 'green', lemony geuze, quite classically styled with puckering effect at first and quite some sharp acidity, but very minerally and refreshing as such. I was fearing that the De Troch lambic, one I find very easy to identify because of its characteristic 'bitter plant' flavour, would dominate too much, but as in the other Ambreus geuzes so far, this very outspoken lambic has been applied here in a most balanced, well-integrated way. There is some Lindemans mellowness too, but it seems Den Herberg is the most dominant lambic in this blend at least in flavour. Looking forward to tasting the two other new Villa Servais geuzes!
Alengrin
added a new beer
Oude Geuze Villa Servais 10 Jaar Restauratie
by
Stekerij Ambreus
2 months ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Last year's iteration of Mighty Matroesjka, Verzet's strongest beer to date, though not necessarily their most ambitious one; aged on whisky and 'jenever' barrels so in any case different from the first Mighty Matroesjka I recall enjoying on New Year's Eve back in 2022, at least in terms of the barrels used, so I think this mess needs some cleaning up here with the 2022 and 2024 versions separated as different beers (not sure if there was a 2023 one too). Medium thick, bubbly and open, loosely structured, tiny-bubbled, pale yellow beige, dissolving head on a near black robe, initially clear, very dark chocolate brown with vaguely burgundy glow. Intense aroma of wet black chocolate bars, whisky, vague moist peat somewhere, Belgian chocolates, elderberry syrup, black pepper, old madera and tawny port, wet leather, shoe polish, clove, caramel, walnut paste, treacle, marmite, vanilla-scenting oak wood, bayleaf, porcini. Densely sweet, 'praline'-like onset, almost sticky and candied, brown-sugary, with candied dates, golden raisins and light blue plum impressions, medium carbonated with very full mouthfeel - but actually still quite supple at this ABV. Deep toffeeish, milk-chocolatey and marmite-like layers of dark malts under treacle-like residual sugariness, continuing into an intense caramelliness picking up retronasal vanilla (from oak wood) and hints of clove, madera, port and bayleaf - while becoming increasingly warmed by whisky- and jenever-flavoured alcohol, though the whisky clearly overrules the jenever in this case (luckily because I hate jenever). Bittersweet dark malts (more sweet than bitter) linger on, and in the end, melt with the alcohol into a very fortified wine-like effect, albeit thicker and sweeter. Hops, no doubt supporting the structure as a whole, remain discreet. Intense from beginning to end, fit for this wonderful time of the year, dense, boozy and rich - what it lacks in sophistication compared with some of the great international masterpieces in the genre, it sure makes up for in sheer 'deep-Flemish' stubbornness and resilience. Purely from memory - which does fail one at my age at least from time to time - this is technically even better than its 2022 original, with the flavours being more aligned and smoothened. Quite an impressive brew even to Verzet standards.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Pikwadrupel from Brouwerij De Backer 2 months ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
De Backer in Massemen interpreting the old strong dark trappist style ales we now refer to as 'quadrupel' for lack of a better word - in this case seemingly following the classic Belgians (Chimay Bleu, Rochefort 10 etc.) rather than the Dutch La Trappe variant, which actually coined the 'quadrupel' term; steinie bottle from the Carrefour supermarket in Sint-Denijs-Westrem. Pale greyish off-white, tiny-bubbled and dense, even creamy, shred-lacing, medium thick, partially opening head on an initially clear, dark chocolate brown robe with ruddy-bronze glow, misty with sediment. Aroma of toffee, even a bit of milk chocolate, dark honey, raisin bread, medlar, plum jam, dark candi sugar, pear, date, clove, ruby port, background hints of beef stock, wood glue, Poire William, dry liquorice, wet brown bread crust, canned tomato soup. Sweet onset but not too sticky and certainly okay for the intended style, dried plums, candied dates, pear and raisins, some light baked banana, moderate carbonation with smooth yet full body. Brown-bready and toffeeish dark maltiness fills the middle phase, with side notes of caramel, toast and even slight chocolate - the toasty element becoming stronger in the finish and providing malt bitterness rather than sweetness, but not to the extent that it becomes all Scotch- or Christmas ale-like (the residual sugars take care of that, but do it discreetly, contrary to many other beers in this style). Phenolic elements of clove, nutmeg and bayleaf are added retronasally, while something very lightly solventy (varnish) seems to briefly linger in the background - as does a 'meaty' protein aspect best compared with beef stock. Deep earthy hops provide a dim but important bitterness as bready yeastiness gets increasingly heated by 'jenever'-like alcohol - just a tad too much in the end, with tiring and astringent effect, even though a more attractive port-like element appears as well (and probably will become more outspoken as the beer ages). As well hidden as the alcohol was orthonasally, so present it becomes retronasally and in actual flavour - alas, but otherwise this is a fine quad for sure, ticking all the boxes without the addition of any unnecessary ingredients. Technically more than decent, flavour-wise finding a good balance between sweet and bitter and moreish - just a tad too boozy in the very end. Recommendable if you are into this type of beers, just do not expect anything close to Westvleteren 12 or Rochefort 10.