Monthly Archives: October 2020

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Hanssens Artisanaal, Lambic - Fruit

Hanssens Oude Kriek Handgeplukte Schaerbeekse Krieken

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Brewery: Hanssens Artisanaal
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Ale fermented with sour cherries and aged oak barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, with a notched bottled on date of January 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy dark ruby red colour with thin to minimal head, and no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet fruity, cherry, marzipan, acetone, oak and balsamic notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, sharp, acetic, cherry, vinegar, oak, lemon juice.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, acetic, acidic, medium bodied, with soft carbonation (but maybe feels like more because it’s so sharp).
Overall: In classic Hanssens style, it’s sharp and acidic, but luckily it’s got good cherry and oak notes, that help with what may seem harsh.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Farmhouse Saison, Nectar Bohème Sprl

Nectar Bohème La Petite Balade

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Brewery: Nectar Bohème Sprl
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Saison / Farmhouse
Other Notes: 50 IBUs. Hops – Triskel and Hull Melon

Brewer Description: (from BXLBeerFest FB page) A variation of A La Belle Saison with more wheat and a late hopping of Triskel and Hull Melon.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.57
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 750ml bottle from the 2020 BXL beer pack, with a best before date of June 2022. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Yeasty, honeydew melon, grass, floral, wheat, with citrus zest notes.
Taste: Saison yeasty, bitter, grainy, wheat, citrus, orange zest, melon, floral, grass, and light peppery spice.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: It’s not bad, but not my favourite flavour profile, with the Triskel and Hull Melon hops seemingly pushing through melon, floral and citrus notes.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, De Kromme Haring, Farmhouse Saison, Netherlands

De Kromme Haring Manneken Vis

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Brewery: De Kromme Haring
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 6.9%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2020 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We made this beer for BXL fest 2020, unfortunately cancelled due to a certain pandemic. We are still proud to release this beer as part of their exclusive beer package and hope to see you all in 2021 in Brussels. Manneken Vis is a farmhouse ale with a mix of our house saison blend and the mudking yeast/bacteria culture. We added fresh elderflowers, which our entire team picked in and around Utrecht. The result is refreshing, slightly sour and funky beer with summery aromas of the flowers and character of the yeast.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.3
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml bottle from the 2020 BXL beer pack, with a best before date of end of August 2025. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour, with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, lemon zest, peach, floral, elderflower, lightly funky, with peppery spice notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, citrusy, lemon, lemon zest, light funk, elderflower, and light pepper spice.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Sour notes dominate, with a good balance of lemon and elderflower flavours. Very enjoyable and refreshing.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie de Blaugies, Farmhouse Saison

Blaugies Cerises

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Brewery: Brasserie de Blaugies
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Saison
Other Notes: 2020 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from BXLBeerFest FB page) Saison with sweet cherry juice added.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle from the 2020 BXL beer pack, with a best before date of end of 2024. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange amber colour with a big three finger off white head that had excellent retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Floral, cherry blossom, saison yeasty, pepper spice, citrusy, orange peel, with light cherry notes.
Taste: Cherry candy, cough medicine, lightly tart, yeasty, bready, wheat, saison like, peppery spice, citrus zest, bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: The cherry appears at the very beginning as candy like cough medicine, which I am actually fine with, but it disappears almost immediately to a yeasty, bready, saison with peppery spice, before finishing with a lasting bitterness. It was this middle and end flavour profile that was too yeasty, bitter, and a little weird. And sadly, the cherry just didn’t last very long.