Alengrin
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Alengrin (10989) reviewed Fränkisches Landbier from Orca Brau 1 year ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Unfiltered German Lager from a still young brewery (five years now) in Nürnberg. Snow white, membrane-lacing, opening but generally dense and well-retaining head, misty old golden robe with warmer apricot tinge and fine sparkling throughout. Aroma of Betterfood and biscuit dough, minerals, bread crust, damp straw, rainwater, baker’s yeast, pumice, apple peel. Clean and non-estery, ‘neutral’ onset, very minerally with this minerality accentuated by spritzy carbonation; smooth bread-crusty and lightly rusk-like malts, sweetish but less so than expected based on the nose; dryish finish, continuing minerality, a touch of breadiness from the yeast and medium strong, bit wormwoody and peppery hop bitterness – but the malt sweetness, which in the very end does become slightly Betterfood- or cookie-like, prevails. Traditionally made Landbier indeed, a welcome distraction among all those lambics, stouts and IPAs at BXL Beerfest.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
New embodiment of Heilig Hart’s first sour (a beer-wine hybrid and an immediate qualitative success back in 2019, as far as I am concerned), with tweaked recipe: whereas the original batch was aged on both clay amphoras and wooden barrels, this one omits the wood altogether; the wine must used comes from different grapes now (Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Sylvaer) and the hops are different too. Other than that, this 2020 version is also much stronger than the original – so a new entry here is indeed in order. No head at all, hazy apricot blonde robe with beige-ish tinge. Rich bouquet of freshly cut green apples, cooked yellow plums, clay from the amphoras, pumice even, unripe pineapple, wine must and indeed sweetish grapes, touch of honey even, lychee wine, soapy coriander, old dried thyme or other ‘herbes de Provençe’ and a rubbery touch reminiscent of sake. Very fruity onset, estery with more ripe and fleshy, sweet-sour fruitiness than the first batch, varying between red apple, yellow plum, lychee and pear, some very light carbonation, very vinous mouthfeel (but feeling a tad thicker than wine usually does). The grapes (or rather, the must) grow and grow in the middle, adding a sweetish white wine-like flavour which eventually becomes equally strong as this bready malt core underneath; lovely yoghurty acidity keeps everything in balance, while this clay-like amphora taste comes to the foreground further on (always a bit of an adaptation after hundreds of wood-aged beers!). The herbal notes (thyme, rosemary) from the nose return too, blending with the sweet-sour juiciness of the grapes; they accentuate the drying effect delivered by the lactic acidity. Alcohol warms, a tad sherry-like, but generally remains very well hidden. Fruitier, fleshier, juicier, ‘grape-ier’ and stronger than the first – a different creation indeed, and equally interesting.
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Cocada from Brasserie Atrium 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
New pastry stout by Atrium – and as is so often the case with this creative brewery, inspired by a Brazilian theme, in this case a dessert called ‘cocada’ (a coconut cookie). The brewer’s lovely wife even served actual cocadas at BXL Beerfest to go with the beer – an excellent way of introducing European consumers to the concept. Thick, yellow-beige, membrane-lacing, creamy head on an ink black beer. Aroma of coconut macaroon or indeed the cocada, Bounty candy even, sirop de Liège, burnt muscovado sugar, milk chocolate, fudge, latté macchiato, brandy, hazelnut cookies, granola, tea. Sweet onset but not overly cloying, candied fig and yellow raisin, very light blackberry-ish sourish edge, lively carb (perhaps a bit too lively for the style), very full, oily, rounded mouthfeel. Brown sugar lingers over caramelly, black-chocolatey and peanutty maltiness, but instead of maintaining sweetness, the whole quickly turns towards the dry side, becoming roasted bitter and black coffee-like when the cocada (coconut aroma) sets in. Spicy hops further accentuate the roasted and toasty bitter aspects, warmed by whisky-like alcohol; the bitterness and spiciness are in the end much more powerful than the expected sweetness – making this beer much more bitter than the actual cocada I tasted. In all, a clever and original idea well executed, one of the best and most ambitious Atriums I had in a while – I look forward to cracking the 75 cl bottle of this beer that came with the BXL Beerfest pack.
