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American Porter on the label, for me there are distinct Belgian Stout notes. Black looking body in poorer, unnatural light, this is distinctly more dirty brown in better, natural light. Head is rocky and wispy and tannish in color. Very authentic...
Great clarity on the golden pour with a nice head. Little lace, not much retention and a thin collar left. Well-carbonated. Nose is quite extraordinary. Earthy manure/farm/grass/fermented hay - a real sweet, pungent aroma, and in a good way! Tastes...
Disappointingly, this came to the states only in the special, World Cup 4-packs with a commemorative glass. This beer has sod-all to do with the World Cup, oh how I hate marketing! Pour offers the anticipated pale golden body with some broken lace...
So this is 16 years old at this point, so expectations are quite low, but on the other hand if ever a beer were built to withstand such a period of time it might be this one. Shared with Chris at Parlor City Brewing, Bluffton, IN. Small fizz...
Having been terribly disappointed with this, I now move on to my second Machine House beer the 2025 Barleywine. Pour gives a great looking, two-finger head that lingers. Some lace, and a great film across the body on settling. Body has a copper hue...
So here we are. I've been fiercely critical of Tavour for a number of years, and with good reason in many cases, but when Machine House turned up on the app a few weeks ago all of that was forgotten - at least temporarily. Machine House is a...
Purchased at Sergio's. Easily the hardest cork to remove of any bottle - not just Fantome but any bottle include wine - that I have ever opened. Pop was minimal, and a very small gush but nothing to speak of. Odd combination of an extreme seal and...
On the face of it, this could be a beer that is right up my alley, but there's quite a bit riding on the influence of the chardonnay barrel here. I do like that influence if the final result is grape must, vinous character, and clean edges, but not...
High white head, but it's wispy and soon gone to leave little lace, and only a collar on the beer. Pale lemon body with some mild haze. Head is less impressive than most other de la Senne beers. Nose is pretty neutral to be honest, with some simple...
The usual Fantome presentation. Is this a new/alternative name for the Spring/Printemps? lot ba 02 26 best before 2029. A worrying lack of pop on opening, and by any standards this is under-carbnated. Color is fine, mid-golden body, but the head...
375 mL bottle for the 2025 re-release, pictured. An aggressive pour gives a great, high, beige colored head. This is short-lived though, and falls back to a millpond stillness with no retention or lace to speak of. Not too worried given the style...
Usual Fantôme presentation with a big pop on opening. Brewed in association with the folk at TripelB, Belgian Beer bar in Worcester, England. Lovely pour with a standard golden, clear body and a nice head. The head is quite rocky and broken, but...
The standard Fantôme presentation, capped and corked. Nice pop on opening. Pretty, pale golden color with a pillowy, high head. Not a great deal of lace, but good retention of the head. There really is a noticeable, clean citrusy...
$22.99 on a recent mercy trip to the Detroit 'burbs. 2020-2021 vintage, BBD 16-03-2031. Apparently 7/8 Rulles Brune with 1/8 one-year-old lambic, then macerated with 160 grams of blackcurrants per liter. Corked and caged, nice pop on opening. Color...
IF this were a Dubbel it would be the best looking Dubbel on the planet! Allow me to explain. Almost without exception, Dubbels have that, "oh so unattractive" dirty dishwater brown hue. This on the other hand has a spectacular, mid-copper clarity...
Nice pour with excellent carbonation for the style. Not much retention of course (as expected), but some better than expected lace, and a nice white film and collar also exceed expectations. Slightly burnt-orange colored body. Nose is all rampant,...
11.2 oz bottle. Lightly clouded, gold-orange pour. Small, well-formed head with some lace and a white collar with some surface foam. There is a lovely, extremely subtle fruit note about the beginning of this beer that could be apricot based. It...
Murky brown color which is not especially attractive, looks drab. The head is OK given the beer, and recedes, as expected, to a thinnish collar. In better light the beer looks like it has some more crimson/purple hue. Nose is a very woody based...
Brewery De Meester has been making a lot of noise in recent years, but mostly for reasons that I'm not interested in. They seem to have a large American influence that I don't care for, and people have been excited about the kind of beer that I...
