Alengrin
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Alengrin
added a new brewery:
Brasserie Philippe
located in Belgium
6 days ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
After quietly producing top-fermented beers for several years, Bobbi in Haut-Ittre decided to become the first lambic brewery in French-speaking Belgium (ignoring unedited first experiments by Tilquin), but the fermentation and maturation actually take place in the cellars of the Halles Saint-Géry in the heart of Brussels, once the capital of lambic. I was not too impressed with their first fruit lambic but now - that is to say, last autumn - they present this geuze, arguably the most ambitious of lambic genres, so I just had to try this one. Opens with 'gun smoke' escaping from the bottle neck and a bit of slow gushing, but nothing dramatic (contrary to said fruit lambic). Moussey, eggshell-white, foamy, fizzing, pillowy head slowly reducing to a medium thick yet stable layer, over a misty warm pale orange-glowing peach blonde beer with dense clouds of sparkling everywhere sustaining the head - but difficult to distinguish from the haze; turns more milky-beige-ish in the end. Aroma of pronounced oak wood, old wooden furniture, grapefruit zest, bilimbi, unripe green plums, wood sorrel, oloroso sherry, apricot vinegar, sourdough, dusty attic, dried dandelion and other bitter weeds, withered grass, bitterroot, wet farmland (even manure) further on when the bottle progresses - but volatile. Crisp, spritzy onset, lots of champagne-like effervescence with bubbly, minerally effects yet fit for the style (even if the bubbles could have been a bit 'smaller'), throwing fruity esters around in the way of sour plum, unripe apricot, cucumber and lemon, yet nowhere harshly acidic and even harbouring a vague peachy sweetishness in its core. Supple, lean body, ongoing fruity and lactic sourness ploughing through a smooth bready backbone, with woody tannins becoming ever more pronounced, even astringent and bitter in the end - the bitterness also coming from a firm dosage of old hops of course, adding something earthy, dried-wormwoody, even rooty, a bit more so than average for a traditional geuze. The fruitiness continues, including even that peach-like sweetish touch, keeping things vibrant till the end, when retronasally a notable dry sherry- or even dry madeira-like aroma unfolds, adding to the, all things condisered, bright colour palette this newcomer among 'old' geuzes offers. I was fearing much worse from these guys, to be frank, but they pulled it off: though rather atypical and distinct in multiple respects of aroma and flavour (more end bitterness, more dry sherry effects, stronger woodiness, softer-sweeter fruitiness), it is in the end a very tasty geuze that will no doubt be developed further in batches to come, hopefully acquiring a bit more balance, finesse and complexity than it already has. One to watch.
Alengrin
updated a beer:
Art Nouveau Geuze
brewed by Bobbi Brewery - Brasserie d’Ittre
6 days ago
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Darkstar November from Bottle Logic Brewing 6 days ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 7.5
Coffee stout brewed with rye and aged in bourbon barrels, by this – understandably – hugely popular American craft brewery. Bomber from Beerdome shared with Craftmember and Goedele. Mocha-beige, thinnish, open and dissolving head on a pitch black robe. Complex nose of chocolate liqueur, Belgian chocolates, almond, bourbon, prominent vanilla-scenting oak wood, amaretto, hazelnut purée, golden raisins, walnut oil, black peppercorns, touch liquorice. Densely sweet, clean and focused onset, candied fig, yellow raisin and candied pear with a touch of blackberry coulis – not quite as sugary as other big stouts I had from this brewery, though still outspokenly sweet; softish carb, very full and oily, near to syrupy mouthfeel, layers of hazelnut, coffee cream, milk chocolate, toffee and eventually cappuccino filling the mouth, with the rye adding a background grey-brown bread spiciness and syrupiness. The bourbon comes up strong after that, along with a wealth of vanilla-like oak wood; the alcohol becomes a bit peppery and hot in the end, but lovely caramelly and vanillin-like bourbon flavours linger afterwards – pairing well with the dark, sweet, chocolatey malt core. Perhaps just a tad too sticky and boozy for me personally, but definitely complex and tasty (though for such a hefty price, I guess I was expecting something even bigger, maybe…).
