Beer Diary Today

30/09/2025

🔸Pivovar Obora 🇨🇿
🔸️Sour Jahoda
🔸Fruited sour ale brewed with strawberries
🔸4%
🔸️Bought at Beershop.cz in Prague - Sudové Pivo
—
Pours a hazy blush-pink with a foamy white head. The aroma jumps straight out of the glass: fresh-picked strawberries, lemon zest, and a gentle lactic tang.

On the palate it’s vibrant and juicy: ripe strawberry sweetness up front, quickly balanced by a soft puckering sour bite and a crisp, dry finish. Light-bodied, effervescent, and oh-so-drinkable — like strawberry lemonade, easy going and smooth.
It’s the kind of beer that begs for a sunny terrace, a bowl of fruit, and good company. A pure refresher that never takes itself too seriously.
—
🍺 About the Brewery:
Pivovar Obora is a brewery since 2015 in South Bohemia, Czech Republic, brewing small-batch beers with their own homegrown farm hops and a passion for fresh, local ingredients. Known for their rustic lagers, wild ales, and seasonal fruit-forward experiments, Obora balances Czech tradition with a modern, artisanal edge. Sour Jahoda, obe of their signature fruit sours, is their playful nod to summer fruits — simple, natural, and brimming with character.
—

24/09/2025

🔸Brasserie Levain
🔸Macération Poulsard
🔸6%
🔸Wild ale aged on Poulsard Pomace
—
Pouring hazy golden coulor with a delicate sparkle, this glass immediately leans vinous: aromas of underripe plums, fresh grapes and a whisper of funk from the wild fermentation.

The sip is beautifully layered — tart cherries, golden plums, and a soft grape pomace character. Light tannins from the skins give a gentle grip, while the wild yeast adds earthy and rinse complexity. The finish is bone dry, slightly rustic, and endlessly refreshing with a long lasting white wine like lingering touch to it.

It blurs the line between pét-nat and farmhouse ale, bringing complexity and depth in equal measure. A true foodpairing beer for wine and beer lovers alike. Fitting for any fine dining restaurant that wants to bring delicate new products to the table.

—
🍺 About the Brewery:
Brasserie Levain is a young French project rooted in natural fermentation and experimentation. Aymeric Tissot started of as Oenologist where he followed up with an apprenticeship at Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels. Since he seen both sides of wine and beer, he brings them together in his work. Working like a winemaker — blending, macerating, and letting wild yeasts tell their story. Using barrels from his family estate, the great winemaker André Tissot, famous for his Macvin Vin Jaune in the Jura area. Every bottle of Levain is alive, vibrant, and unique. Macération Poulsard is a perfect example: an elegant hybrid that honors both grape and grain.
—
Such an amazing bottle deserved an amazing occasion to open it and what is better than this one time moment of marying!
As the first beer of the day, this surely kicked off the day and only left me wanting more!
Happy I still have some other bottles from when visiting the brewery in Besançon, France.
What a way to finish this year!
—

15/09/2025

🔸Aspro brews 🇳🇱
🔸️Project by Secrets of beer 🇧🇪
🔸️Proemevlaai
🔸️Pastry stout vs BA edition
🔸Pinot Noir Barrel Aged in
🔸️10%
—
Normally I don't post Dutch beers but this is an exeption since it is a collab by a Belgian beer group and Belgian Winery..
And these guys gave me a sweater so I couldn't say no..

Pastry Stout:
Pours deep, inky black with a tan crown of foam. The nose is rich — cocoa, roasted coffee beans, vanilla sweetness. First sip? Dessert-forward all the way: thick chocolate fudge, roasted prunes, a touch of lactose creaminess, and that roasted malt backbone keeping it from tipping too sweet. It’s pure pastry shop in a bottle.

Pinot Noir Barrel Aged:
Takes the same decadent base but layers in subtle, vinous sophistication. Aromas of dark fruits and oak swirl with the chocolatey base. On the palate, black cherries, tart currants, and gentle tannins add lift to the richness. The barrel adds depth, a touch of dryness, and soft oak warmth that reins in the sweetness.

—
Side by side?
The Pastry Stout is bold, sweet, and hedonistic — liquid dessert for the sweet tooth. The Pinot Noir BA version transforms that richness into something more balanced and contemplative, adding fruity sharpness and oaky complexity. One is a guilty pleasure, the other, a refined treat.

Together, they show just how far even a pastry stout can travel — from bakery counter to wine cellar.
—

09/09/2025

🔸HopTwins 🇧🇪
🔸️collab Secrets of beer
🔸️QuadtierBlue
🔸Quad vs Pinot Noir Barrel Aged (Aldeneyk Winery)
🔸From
—
The Quadrupel:
A deep mahogany pour, dense tan foam, and aromas of dried dark fruits, caramel, and dark candi sugar. On the palate, it’s full-bodied and warming, yet smooth drinking with sweet raisins, toasted bread crust, molasses, and a gentle alcohol glow. A proper Belgian quad: big, bold, and warming.