Quintessence 2025 Blend. BB 03APR 30. Light copper body with a smallish off-white head, some lace. Average retention. Nose is that of dryish grape skins. A touch of tartness in the first sips, but it's modest, and it is also accompanied by plenty...
This is a slightly older bottle, L1 05.2023. Unfiltered. Small gas release on opening, but the beer seems more carbonated than that might suggest. Golden orange body with some retention and lace. Nose is very herbal, and is true to the label. It's...
Well, this was a turn-up for the books. We used to get a few Baladin bottles here in the USA at the height of the 2005-2015 boom, and generally they were decent if somewhat expensive. Baladin has been (mostly) absent from these shores for a long,...
330 mL bottle, Belgian Style Ales. New one for me. Best Before End 08/13/27. Deep golden pour but oddly very little pop on opening. The head is OK and retention and lace alright, but the lack of carbonation when the bottle opened had me thinking...
Part of the special Anniversary two-pack with a commemorative glass. $60 from Sergio. So, a 10% lambic. What do we have here? Nice, golden orange pour. Head is great for the style and ABV and has some decent retention. Some moderate lace, somewhat...
Well I will say that the garnet colored pour is certainly in line with the name of the beer, so there's that! This is a thinnish beer, so if you are looking for a rich, robust porte this isn't really it, but perhaps paradoxically it is quite...
Likely irrelevant and unfair, it's probably still worth saying that I like this beer much, much more than the original strong ale. Different things? Sure, but nevertheless an inevitable, if not a particularly valid, comparison. This really is a...
Found this on a Detroit suburb mercy run with a few other gems. $29.99 for the 2017-2018 vintage. Best Before 10/04/2028. Happy to take a chance on it, and felt relatively confident that it would offer a decent experience. 7/8 Rulles Brune and 1/8...
2025 vintage. Mid to light brown body with a decent head that comes with the aggressive pour. Retention and lace are consistent with the ABV. Definitely feels 'wintery' than some in the series, but has some cranberry notes. Plenty of alcohol here,...
Bottled 11/23, good for 20 years after that date. Corked and capped, 375 mL. Pale golden pour with the head that you would expect. Medium body, perhaps a little bigger and softer than I had first expected. Some light acidity up front, but this is...
Lovely head, but it fades pretty fast. That's OK at this ABV. Nose has plenty of clean alcohol, and it's mildly solvent based. This beer is quite a mixture. Sweet and caramel based, followed by a much more acidic back-end with some additional...
Unfiltered with green hops (as per the brewery website, We use only freshly harvested hops for our green hop pilsner. This ensures an intense aroma profile that varies from harvest to harvest. Because the beer is unfiltered, it has a fuller body...
Ale Yeah! Atlanta, GA. Blended exclusively for the US market, the official description is thus; "Lindemans Oude Gueuze Cuvée de l'Amitié is a limited edition lambic blend created exclusively for our fans in the USA. Its name roughly translates to...
When I say this is a standard German Pils, you should not take that as any kind of negative comment. You should also note that the color of the beer is a little, 'less than standard'. Light yellow of course, but there's a gentle, murky haze hanging...
Hard to believe that I have no notes on this beer until now. I've drunk it on multiple occasions. I believe that the recipe gets tweaked every year. I'm assuming this is a 2025, but the dates are obliterated on the label. A classic, Belgian IPA if...
I have absolutely no idea what's going on with this beer. To me it feels like a confusing mix of styles, but in the end none of that took away from the enjoyment, it really is very tasty. Apparently a Festbier, it has elements of German pilsner, a...
Mid-golden pour, perfect clarity, fluffy white head with some nice, sticky lace. All as expected for the style. Great, complex malt nose that promises depth. It's quite sweet up front but perhaps paradoxically very clean. No muddiness here. As we...
This is a new Hofbräu beer for me, and what a beauty. Classic, dark copper color. Head and lace aren't great, but this is an 8+% beer so nothing to be concerned about. A ton of toffee and caramel upfront, but it comes with a slightly bitter,...
