Vinkenier

Another review , another great beer (well what else would I drink) and my first from brewery Eutropius, located in Heule, in the West corner of Belgium.

The label of the beer features men indulging in the pass-time of Vinkenzetting (Dutch for finch sitting, hence the name of the beer) a local contest that dates back to 1596 and involves male chaffinches, each housed in a small cage which are then placed six feet apart along a street.
The birds then sing their little hearts out - each trying to establish his own territory (and no doubt attract a mate) Each song is then chalked up by the owner sat behind on a long wooden stick - after an hour the bird that sings the most is declared winner, champion birds belting out several hundred calls.

Vinkenier pours a hazy, deep orange and is alive with streams of bubbles.
This is topped with a large, white, bubbly head that slowly collapses as you savour.

Rich, bready aroma combined with a lovely caramel sweetness which is then cut by citric, floral hops on the finish.

Initial taste is dominated by the honey sweet malts, then just like the aroma you get intense fruit notes (orange and peaches) also there's a peppery, spicy bite before grassy / herbal hops provide a welcome bitter finish.

A beer I picked up because of the label....now a beer I'll pick up again because of the taste.

         

Ondineke Oilsjtersen Triple

Time for what is only my second beer from De Glazen, my first being the truly magnificent Christmas offering Canaster Winterscotch and first thing first this beer shares none of it's darker sisters volcanic opening problems (so no panic pouring)

Ondineke pours a hazy, burnt amber and is topped with a huge billowing, bright white head that slowly collapses to a bumpy, bubbly covering.

Wonderful aroma that is packed with ripe citrus fruits (oranges and biting lemons) coupled with sharp crisp hops then you get a toffee sweetness to balance things out nicely before income the spices - clove , pepper and coriander.........just lovely.

Taste follows with sweet doughy malts, then you get touches of citrus fruits (orange and lemon) there's grassy / herbal hops that provide a dry mouth-feel along with those trademark triple spices of clove and coriander.

A fantastic well made true triple.

    

Montagnarde

One of my favourite beers (and one I'm guaranteed to order when in Bruges) is the utterly fantastic  Abbaye des Rocs Brune
So here's a beer from the Montignies-sur-Rocs brewery that I've never sampled before, an amber beer by the name of Montagnarde.

A hazy amber coloured beer that is topped with a huge white bubbly, creamy head that lasts and lasts - look closely and you'll notice that typical Abbaye des Rocs snowglobe effect, the glass is crammed with yeast particles - there's nothing wrong though, empty the bottle and watch the glass come alive.

Incredibly fruity aroma, it's simply packed with peaches and apricots combined with a delicious honey, caramel sweetness.
There's also a lovely yeasty, bready note on the finish......fantastic.

Taste is rich with toffee sweetness and caramel malts, complimented with a buttery, honey smoothness and a definite orange marmalade kick.
There's also the lightest touch of spiced biscuits and a gentle hoppy bite on the finish.

Another great beer from a great brewery.

Boskeun

The time is right for a seasonal offering from one of my favourite breweries - namely De Dolle and the beer in question the Easter brew Boskeun.

Roughly translated as "rabbit of the woods" (hence the label) Boskeun was one of the first Easter beers brewed in Belgium and being a blond beer was the style Herteleer brother Jo preferred brewing - ironically Boskeun is also his nickname , the result of an accident when the brothers were younger in which Jo received an injury to his lip.

The mighty Boskeun shares the characteristic De Dolle pouring problems (a steady hand is required here) whilst not as aggressive as Dulle Teve (a very similar beer) it still took 4 separate pours to fill the glass - each time a towering , fluffy white head is produced, underneath lies a hazy, bronze beer.
Once filled however you have a very nice looking beer.

Gorgeous aroma of bready / yeasty malts, sweet candy sugar, intense tropical fruits, clove spicing and a floral, honey finish.....simply divine and no doubt about it a fantastic start.

Initial taste is sweet, bready malts (almost dough like with the yeast) then you get ripe fruits - apples, bananas and apricot. There's a peppery spicing (perfectly balanced)nand the lightest touch of hop bitterness on the finish.

Hands down De Dolle are my favourite Belgian brewery and Boskeun.....one of their finest - roll on next Easter.

 

Qantelaar

Time for a relatively new beer, a beer from brewery d' Oude Maalderij - a brewery founded in 2011 by 4 friends who all shared a common passion for craft beer.
The original beers were brewed at bry Manhout, however recent batches have seen a move to bry. het Gulden Spoor.

My first sample of Qantelaar was at the recent Bruges Beer Festival and my reaction was one of surprise (this is one heavy going beer)
Miss-labelled by some as a Quadrupel (what I was expecting) this is anything but....it's more akin to a sweet stout.

Powerful aroma of roasted malts, burnt sugar, liquorice. dark fruits and a biting coffee bitterness combined with a light touch of hops on the finish.

Taste can only mimic that intense aroma with roasted burnt malts, bitter cocoa (almost mocha) old worn leather, light tropical fruits, caramelised / brulee sugar and a slight bitter note.
Mouth-feel for such a mighty beer is incredibly smooth and creamy.

Have no doubt, Qantelaar is one hefty beer....but as long as you know what to expect you can enjoy this for what it is - a really good sweet stout.    

Watou Tripel

Watou Tripel takes its name from the small village in the west corner of Belgium, situated in the province of West Flanders and located next to the French border (a beautiful area I feel very fortunate to have visited)
The illustration on the label features the St Bavo Church, which in parts dates back to the 12th century and proudly sits in the centre of the village.

savoured at the one and only 't Brugs Beertje

The people behind this beer, the iconic St. Bernardus Brouwerij and is just one from their impressive portfolio of beers.

Watou Tripel pours a hazy burnt amber and is crowned with an intense white, three finger width head that comprises of a thousand compact tiny bubbles - a very nice looking beer, which is made even nicer poured into that bowl like St. Bernardus glass (a simple yet elegant design)

Aroma is instantly fruity and floral, ripe bananas, lemons and pears. Then clove and coriander spices come through with a doughy / bready finish.






Flavour again has those typical orchard fruits characteristics (mainly pear) combined with a honey sweetness, then clove and pepper spicing before herbal hops cut through.

An expertly made, easy drinking Tripel.

Helleketelbier

Here's a brewery who's "Witchy" labels have long intrigued me, for some reason they seemed to jump out to me on the shelves (hey I'm a sucker for a cartoon image)

Brouwerij De Bie was founded in 1992 in Watou, near Poperinge on the French border, then in 2001 moving to nearby Loker before in 2011 finally settling in its current location at Wakken, Dentergem in a renovated farmhouse - here you can witness the entire brewing process from hop field to bottling.

So here is one of the breweries most popular beers, namely Helleketelbier.

A hazy, deep amber beer that is capped with a large, white, bubbly head that all too soon collapses in on itself.

Aroma is at first sweet caramel toffees but then you get sharp green apples, prickly spicing and a pine like hoppy finish.

Taste is also an intriguing mix of sweet and tart - sweet in the form of caramel malts, brown sugar and honey.
Then just as noticeable you get the tart unripe peaches, citric notes and a sharp, hoppy / herbal finish, there's also a hefty dose of spicing for good measure (nutmeg and coriander).

A brewery that has a history of bottling problems, resulting in infected beers (yes I've had experience) but lets hope the recent move to a new brewery marks a new era and a very bright future for De Bie.