The Pinot Noir Barrel Aged:
Takes that same rich base and layers on nuance from Aldeneyk’s Pinot Noir barrels. The nose instantly shifts — vinous notes of red berries, oak, and a subtle earthiness creep in. The palate is smoother, more complex: think tart cherries, soft tannins, hints of vanilla, and a drying finish that balances the quad’s natural sweetness.

—
Side by side?
The straight Quadrupel is hearty, sweet, and traditional — a malt-forward winter warmer. The Pinot Noir Barrel Aged transforms it into something more elegant, wine-like, and contemplative. One is a feast at a rustic abbey table; the other, a fireside glass shared slowly or great for elevated food pairing, where beer and wine worlds meet.

Both are bold in their own right, but the barrel-aged version edges into sophistication, showing just how transformative oak and grapes can be.
—

08/09/2025

🔸️Brasserie Cantillon 🇧🇪
🔸Rosé de Gambrinus
🔸️Raspberry Lambic Magic 🍻🍇
🔸5.0% ABV
🔸️Straight from

—
It’s wild fermentation kissed by summer berries in a nutshell.
Pours a hazy ruby-red with a fizzy, fleeting head. Nose is pure funk and forest fruit — ripe raspberries, barnyard, hay, and something beautifully rine underneath. First sip is tart and dry, almost vinous, with natural raspberry sweetness giving way to lemony acidity and that classic Cantillon funk. Crisp, bright, and earthy — like biting into a wild raspberry bush in the middle of a Belgian orchard.

It’s elegant, expressive, and completely alive in the glass. No sugar bombs here — just honest, raw fruit and the patience of time.

Best savored slowly, in good company, with a quiet respect for the craft on a hot summers eve.
—
Brewed by Brasserie Cantillon (Brussels), a living museum and temple of traditional lambic brewing. Family-run since 1900, they do things the old way — spontaneous fermentation, barrel aging, and hand bottling. Rosé de Gambrinus is one of their iconic fruited lambics, made by macerating fresh raspberries directly in barrel-aged lambic.

This is not hype. This is heritage. Sour beer royalty.

—

28/08/2025

🔸️Unseen Brewing 🇧🇪
🔸Arakiri 🍺🥃
🔸5,5% ABV
🔸Fruited Sour Ale

🍻✨ **New discovery alert!** ✨🍻
Tried this absolute beauty today: **Arakiri - Sour Framboise** by and wow—this one hits different. 🔥

A raspberry sour with a bold color and even bolder taste—tart, juicy, and refreshingly vibrant. 🍇🌪️
At 5.5% ABV, it’s perfectly balanced between a summer sipper and a flavor punch to the tastebuds.

The can art? Insane. Samurai + wings + volcano = instant shelf appeal. 🥷🌋🎨
Seriously, if you drink with your eyes first, this one’s already a masterpiece.

🎲 Board game pairing: Cracked this one open while diving into a game of Everdell—and it was a perfect match. The whimsical woodland world pairs beautifully with the fruity tang of this sour. A game of strategy and cuteness deserves a drink with character. 🌿🍻🦊

🧊 **Tip from the label:** *Keep cold, drink fast before the mystery fades.*
Challenge accepted.

Have you tried this one? Or any other bangers from Unseen Brewing? Drop your recs below! 👇🍻

28/08/2025

31/07/2025

🔸️Huiskamertastings: Oud Bruin/Vlaams Rood
Since beer is for drinking and not for saving or putting in a museum we decided to open up some amazing bottles with friends!
In the line up:
🔸️Rodenbach Magnum 1990-1995
🔸️Rodenbach Grand Cru 1980 vs 2010
🔸️Liefmans Goudenband 1996
🔸️Zuurstof Vlaamsrood
🔸️Rolling Hills Oud Bruin Heritage (Thienpont barrels)
🔸️Petrus Roodbruin vs Petrus Aged Red 2013
What stood out was how amazing breweries like and used to brew beer. The Rodenbach grand cru 1980 was one of the best beers tasted tonight and it was 45 years old!
Also obvious, younger breweried that start and do an amazing job in keeping the tradition alive. I've also noticed during Gent Horecabeurs last year and coming from Netherlands who brewed a great vlaamsrood!
All by all, amazing bottles, amazing people and a lot of tasty treats!🍻🍻

29/07/2025

🔸️Brouwerij Broeder Jacob 🇧🇪
🔸Lazarus — Bourbon Whiskey Infused 🍺🥃
🔸8,5% ABV
🔸Kentucky bourbon infused strong golden ale
—
This isn’t just a beer. It’s a resurrection in liquid form.
Deep amber pour, thick creamy head, and a nose that instantly gives you oak, caramel, vanilla, and a hint of char. That first sip? Warm bourbon sweetness upfront, sweet fruity malts in the middle, and a long, slow finish kissed with a sharp Bourbon heat and spice.

