Category Archives: Belgium

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, DUST Blending, Lambic - non-Lambic Blends

DUST 1 Grappe

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Brewery: DUST Blending
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Lambic – non-Lambic Blends
Other Notes: #024 – Saison / Lambiek blend

Brewer Description: (from bottle) #024 Barrel aged Saison/Lambiek + 6 days of Chardonnay skin contact and 5 months of rest on amphora.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.07
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped clear bottle. Bottled in April 2022. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a one finger white head that had pretty good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funky, preserved salted mandarin, newborn poop, lemon zest, very ripe apricot, balsa wood, with some light white wine vinous notes.
Taste: Lightly tart, lemon zest, white wine vinous, wood, with notes of salted mandarin and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Spritzy, light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Super funky on the aroma, maybe a bit too much, but luckily, the funk is much more balanced in the flavour, and doesn’t overpower the nice citrus zestiness, while being spritzy and refreshing.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Boon, Lambic - Gueuze

Boon HORAL’s Oude Geuze Mega Blend 2015

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Brewery: Brouwerij Boon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: HORAL members – 3 Fonteinen, Boon, De Cam, De Troch, Hanssens, Lindemans, Oud Beersel, Tilquin, Timmermans.

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Voor deze botteling van de Oude Geuze Megablend hebben 9 verschillende brouwerijen en stekerijen samen lambiek gemengd. Deze Megablend werd speciaal voor de tiende editie van ‘Toer de Geuze’ gemaakt en zal op de dag van de Toer de Geuze 2015 meer dan 6 maanden op fles gerijpt hebben. Het mengsel bevat Lambiek die bij het vullen van de flessen 1, 2 en 3 jaar oud was.

(translated to English) For this bottling of the Oude Geuze Megablend, 9 different breweries and blenders mixed lambic together. This Megablend was specially made for the tenth edition of ‘Toer de Geuze’ and will have matured in the bottle for more than 6 months on the day of the Toer de Geuze 2015. The mixture contains Lambic that was 1, 2 and 3 years old when the bottles were filled.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2015 vintage, with a best before date of 31st October 2034. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A clear golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention, eventually settling to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Crisp green apple, apple peel, lemon zest, oak, with light funky notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, green apple, apple peel, lemon zest, oak, funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Up there with 2017 as one of my favourites HORAL Mega Blend vintages with good balance and refreshing aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Atrium, Stout - Imperial

Atrium Cocada

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Brewery: Brasserie Atrium
Country: Belgium
ABV: 12.3%
Style: Stout – Imperial
Other Notes: 2022 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Quad stout with grilled coconut, rapadura and vanilla.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, with a best before date of July 2029. Brewed for BXL BeerFest 2022. Poured into a snifter glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a very thin tanned head that dissipated immediately, while leaving pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Light roast, coconut, grilled coconut, coffee, brown sugar.
Taste: Sweet and bitter, roasted malts, dark chocolate, roasted coconut, coffee, brown sugar, near burnt caramel, cinnamon, vanilla, with an interesting lightly spicy finish.
Mouthfeel: Full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper. From the aroma, I was worried that it might be too sweet, but there was some nice dark chocolate bitterness and an interesting spicy note on the finish that balanced a lot of the sweetness.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Gruit, La Source Beer Co.

La Source Œuvre Au Noir

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Brewery: La Source Beer Co.
Country: Belgium
ABV: 9.1%
Style: Gruit
Other Notes: Sour Gruit. Carbonation in progress, please wait until January 2022 to open. 2021 BXL BeerFest beer pack

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This sour Gruit has been brewed with mugwort and woodruff and then spent almost a year on the lees of freshly emptied natural red wine barrels.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle with an open after January 2022 date, and a best before date of 13th July 2023. Brewed for BXL BeerFest 2021. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: It was a hazy golden orange colour with a very thin large bubbly head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, lemon juice, pickled ginger, orange zest, candied cherry, rosemary, oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, orange zest, grapefruit, lemon peel, pickled ginger, candied fruit, herbal finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: I’m not at all familiar with mugwort and woodruff, but I liked the aroma and there was an interesting mix of sour, sweet, fruit and herbs in the flavour.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Boon, Lambic - Gueuze

Boon HORAL’s Oude Geuze Mega Blend 2017

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Brewery: Brouwerij Boon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Gueuze
Other Notes: HORAL members – 3 Fonteinen, Boon, De Cam, De Troch, Hanssens, Lindemans, Oud Beersel, Tilquin, Timmermans. Limited edition – 21600 bottles

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Voor deze botteling van de Oude Geuze Megablend 2017 hebben 9 verschillende brouwerijen en stekerijen samen lambiek gemengd. Deze Megablend werd speciaal voor de elfde editie van Toer de Geuze 2017 meer dan 6 maanden op fles gerijpt hebben. Het mengsel bevat Lambiek die bij het vullen van de flessen 1, 2 en 3 jaar oud was.

(translated to English) For this bottling of the Oude Geuze Megablend 2017, 9 different breweries and blending companies mixed lambic together. This Megablend was aged in the bottle for more than 6 months especially for the eleventh edition of Toer de Geuze 2017. The mixture contains Lambic that was 1, 2 and 3 years old when the bottles were filled.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2017 vintage, with a best before date of 24th November 2036. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention, eventually settling to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Musty, dried grass, earthy, gooseberry, lemon, citrus zest, green apple, wood, and a touch herbal.
Taste: Lightly sour, lemon, gooseberry, grassy, green apple, oak, funk, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and refreshing with good aroma and flavours. One of my favourite Mega Blend vintages.