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Perzik / Peach from Geuzestekerij De Cam 1 year ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 8.5
New fruit lambic by De Cam, with peaches this time; tried from a 75 cl corked bottle at BXL Beerfest. Snow white, moussy, large-bubbled and open head on a cloudy apricot blonde beer with yolk-yellow glow. Aroma rich in sweet ripe peaches in the most pure and fresh way possible, overpowering notes of green plum, damp hay, white yoghurt, green pear, unripe pineapple, old wood. Crisp, ‘greenish’ onset, lots of stonefruit with peach dominating (tart with a sweet core) but also plum and unripe nectarine; hints of red apple peel and gooseberry as well. Fizzy carb, ‘champenoise’, with quite full, bready malt and wheat core, deeply soaked in juicy, aromatic peach, adding a wave of ripe peach aroma retronasally as well as sweet and tart juiciness in the mouth. Green apple, wood and hay linger in the finish, but the peach keeps shining through it all, as brightly as it possibly can. A worthy follow-up to that equally bright and radiant apricot lambic De Cam released earlier this year.
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Ribenniz from Brasserie de la Senne 1 year ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 5.5 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Re-thinking Senne’s original Zinnebir, their flagship and pioneering ale, seems like a good enough idea, especially when De Ranke gets involved – that great trailblazer for what would later become the Belgian embodiment of the global craft beer revolution. At BXL Beerfest, thanks Craftmember for sharing. Snow white, cobweb-lacing, moussy, gradually breaking head, misty yellow blonde robe with vague greenish tinge. Aroma of white bread dough, freshly cut grass, green apple peel, clear note of DMS (cooked white cabbage), field flowers, raw horseradish, celery, Conference pear, vague parsley. Crisp, clean onset, not as estery as Zinnebir at all, hinting at green pear and green apple with a vague unripe pineapple note and even an impression of cucumber, quite sharply carbonated with minerally and fizzy effects; smooth white-bready, cereally core, yeasty middle with phenolic and hoppy spiciness reminiscent of celery, parsley, unripe mandarin, lemon zest and grass. A weird and frankly very unpleasant, vomit-like off-note lurks in the background, not to mention the retronasal return of the DMS; does try to set things right in the very end, when fruitiness, maltiness and hops come together nicely. I guess I need to revisit this one from a bottle with a few months of maturity on it, but in this young, tapped form, I was very disappointed, I was not expecting off-flavours from either Senne or Ranke… Clearly collabs are rarely the sum of their parts, in this case I would take any Senne beer or any Ranke beer over this, sorry guys – but as said, these off-flavours are probably not present in the bottled version, so I will certainly go look for one and re-rate this.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Blend of leftover barrel aged imperial stouts, barleywines and wheat wines by Abraxas – it would be a shame to throw them away I guess, and this practice is not uncommon (compare with The Bruery’s Mélange series, for instance). Yellow-beige, creamy, dense and stable but opening ring of foam on a jet black beer. Aroma of chocolate sauce, blackberry coulis, brown honey, brandy, bourbon, cappuccino, wet leather, caramel, vanilla-scenting oak wood, dried prunes, cinnamon, soy sauce, treacle. Densely sweet, ‘candied’ onset, candied dates and plums with a light umami edge (soy sauce); thick oily body, soft carb, layers of toffee-, walnut-, chocolate- and molasses-like maltiness, bittersweet, intense and mouth-filling, adorned with strong vanilla-ish oak wood and drying tannins, but maintaining its luscious oily bittersweetness till the end. Hints of bayleaf, cinnamon and old tawny port further grace a warming, brandy-tinged, chocolatey and nutty finish. Indeed: it would have been a shame not to create this blend from leftovers, this is as complex and intense as barrel aged top fermenting gets – Bruery’s Mélange series springs to mind all over again.
