7

Goed fruitig, licht zurig. Lekker!

7.4

Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

75cl bottle from Prik&Tik Kampenhout. F: huge, white, very long lasting. C: shiny gold, hazy. A: mellow fruity, fruity esters, honey, bit spicy, orange peels, bit yeasty, coffee touch. T: medium to full malty base, fruity, peach, bit chocolate, spicy, dry on the palate, medium to high carbonation, bit orange peels, herbal, quite nice, enjoyed.

7

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

Pale blond with light haze. Aroma and flavour have soft light malty sweetness. Rounded fruity notes from the yeast. Subtle nutty notes of roasted chocolate. Subtle but pleasant.

6.3

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

75cl bottle @ Chez Sophie. Pours golden amber with a light mist, good white head. Aroma suggests sweet tripel esters, no chocolate. Taste presents a sweet Belgian blonde, but unfortunately a no-show for the chocolate which seems to be completely absent. It's a fine, gently fruity blonde, soft spice with a firm bitterness. But not really on a par in terms of creative complexity when lined up next to previous Indulgence releases. Disappointing.

6.9

Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

This year's Indulgence, the fifth one in the series, is apparently a tripel with cocoa nibs, a combination one hardly ever encounters, contrary to all those cocoa-flavoured stouts and porters. Snow white, mousy, uneven-bubbled yet quite stable, bit irregular head, breaking quickly in the middle and lacing in shreds over a misty warm 'ripe' apricot blonde beer with vaguely khaki-ish tinge. Aroma of unripe green mandarin, ripe apricot, honey, orange-scented hand soap, soggy sandwiches, rose petals, glazed carrots, wodka, hints of candied ginger, sweet industrial cider, raspberry jam, sweet mango chutney, crushed peppercorns, vague almond - but no chocolate at least not in any recognisably chocolate-y form... Fruity, crisp onset, estery, notes of ripe apricot, peach, pear and a hint of banana, sweetish with sourish undertone accentuated by sharpish, very minerally (over?)carbonation, bit fluffy mouthfeel still; rounded but slick and - at this ABV - slender sweet-bready and (very) lightly caramelly malt sweetishness harshened by the stinging carbonation at first and by rather astringent, wodka-like alcohol in the end. Meanwhile, retronasal accents of sweet flowers, almond and orange peel appear, all subtly so, while again I cannot pinpoint anything cocoa-like in the literal sense of the word, though doubtlessly some of these subtle yet distinct herbal and floral accents are linked to it, as is indeed a soft, minerally soapiness that trails behind. Ends with considerable warming and eventually wry booziness, floral hop bitterness enhanced by bitterness likely coming from the cocoa (in a dull, generic kind of way) and lingering sweetish fruitiness. Boozy, sweet and soft tripel, not unlike Gouden Carolus Tripel at all which is probably the base beer here and in that sense not bad as such; the cocoa element seems to add some vague basic bitterness, a kind of light soapiness and very light herbal-plant-like accents here and there, but otherwise hardly contributes to this whole beer at all. Crowd-pleasing, very Belgian and indeed very 'Gouden Carolus' tripel, no doubt many traditional Belgian consumers will enjoy this but I personally was hoping for a more outspoken and more 'daring' cocoa effect. This Indulgence series impresses me less and less every year, it seems.

7.9

Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

19/XI/19 - 75cl bottle @ HoReCa-Expo Gent, BB: n/a - (2019-1847) Thanks to the brewers and the Ghent Beer Posse for sharing today’s beers!

Clear gold yellow beer, big creamy irregular off-white head, stable, adhesive, leaving a nice lacing in the glass. Aroma: bit malty, grains, some ripe pears, some chocolate. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: very malty, some caramel, bit sweet, spicy touch, soft bitterness, hint of coffee. Aftertaste: some chocolate notes, malty, soft oxidation notes, bitter touch, bit roasted, dry, some cocoa powder, decent beer.

6.8

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

Pours clear blonde, small white head. Smell is typical BE. Mild phenols. Taste is full, sweetn estery, sugary. Pretty boring belgian strong ale, chocolate doesnt really show.