Category Archives: Belgium

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Geuzestekerij De Cam, Lambic - Fruit

De Cam Mirabel Lambiek

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Brewery: Geuzestekerij De Cam
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2020 vintage. Spontaneous fermentation purely natural. Artisan family, consciously small company (1 man only: Karel)

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Deze lambiek schuimt niet om de fruitaroma’s 100% te kunnen proeven. 1000 kilogram Mirabellen worden in z’n geheel gedurende een jaar vergist met 1500 liter jonge lambiek. Met verdere maturatie op de eiken vaten.

(Translated to English) This lambic does not foam in order to taste the fruit aromas 100%. 1000 kilograms of Mirabelle are fermented whole over a year with 1500 liters of young lambic. With further maturation in the oak barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.39
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2020 vintage, with a best before date of November 2040. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with an almost two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a nice thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet plum, funky, dusty, yellow stone fruit, apricot, floral, perfumy, lemon.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, perfumy, floral, lemon peel, stone fruit, apricot, plum, and a touch of oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: I don’t know what a Mirabelle plum is supposed to smell or taste like. But after researching it a bit, it seems that the perfumy and floral character that I’m getting quite strongly could be from these Mirabelle plums. I’m usually not a fan of these characteristics, but it actually works well in this case, complementing the stone fruit apricot and plum flavours. I’m getting nice funk in the aroma, but not much in the flavour, which might have made it more interesting with the perfumy notes if there was. But still, it drinks easy and I enjoyed it.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Geuzestekerij De Cam, Lambic - Fruit

De Cam Oude Kriek

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Brewery: Geuzestekerij De Cam
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 2019 vintage. Newer vintages are just “Kriek” without “Oude” in the name

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Kriek schuimt niet, doordat hergisting op fles minimaal is om de fruit aroma’s maximaal te proeven. Kriek ontstaat door het samen vergisten van jonge lambiek met een hoeveelheid zure aromatische kersen. De zure kersen, Prunus Cerasus L., worden in hun geheel (geen sap) met pit in bewerking gebracht. Het gehalte aan zure kersen bedraagt ongeveer 40kg per 100 liter kriek.

(translated to English) Kriek does not foam, because refermentation in the bottle is minimal to get the maximum taste of the fruit aromas. Kriek is created by fermenting young lambic together with a quantity of sour aromatic cherries. The sour cherries, Prunus Cerasus L., are processed whole (no juice) with stone. The content of sour cherries is approximately 40 kg per 100 liters of cherries.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2019 vintage, with a best before date of July 2040. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear ruby red with a very thin slightly pinkish head that disappeared almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry, cherry skin, oak, with light funky notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherry, oak, citrusy lemon, lightly funky.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s a good kriek with lots of cherry and a nice citrusy bite. The funky notes could have been more pronounced.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Cuvée Sofie Alvino

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2016 vintage. Alvinne limited edition, single cask, 700 bottles. 2012 French Oak from Burgundy. Grape variety – Boskoop

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Alvino is een exclusief project omdat we enkel druiven van eigen kweek gebruiken. De oogst van 2016 was uitzonderlijk goed, voldoende om aan twee vaten cuvee sofie 20kg per vat toete voegen.

(translated to English) Alvino is an exclusive project because we only use grapes from our own cultivation. The 2016 harvest was exceptionally good, enough to add 20kg per barrel to two barrels of cuvee sofie.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.15
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2016 vintage, with a best before date of December 2021. Poured into an Alvinne teku glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper amber colour with a one finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet malt, grape, grape juice, oak, lightly vinous and light funk.
Taste: Lightly sour, grape, lightly vinous, oak, a splash of sweetness, apple, tart, funky.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not as vinous as expected from the barrel, but it was still enjoyable and easy drinking.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers, Stout - Imperial

De Struise Black Damnation IV – Coffee Club

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 13%
Style: American Imperial Stout
Other Notes: 72 IBUs

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A Belgian Royal Stout from Flanders aged for 2yrs in Caribbean rum barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.4
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle, Vintage 2018, bottled on 26th November 2020, with a best before date of bottled date +5 years. Poured into a De Struise Black Damnation tasting glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a half finger beige head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Roasty, coffee, neapolitan ice cream blend, chocolate, rum, brown sugar.
Taste: Moderately sweet, lightly boozy, rum, roasty, coffee, chocolate, oak, molasses, brown sugar, with vanilla notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Not a fan of rum, but this worked well with enjoyable aromas and flavours.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie du Brabant, Lambic - Fruit

Du Brabant Lambic Magerat – Krieken & Pinot Noir

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Brewery: Brasserie du Brabant
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Lambic – Fruit
Other Notes: 4 years old Lambic

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This beer has been brewed using the traditional turbid mash method, aged hops, cooled during an entire night in open vessels and was fermented and kept during 4 years in oak barrels prior to bottling. Our brewery being located at the boundaries of the Senne Valley, this beer qualify for the Lambic appellation. We released this beer as ‘Lambic Magerat’ our family name as it is traditional in Belgium.

Cherries and Pinot Noir grapes grown at our farm.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.71
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in December 2018, and with a best before year of 2038. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy orange amber colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly while leaving pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, red wine grapes, grape skin, oak, funk, with light citrusy lemon zest notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, cherry, grape skin, oak, with light notes of apple cider vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to light carbonation.
Overall: To be honest, when I saw Pinot Noir, I was thinking maybe barrel aged in a Pinot Noir barrel instead of using Pinot Noir grapes. I think a more vinous character would have made this more interesting, as when compared to other kriek lambics for example, the fruitiness is not as obvious and there is a distinct lack of funk. It’s not a bad beer by any means, but not one of the top in its style.