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Freeze-distilled coffee stout in a new series of ‘eisbocked’ beers issued by Emelisse, the once very modest local brewery turned world star thanks to head brewer Kees Bubberman but struggling to maintain that level of quality after his departure in 2015 (and since 2016 part of the overarching Slot Oostende project). Thin and open, pale grey-beige ‘head’ lacing in dots for a while before disappearing entirely; black robe with clear mahogany edges. Aroma of iced coffee (very strongly and almost unidimensionally so), melting mocha ice cream, cold espresso ‘tout court’, whisky, beef stock cubes, teriyaki, smoked horse meat, cold tomato soup or even tomato concentrate, bayleaf, hard caramel, cigars, toasted peanuts. Very dense, sweet, iced coffee-like onset, some candied dark fruit and reduced fig syrup, but next to the sweetness also with a very prominent umami flavour (beef stock, gravy, brown beans); very soft carb, thick and syrupy body (as can be expected from an ‘eisbocked stout’). Toffeeish and bitter-chocolatey malts with a weird aftertaste of curdled cream and strong roasty bitter finish due to both the roasted malts and the coffee having been amplified by the freeze distilling treatment; leafy hops also enhanced and finally, unsurprisingly of course, a lot of harsh cheap whisky-like booze. Muscle-flexing for geeks: through the years I have become very wary around these ‘eisbocked’ beers unless they are done subtly like actual traditional Eisbock, and this one is not what one calls subtle; all the flavours, the booziness, the thickness and so on are greatly amplified by this treatment, and this often implies that the balance goes completely lost. This one too is too boozy, too crude and too umami-forward for me to enjoy. I regret to conclude that Emelisse still has not found the same level of sophistication, accuracy and complexity Kees put into their beers a decade ago…
Alengrin
added a new beer
Iced Series 2024 - Double Espresso Iced Stout
by
Brouwerij Emelisse
6 days ago
Alengrin (10989) reviewed Moonfield from Van Den Bossche 6 days ago
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Spiced blonde created for a music festival in Mol in the Kempen region but sold in several other places as well – such as the Zappa café in Scheldewindeke, where I got it from tap. Allegedly brewed under commission by Van Den Bossche, though no such information is disclosed on the label… Very dense, towering high, rocky, snow white, very tightly lacing and very stable head, hazy pale straw blonde robe with greenish tinge. Aroma of bread crumbs, coriander seed, freshly cut grass, fresh cucumber, green pear, halfripe banana, meadowsweet, dandelion leaves, flour and buttercups. Crisp onset from sharp and painfully numbing overcarbonation adding a lot of minerality; essentially sweetish, with notes of pear, green melon and light banana, lingering over a smooth pale maltiness with wheaty, powdery, white-bready core (not sure if wheat was actually used here but I suspect it was). Floral, grassy hop character, again meadowsweet, sweetclover and other field and marsh flowers, along with a touch of dried lemongrass; coriander seed as well, adding to that powdery effect, while the hops provide a medium long, altogether mild yet effective end bitterness. Crisp and focused, with some sharper edges mainly due to that overcarbonation (could be the tap system though – I should revisit this one from a bottle), but in being so, very refreshing as well. Decent blonde with clear witbier features in a sleek kind of way – better than I was expecting, really.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Moonfield
by
Van Den Bossche
6 days ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Imperial porter aged on Irish whiskey barrels (hence the -e- in ‘whiskey’), thanks to Craftmember for sharing! Moussey, pale greyish beige, dotty-lacing, slowly breaking head, black(ish) robe with deep mahogany glow. Aroma of coffee cream, mocha ice cream, touch melting milk chocolate even, caramel, whiskey, beef stock, cappuccino, fresh bayleaf, dry tree leaves, coffee grounds, nutmeg. Sweetish onset but somewhat restrainedly so (in fact less sweet than expected), notes of prune and dried apple peel, medium carbonated; full, rounded body, bit oily, with toasted-walnutty, dry-caramelly and brown-bread-crusty malt layers filling the mouth. Roasty, coffee- to chicory-like bitterness comes quickly in this one, supported by a leafy hop bitterness and woody tannins, as well as a peppery, warming, whisk(e)y-like alcohol effect in the finish. Very solid and oldskool, as usual in this brewery’s stouts and porters.
Alengrin
added a new beer
Oaks And Mirrors Maple Edition
by
Brehon Brewhouse
6 days ago