I had such an amazing experience with the original version of this beer after 10 years (see this), that the 2025 vintage is something I am anxious to try. Nice head, retention and lace not that great, but certainly acceptable and within the...
Not much of a Maiden fan, and although Bruce Dickinson is clearly a multi-talented genius, I could do without the connection to beer. Having said that Robinsons are a deeply respected brewer in my book so I'm still very interested in anything that...
2023 variant. Mulberries, boysenberries, marionberries. I've never been a BCBS guy. Not at the beginning and not in the years since. What tends to happen is that I never buy any of them around the release, but rather pick up one or two in any given...
Corked & Caged, 375 mL bottle. 2025 Vintage. I'm absolutely positive that I've had this on a least one other occasion, but no notes that I can find. Pretty, burgundy pour, decent head out of the bottle but it fades quickly. Little retention,...
OK, here we go with the CostCo special! bottled Summer 2025, Lot D. I saw this and at first was mildly excited that it might be a Fuller's Vintage Ale clone. As it is, I'm not much interested in the style of beer represented here, BUT I'll try...
Chimay 175 is also a future, year round release as Chimay Yellow. Honey colored body with a little chill-haze. Head is typical, i.e., bone-white, bubbly and has excellent retention. Lovely lace. Somewhat neutral, grainy nose that opens on warming...
A beer that I know well from its original iteration in 2012. Golden orange pour with complete clarity. Nose has some significant fusel alcohol. Fruit is the watchword, but not especially entirely recognizable as being pineapple based. Lots of...
Dark brown body with a decent head if one gives an aggressive pour. Decent head, but not a great deal of retention or lace. That's all in order for the ABV. Nose has a weird combination of sweetness and light bourbon character. Pretty thin in the...
11-16, L25-24340. 2025. $30.99 on a recent run to the Detroit suburbs. Oh, this is rather good. A lovely head on the pour that looks much like the original beer in terms of color. Golden, lightly hazed. The head is high, creamy, well maintained,...
2025 release. See the 2020 release notes here. I like this marginally more than the 2020 version, but it still feels relatively light, and quite thin especially when considering the style. The beer does deliver a bit more alcohol than the 2020...
2025 version, my first crack at this one as I missed all of the prior releases. Jet black pour in poor light, dark brown in better, nice tan head, but lace and retention are minimal. Some scant ring lingers. All expected and acceptable for the ABV....
All of the beeradvocate reviews that include word descriptions for Amèri' iGhost, mention the harsh bitterness of the beer but all of those reviews are from 2022. As such, even having read them I don't feel confident that what's written in those...
Pour is a pale yellow, somewhat cloudy affair with a nicely formed, mid-density head. Retention isn't great, but the lace is good. Nose offers way too much acidity for me. Even though the initial tastes back-off from the nose a little, the taste...
Reddish brown body (depending on the light) with the expected relatively scant head and absence of any lace and retention. Having said that, there is a light film collar around the edge of the glass. Nose gives a gentle ethanoic acid note but it's...
33 cl bottle, the usual De La Senne presentation. This beer is a little beyond its suggested Best Before date, but not significantly. Reddish, bown/black pour and yes, I know that sounds rificulous, but the light hitting the beer in various ways...
500 mL bottle, great presentation in the elegant bottle. A three year blend, bottled in 2025. Golden, honey-lemon body with a nice head that has very good retention and lace which are all well within style parameters. Looks good. Nose has an...
A beer that I know oh so well, but in 2025 it appears that actually I know absolutely nothing! What on Earth do I mean? Read on. Every year I call Trader Joe's Vintage Ale "one of the best value beers in brewed in North America". Every year it...
A pale golden, lightly clouded body sits underneath an initially large, well-formed head, but one that fades to absolutely nothing rather quickly. A fizzy tease. A lovely color, but the beer flatters to deceive a little in terms of that initial...
... or Chimay Grande Réserve Fermentée en Barriques - Chêne Français, Chêne Américain, Brandy (02/2024) to give it its full name. Corked & Caged, heavy, 375 mL bottle. Big pop on opening, and the pour definitely shows that the Brandy '24...
