Glazen Toren, Saison d'Erpe Mere

Delicious saison from Glazen Toren in Erpe-Mere (surprisingly enough). Sub £7 about 5/6 months ago, money very well spent. Watched Spectre, it was dull.

Fantôme, Brise-BonBons!

You know that really irritating taste in an IPA when you've got to it too late? The overpowering maltiness barely tempered by a nondescript herbal/vegetal parenthesis, the oily mouthfeel without the accompaniment, then a big bitterness that teases you about how good it was when fresh. This Fantôme basically. Maybe some bitter lemon flavours, some saisonyness, but mostly just the taste of dissappointment. (I've still got a Pissenlit wasting away somewhere to upset me as well.....)

Fantôme, India Red Ale

Since my first time with Fantôme, my experiences havent been so great. My second bottle of the saison seemed a little tired - there was none of that tropical, dry hop business. I put it down to hop fade (it was an older bottle that I'd been aging after all).

I figured their India Red Ale would be a pungent, dry hopped to eff saison. Not really, unfortunately. The fact that I don't have notes for it suggests I was underwhelmed although I do remember three things quite clearly - the first was this bizarre herbal taste that I didn't recognise (funnily enough, in hindsight, the closest thing I can think of that resembled that taste was the Wacky Cabbage that we used to buy from East West). Second was a very bitter finish, but not a particularly pleasant one. Lastly, I remember struggling to finish it. Overall, a bit of a shame really.

Brasserie Cantillon, Iris

Far be it from me to think I can do justice to the taste of this drink in words, so here are a bunch of over the top images of an empty bottle instead.

Brouwerij Lindemans, Oude Kriek Cuveé René

Bottled 20.3.14 ("2013 Vintage"), drank 11.12.15. Another pop, no gush. Sweet nose, sharp cherry, small nut. As with the gueuze, very sharp indeed. Zero sweetness. Fruit/citric/lemon. Minor fustiness/barnyard/funk up front, then almost immediately overpowered by the acidity. Some small woodiness towards the end. Very astringent. Again, fantastic price at sub £6 for a 750ml. My first glass was cellar temperature, the 2nd out of the fridge, I actually think the chill suited it better.

Brouwerij Lindemans, Oude Gueuze Cuveé René

Bottled date of 22.4.15. Cork pop and a small gush. A wafting aroma thereafter of plasters and funk. Very sharp indeed - the sharpness is almost overwhelming and mutes any other nuances. Possibly a bit indistinct or maybe one dimensional as a result. Definite oak though, finish is very dry and enamel stripping. Not my favourite gueuze but at the price poin, you simply cannot argue: £4.49 for 750ml from Beers Of Europe.

De Struise, Black Albert

A desert island stout. I had the 2013 version (I'm guessing?) at new year 2013/2014 (preceded by some Laurent Perrier) and another a few months later. The first was out of the fridge and left to stand for 15mins or so, the second at 14°C (approx). 2 very different experiences in taste terms. The appearance is standard: butterscotch head, oily and black pour. For my first bottle, there was only a minimal nose but it increased throughout. Coffee. Dark sugar + dried fruit (raisins). Balanced with burnt malt and a coffee bitterness. Meat: marmite and dried mushroom. This was one of my first 'Belgian stouts', so the high(ish) carbonation was a bit weird (having been used to Kernel impy brown slickness). Occasionallly in the drinking, it reminded me of a supercharged Guinness Foreign Export. Overall impression was sweetness and stickiness, good but not blown away.

My second bottle however: oh my days. The hops appeared and changed the thing entirely. A powerful nose this time - rainwater mushrooms and grassy hops, some nail varnish. The taste was as above in places but more akin to a well made cappucino with hops. Some liquorice at the death but I could live with that. I've bought up a few bottles of the 2015 vintage - I can confirm that it's just as good and I'm quite smug in the knowledge that I still have 3 bottles waiting.

Brasserie Fantôme, Saison

A very popular Belgian saison, particularly in the US I understand. It's pretty 'complex' I suppose - there's a small sourness going on (cider vinegar on the nose), ripe orange, sweaty farmhouse (brett?) - the taste is kind of all over the shop. It's kind of cool though - I quite like the jumbly nature of it. It's not heavy going like the Moneuse, even though it's a similar abv and the colours aren't particularly dissimilar. After I'd acclimatised to it, my overriding impressions was that of a dry hopped saison: overripe fruit style hoppage - some pineapple, sweetness (malts?), acidity too. Finsh was bitter, some more hops there too iirc. Warming but not overly boozy. A warm up drink would do well I think. Fantastic saison overall. I have another one.

