Category Archives: Belgium

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Oud Beersel, Lambic - Fruit

Oud Beersel Schaarbeekse Oude Kriek

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Brewery: Brouwerij Oud Beersel
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Bottled 20 years before best before date

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Schaarbeekse Oude Kriek. Beer of spontaneous fermentation, aged on oak barrels, referments in the bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2020 vintage, with a best before date of 15th April 2040. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy deep ruby red with a purple tint, and a big three finger pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy lemon zest, cherry, tart, with slight marzipan notes.
Taste: Lightly sweet and sour, tart, cherry, almond, marzipan, oak, lemon zest and lime.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very easy to drink with great aroma and flavours. Despite having a best before of 20 years, I preferred this fresh.

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

De Struise Black Damnation II – Moccha Bomb

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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 massive Stout from Flanders, matured in bourbon barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 25th July 2018, with a best before date of 24th July 2023. Poured into a Black Damnation tasting glass.
Appearance: Black in colour with a thin brown head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some decent lacing.
Aroma: Coffee, chocolate, with bourbon notes.
Taste: Coffee, chocolate, slight roast, bourbon, woody, with a lightly bitter finish.
Mouthfeel: Alcohol warming, medium to full bodied, with soft to moderate carbonation.
Overall: An enjoyable sipper with lots of coffee aroma and flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Dark Ale, Belgium, De Struise Brouwers

De Struise Pannepot

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Brewery: De Struise Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10%
Style: Belgian Strong Dark Ale
Other Notes: 27 IBUs. A Dark Strong Ale from Flanders

Brewer Description: (from website) Pannepot is one of our biggest flagship beers at De Struise Brouwers. It is a Belgian dark strong ale with a subtle stout touch. Saw the light of day for the first time in 2003 and has been in the Top 100 of the best beers in the world since 2004.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 330ml bottle, 2020 vintage, bottled on 14th July 2020, with a best before date of 14th July 2025. Poured into a Struise tulip glass.
Appearance: Dark brown in colour with a thin beige head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, doughy, cake, caramel, clove, candied plum, prune, grape gummy candies, chocolate, coffee, and candi sugar.
Taste: Lightly sweet, yeasty, doughy, slightly boozy, fig, clove, plum, prunes, raisin, toffee, with notes of cocoa and chocolate.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with low carbonation.
Overall: A little bit too doughy for me, but still enjoyable.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgian Strong Pale Ale, Belgium, De Dolle Brouwers

De Dolle Stille Nacht

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Brewery: De Dolle Brouwers
Country: Belgium
ABV: 12%
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Other Notes: Christmas beer

Brewer Description: (from website) With Stille Nacht, available in Esen at De Dolle Brouwers, we offer a quality Christmas beer that you will enjoy, we are sure of it. Only Poperinge bubble hop is used. White candy mites provide the extra density.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.75
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled in October 2019. Poured into a De Struise tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy orange colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention and nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet, candi sugar, honey, boozy, candied orange peel, Belgian spices, with slight notes of apple and banana.
Taste: Light to moderate sweetness, boozy, candi sugar, fig, apple, orange peel, pear, peppery spice, with notes of clove and banana.
Mouthfeel: Boozy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It’s a sipper, but the combination of sweet and boozy, although not too extreme here, is still not my favourite.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij De Ranke, Wild Ale

De Ranke Vieille Provision

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Brewery: Brouwerij De Ranke
Country: Belgium
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Aged on wood

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This first bottling of Vieille Provision is dedicated to the 20th Anniversary of the collaboration between Shelton Brothers as our US importer and Brouwerij De Ranke.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.85
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 750ml bottle with a best before date of 8th June 2021. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with pretty much no head other than some big bubbles that disappeared quickly, while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, grape, apple, lemon, light funk, with notes of wood.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricot, grape skin, lemon, oak, slightly vinous and with malty notes.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with soft to no carbonation.
Overall: Aroma was nice, but having low to no carbonation I think affected it overall for me, as I tend not to fully enjoy sour beers without carbonation.