... or Chimay Grande Réserve Fermentée en Barriques - Chêne Français, Chêne Américain, Calvados (05/2023) to give it its full name. Corked & Caged, heavy, 375 mL bottle, with Best Before End of 2028 date. As I saw with the Rhum version this is...
375 mL bottle, corked & caged with the lavender colored cap on the cage (not always the case). Modest pop on opening, and carbonation is mid to low. A little head that lingers to give a film and even some lace - quite surprising TBH. Lightly...
375 mL corked & caged affair. Tavour isn't good for much, and happiness is difficult to find. Knee deep in hazed canned shit, dumb melted candy bars, and fake fruit sours, there are one or two gems - this is one such beer. Lemon colored,...
Mid-brown, slightly murky (Dubbel-like) pour with a off-white, significant head. Great sticky lace, some nice retention. The body seems to clear a little over time. This is very rich right off the bat. It has a very strong presence that is a...
Bought this fully aware of the age and the likely outcome. I'll always take a change for somewhere around $10. Pours a mid-orange color with a lack of clarity. Carbonation was much better than expected. Nose and tastes offer a bit of a cider-like...
The usual Bon Secours presentation with the "Grolsch" flip top. best Before End 12/25. Mid-brown, relatively drab colored body, but a lovely fluffy, well-retained head with good lace. Nose and initial tastes definitely give up some level of...
"Italian Red Ale". The fancy 300 ml bottle as noted here. Beeradvocate has this listed as a Herbed/Spice beer but for all intents and purposes this drinks like a light, American Red - hence my categorization. Pour is a very light copper color with...
Third bottle of Kombine. Braupakt was super (especially on draft) so there are high hopes for Kombine. Fluffy head on a orange, hazy (unfiltered) body. Head retention isn't the best, but the lace is good. Yeasty, bready orange notes on the nose and...
Some things are just meant to be! I had never tried Kwaremont until December of 2024 when I went to Sergio's for the first time. He had it on draft there. Really enjoyed it and had to get a bottle from Belgium. Got the bottle and ordered the glass,...
Tremendous dark copper clarity on the pour with a lovely, off-white head. NOT your typical, drab Dubbel appearance. Retention of the head is decent with an above average light film forming across the surface of the beer, and the lace well above...
Bottled on 01 24 25. OK. Is this a "bad" beer? Make up your own mind. Is this a poor example of the style? Yes. Without any doubt. Presentation is good, in the 375 mL corked and caged bottle. The color is very nice in literal terms (a crystal...
Batch/Lot L41631, Best Before 12.06.2034. Modest pop on opening the corked and caged bottle. Dark burgundy body with some decent pink head. Some film-like retention. No lace, as expected. Much like the sister Gueuze, this is a gentle beer. Soft,...
This beer pours a lot less dark than some photographs suggest, with a lightly hazed orange body below a the usual, impressive wispy head. Some lace, moderate retention. There are quite a lot of band-aid phenols upfront in the nose, and more...
Well they have certainly made a huge effort with the packaging here. 300 ml bottle (as opposed to 330), with the paper striped cap, and raised lettering and flat sides on the glass. Quite the production, probably added $2 to the price of the beer!...
Pour is a lovely copper color with some depth. "Good" carbonation, but unfortunately it's that soda type which makes a lot of fizzing noise and then fades to absolutely nothing - not a fan. No lace, no retention. It should be noted that on...
This is an older bottle of a delicate beer that is 24 months past its best before date. Notes purely for self. Still some decent carbonation which is really a function of De La Senne. However that's where things basically end. Murky orange body...
Annoying glass, annoying beer. Is this any different to the regular that I rate quite low? No. Big pop on opening. Good. Too dark for my liking for the style, and the beer is a little musty at two years old. That's not the fault of the beer per se,...
This is one of those classic Fantôme beers that out of the gate, both in terms of the nose and the initial tastes, almost knock you off your feet with phenols, band-aids and other medicinal notes. However, also in a classic manner, it backs down...
Beautiful, honey-orange pour with a magnificent head in true Dany style. Retention and lace are great. Resplendent. Nose certainly has the citrus fruit promised. Oranges certainly. Lovely, restrained light bitterness breaks across the tongue....