Brasserie de Balugies, Moneuse

Dark orange pour, yeasty aroma + ripe fruit. Mouthfeel is heavy. High carbonation (obv). Taste is yeast, saison (:/), some fruit, but no funk/sweat/barnyard (unlike the D'Epeautre). Some bitterness in the finish. Hard to drink all if this. A bière de garde rather than a saison? I do like Blaugies though - hope to one day get hold of that one they did with Hill Farmstead.

Brasserie de Blaugies, Saison d'Epeautre

Big fat pop as the cork came off! No gush though. Purchased from Bottledog for a semi-decent £6.50. Sweet + sweaty nose, light body. Taste had some funk, coriander?? Quite sweet and some yeast. Small bitterness in the finish. Dry. Good. Will buy again.

Brasserie Dupont, Moinette Biologique

Probably a belgian golden ale rather than a saison I think. My notes say "solid strong belgian beer". Pleased with the photograph though - took me ages to balance the damn thing.

Brasserie Dupont, Avec Les Bon Voeux

Don't drink this often enough unfortunately. Have had a bottle every Christmas since 2013, planning to have another this year to make 3 years on the trot. An easy 4.5/5 this beer, love it. Can't pronounce that last word in the name though.

Brasserie Dupont, Saison Dupont Cuvée Dry Hopping 2014

Shit-the-bed good, this saison. Shading the Elusive/Weird Beard collab on vicosity and mouthfeel, this 2014 cuvée was hopped with wohle challenger hops for big marmalade and dank orange aromas and taste, married with Dupont farmhouse signature yeastiness. 2015 wasn't quite as pungent (Minstrel hops from the UK) but still excellent. This drink is released in April/May and I tend to get hold of one towards the end of the year so I'm not even drinking them at their freshest...

De Struise, Delphine Cuvée

I hate Goose Island Bourbon County. I loved the Magic Rock Bourbon Bearded Lady. This one had me trepidatious: Black Albert (blog post pending) is a hallowed drink for me, almost shading the Kernel 1856. I took a guess that this'd be a sweeter version thereof, but had hopes that the chaps from Vleteren wouldn't let me down and make it something less Goose Island and more Magic Rock. I bought 3 bottles just to be sure and it was.....somewhere in the middle.

I mightn't buy this again, perhaps if I saw it on tap somewhere I'd be tempted. (Unless it was at a Craft Beer Co where I'd almost certainly have to mortgage my coat to drink a half. Stupid Craft Beer Co.)

Partizan, Quad

I didn't really know what a Quad was before I drank this. I mean, I knew that it was one 'level' above a tripel, I knew it was Belgian, but taste-wise and manufacture process-wise, I was more or less totally ignorant. So, looking back over my notes, they seem a little harsh and I'm guessing that was totally due to my ignorance of this style of beer. I've since read about quads (and very possibly most Belgian beers) that they aren't an exercise in blowing one's mind, rather they are about pure drinkability, balance and harmony. I had my first Rochefort 10 the other day and it more or less fit this particular billing. I'd quite I'd like to go back to the Partizan quad and give it another go.

De Struise, Ignis et Flamma

I drank this Belgian IPA from De Struise before I got all silly about saison etc. It wasn't my usual tipple then - I was expecting some of sort of hoppy monster.... Anyway, check out the head on that! And I poured it very carefully indeed. I had to spoon some of it out so fit more actual liquid in the glass! Rich body with the merest tint of citrus hops at the edges, warming with a foamy carbonation (!) mouthfeel. I've got a Meantime Cali-Belgian IPA waiting to be drunk. I wonder if it'll taste similar to this?

Trappist Achel Bruin, Brouwerij der St. Benedictusabdij de Achelse

I really don't think I have the credentials to even be pretending to know what I'm talking about with this beer, so I'll leave any taste/nose talk out. Youngest monastic order in Belgium? More info here on Sint-Benedictusabdij De Achelse Kluis. Wow, what a lovely, lovely beer - just look at the colour of it in that first photo....!

Brasserie Dupont, Saison Dupont

The archetypal saison? This signature farmhouse ale from Brasserie Dupont smells of lager and pours a beautiful, hazy straw colour. Über fresh and cleanses the palette. Brief bitterness at the back of the tongue. A really nostalgic taste for me so I'm possibly a bit biased towards this one. My second pour had a few spirals of yeast in it, which absolutely in no way detracted from my enjoyment of it (unlike it might do in, say, a bottle conditioned IPA). I'm a total saison novice so I wasn't too sure what to look for - ignorance is bliss I suppose - so I get the feeling I was in the (perhaps slightly enviable?) position to simply enjoy it for what it was rather than scrutinizing the enjoyment away. Argh - just writing this makes me want one...