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Vanilla Abraxas from Perennial Artisan Ales 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Vanilla-flavoured variant of Perennial’s best known beer, a spiced imperial stout. Open, yellowish beige, moussy ring for a head, black robe with misty mahogany edges. Intense aroma of toffee, pecan nut pie, indeed vanilla but not overpowering and frankly a tad ‘distorted’ somehow, Chocotoff candy, beef stock cubes, fudge, chewing gum, cornflakes, cinnamon and a weird background whiff of smoked mackerel somewhere. Sweet, rounded onset, bubblegummy edges round a core of dried prunes and figs, soft carb, full and oily body; light umami notes (beef stock-like) linger around a molasses-, toffee- and pecan nut-like maltiness with an edge of Ersatz chocolate and sprinkled with spicy notes of cinnamon and clove. Vanilla appears, but in a natural, non-dominant and gracious way, even feeling a tad ‘oxidized’ in a way; thick, complex finish, lots of lingering toffee and sweet nuttiness with a dash of chocolate and spice cookies, warmed by brandy-like alcohol. Abraxas going pastry-ish but not taking it too far – not sure if this is such a good idea, because there are some weird aromas going on here and generally I must say that I was much more impressed with the regular version (not to mention that incredible barrel aged version)…
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Maman (2020) from Perennial Artisan Ales 1 year ago
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9
Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout and Perennial’s most renowned brand after the Abraxas series; samples from a two year old bottle at BXL BeerFest. Very thin and open, mocha-beige ring for a head on a black beer with hazy deep chocolate brown edges. Intense, complex and noble bouquet of strong vanilla-scenting oak wood, old tawny port, bitter chocolate, teriyaki, cracked leather, oxidized red wine, toasted rye bread, bourbon, molasses, cooked prunes, burnt fig, ink. Sweet onset but nowhere sticky, some candied date and raisin but also a thinly sliced umami effect (teriyaki), softly carbonated with full, oily, thick and somewhat viscous mouthfeel. Layers of caramelly, bitter-chocolatey, molasses-like and roasted-walnutty mats ensue, heavy and well-balanced between sweet (initially) and bitter (further on), the latter evolving into coffee-ish roastedness without taking it into ‘ashy’ or charcoal-like territory. Complex, long finish, a touch of orange peel from the hops, drowning in thick dark bittersweet malts, hints of soy sauce and bayleaf as well as very old red wine, a drying tannic oakiness and warming, port- and evidently bourbon-like alcohol. Lovely nutty and roasty flavours linger about as well. Too bad this beer is apparently no longer produced: this is a masterpiece in its genre, a somewhat underexposed but brilliant example of classic American RIS aged in classic American bourbon barrels – a formula with roots in the nineties (first BCBS batches) but a formula which never gets old. Have a world class score.
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Totem of Hops from Malcroys Brewing 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
IPA made for the brewers’ bar of this year’s Ghent Beer Fest, brewed in the kettles of Malcroys apparently (near Antwerp) but with the aid of Totem (near Ghent) – so effectively a collab of two of Belgium’s most progressive, innovative and cutting edge microbrewers and two brewers I have been admiring for years now. Egg-white, large-bubbled, irregularly edged, lacing, slowly opening head on a cloudy apricot blonde robe with yolk-yellow glow – the NEIPA look. Aroma of green kiwi, rambutan, margarine, whipped cream, orange juice, guava, melting butter, dank armpit sweat note, green mango, cheese spread – the diary effects that kept returning, probably ascribable to diacetyl because of the sheer youth of this beer when I tasted it (but I could not be bothered – as long as it is not overly dominant, I can tolerate a bit of diacetyl, makes me think of those lovely English cask ales). Very fruity onset, juicy starfruit and kiwi with a subtle mango touch, hint of ripe apricot too, quite sharpish in carbonation for a hazy IPA; creamy, slick, quite ‘full’ body, doughy and cereally malts under aromatic starfruit, lime zest, lychee and guava impressions from the hops, which also deposit a brief peppery bitterness in the end. The whole remains soft and fruity, with some lingering dankness. Brimming with radiant hoppiness in the New World-inspired sense, juicy and citrusy with lovely tropical notes, but never becoming too sultry or sweet so maintaining high drinkability; I have to admit that I had better IPAs from both Totem and Malcroys individually, but it is a good thing that these like-minded brewers get along well and a collab like this is not to be missed, the diacetyl note will even have gone completely by now (if this beer is still available today in the first place).
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Emmer from The Beer Steward 1 year ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
Sour ale – fermented with Lachancea and therefore technically a Philly sour – commissioned by The BeerSteward from Gistgeest in Antwerp; presenting itself as the world’s first “apero beer” (which is commercial nonsense of course), this beer is brewed with emmer wheat, one of our cultivated wheat’s wild ancestors and admittedly a rarity in brewing today, and flavoured with hibiscus. Snow white, moussy, open and thinnish head, clean pale orange blonde robe with vaguely salmon-pinkish tinge. Aroma of unripe nectarine, gooseberry, plum, bergamot, stale lime juice, green apple, sourdough. Tart onset, more so than expected, hints of lime, sorrel and Granny Smith apple, softly carbonated (almost flat even); lactic, kefir-like tartness continues round a sourdoughy, bit grainy and indeed wheaty core, paired with lingering green apple, gooseberry and sour grape impressions, towards a dryingly tart, bit vinous, fruity but relatively short finish, in which I find very little of the promised citrusy hoppiness. More hops could save the day here, but in itself an elegant little sour alright.