An old friend dressed up in some new (06/07/23) clothes. The 35th Anniversary Black Butte seeking inspiration from 'bold German Black Forest cake'. (Imperial) Porter, although that moniker sits badly with me TBH. Great looking pour. Black body,...
The usual Bon Secours presentation with the flip-top. Solid, mid to dark brown pour with a decent head. Retention good, some lace but limited. Nose offers some light, sweetish mocha. and some roasted notes. Nicely balanced with some malty alcohol...
750 mL from a recent Belgianmart purchase. I must have had this beer a hundred times before, but no notes until now. Lovely. Great pour, fantastic head lightly hazed golden body. Lace and retention excellent. Good drying esters up front with a...
The Steenbrugge beers used to be available in Atlanta back in the day, and I would dip into them occasionally. I only see a single review from me of the Wit from 2011 which wasn't very complimentary, but I am positive that there was another style...
Chestnut brown pour with some murk. A few orange highlights. Better color than those words might suggest! Super head, decent retention, good lace. Nose has a ton of lighted roasted malts. Same initial tastes with some lightly bittering hops cutting...
I've been waiting on this beer. Well-carbonated, by not overly so. Thick, billowy head with some excellent retention. Lace works nicely close to the body of the beer. There's quite a lot of sweetness here, and that's entirely appropriate if this is...
My general suspicion of Dubbels goes way way back, and the bottom line is that they tend not to thrill me. I often find then drab and dull, both in literal appearance and in taste. This is one of the exceptions (there are a few). There's nothing...
LOT E/V ALIDADE Mc 4 24 best bef end 2027 Disappointing lack of pop on the removal of the cork, and the beer is definitely under-carbonated on the pour. Not usually an issue with any Fantôme beers, but today it was. Lower ABV than many Fantôme...
A beautiful, strong, copper colored body underneath a quite fine array of bubbles forming the head, Some nice lace - it's sticky. Some light to mid-level fruit in the nose. Plenty of fruit in the tastes too, and the beer drinks like a "dark estery...
12.7 oz bottle, corked and caged. Here's the commercial description: "This ridiculous mixed culture sour ale, brewed in collaboration with our friends at Dogfish Head, was inspired by Sam Calagione’s love for verjus. Underripe Pinot Noir grapes...
As any repeat reader of my notes posted on this site about Belgian barreled or liquor infused beers will know, I have a pretty low opinion of beers that have been bastardized. Additionally, if you know about me and my taste in beer you'd also know...
This is the 2023, French oak, American oak, Tank, Barrel and Bottle version. 375 mL, corked & caged. Tremendous pop on opening, and in good light the beer has an attractive, copper hue with some really bright elements. The light helps this...
A wheat wine. This was a style that really made a statement when I first encountered them maybe 20+ years ago. A golden orange body with a decent head considering the ABV. Poorly retained and no lace - as expected. The nose is way, way more...
... or Chimay Grande Réserve Fermentée en Barriques - Chêne Français, Chêne Américain, Rhum (02/2021) to give it its full name. Corked & Caged, heavy, 375 mL bottle, with Best Before End of 2026 date. Good looking dark brown pour with some very...
A bit of a weak looking pour with a pale gold, hazy body sitting below a below average head. Not much retention or lace. Nose has a very strong apricot note for me, with some mild funkiness. The apricot nose comes through a little in the tastes...
In terms of the presentation De Ranke do not let us down with Amer Amer; it has those quintessential and signature characteristics of a lovely, well-retained head and some gorgeous, sticky lace. A lightly hazed dark orange/marmalade body sits...
I've drunk this beer a lot over the years, but I don't think that I have really appreciated what a beautiful color it is before today. A magnificent, chestnut brown richness, with a great head that gives decent lace and some good retention. Pretty...
Additional notes from 07/06/25 on April 2025 Batch #3 version at 6.6% and pictured below. Lovely golden color on the pour with a little, light haze. Clean, cider-like nse with some simple, grainy apple notes. Definitely some light, white grape in...