It’s bold without being harsh — like a beer that’s seen some things and come back stronger. Ideal for cool evenings, fire pits, and slow sips with stories.
—
Brewed by Brouwerij Broeder Jacob (Tongeren), a small but fierce Brewery known for pushing boundaries with bold infusions and unapologetic flavors. Next to their very traditional Belgian beers they have coffee and port infused ales which are out of this world. Lazarus is part of their premium infused series — where beer meets spirits in a fearless blend of tradition and innovation. To be honest, I drank them a very long time back and wasn't impressed. But they recently changed recipes and now they are bang on!
Expect quality, creativity, and a rebellious edge in every bottle. This isn't mass-market. This is small-batch soul.
—

05/07/2025

🔸Wioselo Brouwerij 🇧🇪
🔸Akkerblond
🔸Farmhouse style blond
🔸6,2% ABV
🔸Boerentripel
🔸Rustic Belgian Tripel
🔸8,0% ABV
-
The blond is a soft and subtly spicy blond with a grainy heart straight from the Haspengouw fields. This Akkerblond balances floral hops, hay-like malt notes and a hint of earthy yeast character. Unfiltered and honest — just like the land it’s brewed from. 🌾🍺
While the tripel is more big, bold and bursting with golden malts and estery yeast. The Boerentripel is a robust, slightly rustic take on the classic tripel — with grassy hops, a peppery finish and a warming, full-bodied strength. 🚜💪
-
Wioselo is a young local brewery with deep roots in the Limburg soil. "Akker" means field, and that’s exactly what this beer captures: a walk between golden grain and wide skies.
Saison meets blond, in a bottle full of countryside character.
“Boer” means farmer, and this tripel is a true workhorse: honest, unpolished and generous in character. Think clogs in the clay and long evenings after harvest.
A tripel for those who work hard and drink well.
-
Luckely today you can taste both at today! Yesterday was opening evening and as you can see I am already preparing for a sort session today! 😎😎
See you there?!

01/07/2025

🔸Jazz Bilzen Bier 🇧🇪
🔸Blond Brut 70
🔸Brewed for the legendary music festival
🔸6,5% ABV
-
Crisp Belgian blond with a light spicy backbone and smooth malty body. Notes of citrus zest, subtle esters and a slightly dry finish make this a refreshing nod to music history. 🎶🍻
Perfect to beat this blasted heat! 🔥
-
Jazz Bilzen was more than just jazz — from 1965 to 1981 it was Belgium’s first true pop festival, hosting legends like Deep Purple, The Kinks, Lou Reed, AC/DC, The Clash and many others before Rock Werchter even existed.
This beer pays homage to that rebellious, genre-bending spirit. Not just for jazz lovers, but for all who appreciate bold energy and Belgian brewing craft.
Turn up the volume, take a sip, and toast to the roots of rock in Belgium.
-
Coming to Bilzen this weekend!! Will you be there?!

17/06/2025

Not your average IPA… these two go full throttle ⚡💀🍍
🔸️Brouwerij De Meester 🇧🇪
🔸MASTER NZ IPA 🇳🇿
🔸MASTER West Coast IPA 🇺🇸
🔸Double Dry Hopped, loud & unfiltered
🔸NZ Edition: Cryo Nelson, Motueka, Riwaka
🔸West Coast: Citra, Idaho 7, Nelson
🔸from
—
These aren’t just hazy IPAs — they’re liquid attitude.

🍍 MASTER NZ IPA swings the other way — juicy, tropical, and smooth like a fresh-cut fruit basket. Expect notes of ripe passionfruit, white grape, mango, and citrus zest. The Motueka and Riwaka bring that soft limey brightness, while Cryo Nelson brings a vinous funk. It’s plush, cloudy, and absolutely dripping with flavor.

💥 MASTER WEST COAST IPA hits you with that classic resinous punch — dank pine, zesty grapefruit peel, bursts of orange and a dry, bitter finish that bites back like it means it. It’s crisp, clean, and unapologetically West Coast. Think sunglasses, sunshine, and a middle finger to basic brews.
—
Both pour hazy and golden, each with a creamy head and a full, lush mouthfeel that makes every sip feel like a moment. The labels are wild, De Meester style, but the juice inside? Even wilder.
Crush one on a sunny day and you’ll understand why these cans don’t mess around.
No shortcuts. No compromises. Just full-hop chaos, beautifully controlled.