Category Archives: Beer Reviews

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.

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

Boon Oude Schaarbeekse Kriek

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Brewery: Brouwerij Boon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oude Kriek Boon with 250g/l “Schaarbeekse cherries” is a unique taste experience. These powerful cherries of Belgian origin, harvested in 2018, support the mellow and soft sourish flavour of the lambic with a very powerful, but balanced cherry expression.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.31
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2018 vintage, with a best before date of 3rd April 2039. Poured into a Boon stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice hazy ruby red colour with a slightly more than two fingered pink head that had decent retention and eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and sour, cherry, lightly tart and some floral notes.
Taste: Good balance of sweet and sour cherry, tart, oak, and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: While the amount of funk is low, there is a good amount of cherry and a nice balance between sweet and sour flavours. Enjoyable, worth trying again.

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

Boon Kriek Mariage Parfait

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Brewery: Brouwerij Boon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 8%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Fruit)
Other Notes: Oude Kriek – Kriek à l’Ancienne

Brewer Description: (from website) Kriek Mariage Parfait is an “Old Style Kriek” of exceptional excellence, brewed in Lembeek, the village that gave Lambic its name. It is unsweetened, unfiltered, unpasteurised and has no artificial flavours, preservatives or colourings added. “Old Style Kriek” or “Oude Kriek” is a protected E.U. appellation. 400 g of wild cherries per litre are fermented together with a strong Lambic of spontaneous fermentation and aged on 6,200 litre oak foeders (large wooden casks) for 6 to 8 months. Kriek Mariage Parfait is naturally clarified and referments in the bottle. After a maturation of 6 months in the bottle it is ready for tasting. The alcohol content of this Lambic beer is 8% by vol. Kriek Mariage Parfait has a high ageing potential, keep it by preference for more than two years in a cool and dark place. Pour slowly in 2 dry flute glasses without disturbing the yeast sediment in the bottle and enjoy this epitome of traditional Lambic brewing. Kriek Mariage Parfait has a clear deep reddish color lambic with a nice large pink head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma: tart cherry notes with some mild lambic funk, winy, well supported by its alcohol content. Taste: dominated by loads of fresh tart cherry notes with some mild barnyard and some vanilla notes, balanced against a backdrop of musky roasted oak. Body is full with good carbonation. Serve this beer with magret of duck, roast goose, seared foie gras, foie gras terrine, gamy pâtés, aged goat cheeses.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, 2018 vintage, with a best before date of 24th June 2039. Poured into a Boon stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy cherry red colour, with a two fingered pinkish head that dissipated fairly quickly but settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Cherry, oak, apple, and a touch vinous and funky.
Taste: Light sour, tart, cherry, dried cherry, vanilla, oak, funk, with some vinous notes.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good cherry aroma and flavours with an interesting mix of oak, vanilla and funk.