Meh ... Belgian IPAs don't do a great deal for me since I really don't see the point of Belgian brewing getting into areas that they are not strong in - it all seems a bit pointless to me. On top of that general feeling, I don't think that this...
The second of two bottles from Belgian Style Ales, this beer is a relatively new entrant to the US market. Mid lemon-light orange body with some haze. The head is large, fluffy and relatively light. Some lace, good retention. Nose and first tastes...
Mahogany brown with some reddish highlights. Moderate head. Some retention, some lace. Color is quite rich and not at all typically dubbel-like. There is a surprisingly, lightly sour note about the beer which, coupled with the color has a very...
Lovely simplicity. That's how I've always characterized this beer, and it represents a real nostalgia beer for me. The pour is an extraordinarily clear, golden body with a lovely head that has above average retention and some lace. It's quite sweet...
A feature of the Wipers beers appears to be these thick, dense, sumptuous heads. This is no exception. Retention and lace both good. It's a gold body, darker than many a Tripel. Atypical in many respects. The nose is surprisingly nondescript. A...
12 oz single, 2024 vintage, still clearing up the festive season here in the middle of March. Dark brown close to black pour. Nose has light, plummy, alcoholic fruit, but it is not strong. Initial tastes have some mild acidic fruit. The very, very,...
Slightly hazed, orange-golden body with a light and wispy head. Lovely sticky lace remains, small collar of foam and film presists. Sweet grains on the nose and the same form the initial tastes. Theres a light touch to this beer that belies the 8%....
11.2 oz bottle as part of a four bottle gift pack with a glass. $40 form Belgian Style Ales. The pour is a golden one with plenty of deep, fluffy head. Nice lace, nice retention. There is a really significant depth about this beer in terms of...
375 mL corked and caged. GREAT to find a new, American beer that I might give a shit about, and that's not in a can, and in an traditional style. Hooray for Tröegs! Not surprised that it's taken a old-school brewer to pull us back toward normality....
375 mL bottle, corked and caged. Well, out of the gate this looks like a quad and not like a typical Dubbel - GOOD! So many Dubbels present as an ugly, dishwater, murky brown mess. Taking a dump in a glass would something that look better half the...
Part of a four pack that I randomly came across at a Liquor Barn in Kentucky recently. Pour is a mid-orange, classically clouded look. Lovely head, great retention. Nose and initial tastes have plenty of candy sweetness. It goes beyond a standard...
Way, way darker than one might expect for a Tripel. the beer pours a curious honey brown. Got to admit, I don't much care for the color in the context of the style. Head is good, with some very nice lace. Decent film on the surface. This beer is...
If I understand this correctly, the hops are picked in September, and within two days they are used with the beer becoming available in November of that year. Age is probably a factor in change the taste profile here, but this is still well within...
It's hard to know if this is a different beer to this, but for now it exists as two separate entries. The reason it does is that I know for a fact that this bottle came directly from Belgium and was originally for a Belgian market, and the name of...
Westbrook's Mexican Cake was a beer that made me fall in love with a beer that I didn't want to like, or at least I wasn't pre-disposed to like. It took me a while to warm to it, but once I got there I've loved it ever since, without really...
It's possible that this beer may have been called Ambree in the past - not sure, more research needed, and I don't know (formally) what style it is. Mid-copper body with some chill-haze below a high, generous head. Lace and retention are wonderful....
Golden copper body, with a delightful, high, ice-cream like head with absolutely superb retention and lace. Perfect appearance. Initial tastes are light spice and pepper with some alcohol, and I would say that this starts off almost more like a...
16.9 oz bottle. Very light copper, perhaps more golden orange hue. Head initially high and bright, but lace and retention are both poor. Carbonation pretty consistent. Nose offfers some light fruit (surprising) and not much else. Clean body offers...
Honey-orange body with a lovely, rocky white head which gives some tremendous, sticky lace. A nice film of retention. Up front the beer is quite sweet for the style which I quite like, but I can see how some people would crave a drier experience....
No idea what relation (if any) this beer has to this. Pour is a way lighter, copper amber colored than anyone should be expecting for a Belgian Strong Dark of any description. Head and retention are both as expected and as per all de La Senne...
Dirty brown pour, this is not very attractive. On the plus side, the head is good, decent retention and some lovely lace. The odd things about all of that is that this beer, like the Raspberry Porter, also gives a light, fizzy, soda like note in...
I'd read a couple of less that spectacular reviews of this, so came to it with a little trepidation. Acquired at Sergio's for $45.00. This is somewhere around 10+ years old at this point in time, so it's had lots of time to mature, change, and...
Darkish orange, hazy pour with a great, ice-cream, whippy head. Lace and retention are great. Lovely depth on the malty, sweet nose. Thick, rich, full mouthfeel with a tremendous mouth-coating experience thrown in for good measure. Some full...
Big, rocky, tan head on top of a dark brown body. Lace is great. Is it a Belgian Dark or a Dubbel? I'm going with the latter for now. This starts off a bit roasty and stout-like. Eventually it backs off a bit, gets back to it's Dubbel roots, and...
I'm not a big fan of honey based beers in general, and that's despite me liking sweet beers. Odd sized bottle (250 mL) that I thought might be to mitigate the sweetness, but in the end the beer really isn't that sweet. Now, don't get me wrong, it...
lot 3 c 23 BBE 2026 I was forewarned that this was a gusher, so had the supplemental glass ready to catch the beer as it "exploded". As a result I lost virtually none at all, others have reported losing a significant amount of the bottle to the...
lot 3C no 23. $23.99. Tremendous pop on opening. Because of the volume associated with the cork, I was expecting a gusher, but no. Bonus! Golden body, exquisite head, retention and lace as usual. The beer starts gently and with some sweetness. The...
Taras Boubla has had such a profound impact on many people, and some might say even on Belgian beer as whole, that Petit Boulba comes with some inevitable baggage. That's a shame, but unavoidable I fear. A pale lemon, cloudy body with astonishingly...
Nothing I've had from this brewery has been much good, but I'll ty anything once. Pour has good color, but the head that you see in the picture is very deceptive. This is not a beer that has any retention of the head, or any lace, and the...
Interesting departure for Dany, a Witbier at 4.5%. Lots of recent, positive reviews of this beer - excited to try it. Light golden, slightly hazed pour. Head and lace is strong as ever with Fantôme. Light white pepper on the nose, along with some...
This is a pretty interesting beer. It starts with the appearance which is a lot darker than one might expect, and when viewed in better light gives a tremendous, gold colored appearance. Head lace and retention are all above average if not...
Oh how times have changed. There was a time when Oerbier Special Reserva was pretty ubiquitous in the USA, on the shelves of the best beer stores everywhere - no more. This bottle was purchased at Sergio's, that Sergio himself pulled from a stash...
This is an incredibly well-defined and clean beer. Every sharp and crafted edge comes through, and the alcohol feels extraordinarily bright. Apparently, this is the organic version of Moinette Blond, just like Foret is the organic version of the...
Look, if you know what you're getting into here you're likely to be fairly content. A beer from Van Steenberge with that classic, huge, sweet cherry note is only going to end one way. This doesn't surprise or shock in any way. Slightly clouded,...
Bottled 23JUN23 BBD 23JUN27. #9 in a series that has not been easily available in the US, or via shipping beer in from Belgium directly. These beers have been experimental series since 2014, taking on various guises with various collaborators and...
500 mL bottle from Kahn's, Indianapolis, IN, USA. Pour offers a standard black body, but disappoints a little in terms of the head in aspects of size, retention and lace. The beer settles to a still, millpond appearance. Again, disappointing TBH....
As is so often the case with De La Senne, Zinne Bir pours with a high, fluffy head, and produces some lovely lace and has good retention. The head sits atop a pale, slightly hazed, golden body. The nose has a sweet, bready note, but that's about...
I've been waiting to get my hands on this for a loooooong time, so delighted to have the opportunity. Bottled 22.04.2023. At around 20 months old, this is a bottle that likely would have be consumed by many others at a slightly younger age. No...
250 mL bottle. Faros are tricky beers. They can feel unsophisticated, and to be honest the usual palates associated with the style aren't very challenging on the face of it, but the reality is what they really require is more careful, and deeper...
I'm not going to lie, as a Euro Strong Lager at 10%, this has the potential to be a little abrasive. The pour lives up to the name in terms of the color, and gives a nice - if short-lived - white head. Some sticky lace. Passes the appearance test....
Fell into this beer completely accidentally. Added it to a mail order box simply to make it up to 12 bottles to offset the shipping a little. $12.99 for the 375 mL bottle. Best Before 18.10.2026. Described as a Scottish Strong Ale (meaningless),...
The pour and the appearance are frankly very good. Nice, golden clarity, and the etching on the Victoria glass does a tremendous job of creating a magnificent head with great retention and lace. There's no reason not to give this a perfect...
You just never, ever, ever know with Dany. It's really tempting to say that this is one of my favorite Fantômes of all time, BUT since it's also one of the least Fantôme-like beers that I have ever had, it seems like there's something horribly...
If you ever fancy a Dunkelweizen and you're in the mood, then its best to reach for a beer from a brewery that's getting toward 150 years old. Maisel never lets me down, and the Dunkel is no exception. Cracking looking pour with a dark read hue and...
A classic. Truly magnificent, mahogany reddish colored pour with some great, light tan head. Fantastic lace. Nose is the true malt bomb that it is expected to be. There's also a decent alcohol whiff too. The tastes reflect the nose, but also bring...
Apparently black body on the pour, with a nice, light tan head. Head fades to give a little lace, but also one of those lovely, surface film creamy residues across the beer. Nose has some lovely, strong, rich malt notes. Very bready, very strong, a...
Kerst - Noel - Christmas - depends on where you are! A magnificent pour into an equally impressive glass, the beer offers up a billowing, creamy head, that forms that great, ice-cream like whip on the surface. The body is a striking, clear copper...
Fantôme's Double Badger, as part of the Fantôme Animals friends Project. lot 12 05 b 24 best before end 2027. The usual corked and capped presentation. Lovely, rich orange color on the pour with the broken, wispy head that one might expect. Some...
lot ab 03 24 best before end 2027. Usual Fantôme presentation, and a usual pour with a golden orange body and some lovely, pillowy head. Head is a bit wispy and does not leave the very best lace. Hugely noticeable, citrus-like tart, sweetness up...
L'Ambrée D'Esquelbecq. 11.2 oz bottle, Windsor bottle shop. A go to online store for me for a few things now and then. A beer that will be overlooked by too many people, but not by a drinker interested in the maltier side of things. An orange,...
lot 11 ce 23 best bef end 2026. The usual 750 mL presentation, corked and capped. Tangerine colored clear body with a nice, large head. Some lace. Band-aid phenols rip into the nose. On warming there is an acidic, funky fruit note. Some cider...
Batch 5 - notched on the label. Picked this up on a whim a couple of years ago, knowing that it was very old (I think this was brewed in 2012), knowing that BFM haven't thrilled me over the decades, and knowing that I would likely get very little...
Pour is excellent (as expected), with the classic de la Senne high carbonation and great head in effect. De la Senne's carbonation across all styles really is a real calling card, and a thing to behold. Lacing is great. Black pour that has some...
An attractive golden orange pour with a nice, light head. Wispy and soon gone, the head still leaves some nice, thin lines of sticky lace. Nose offers a little cheesy funk underneath some orange-citrus based hops. The tastes gives quite a bit more...
Etre. Best Before 15-12-2026. Classic Fantôme bitterness, wrapped up in some residual sweetness. Pour is a lovely golden color with a HUGE, well-formed head. Lace is sticky and classical. Yep, this is a beautiful looking beer. Herbal notes on the...
Etre. Unusually for them, slightly out of date - not that it matters much I feel. Bottled: 12SEP23 BBD: 12JUN24 Some deep, deep cuts here. Even if you ARE up to speed with some US brewing history, and even if you're old enough and experienced...
Pour offers up a chestnut body with a few ruby red highlights. Head pours with a nice amount of foam, and with some decent retention and lace. Looks more dense than it actually is. Nose offers some acidity, but also some sharp apple-like notes. As...