and now for the bottles......

Now bottles are being opened and passed about. By throwing money at some of the bottle holders, I'm getting samples worth commenting on:

de Landtsheer Malheur 10 10%--750 bottle label: "Sunny yellow color, Rose-like peachy aroma. Rich, oily honeyed texture. Medium to full body. Big, orange-zest and a hint of bitter sourness to a warming finish--Michael Jackson" My take: I overhear someone say "better than anything I've had on the taps today!"; I concur, sadly......... fuzzy honey color, deep yellow, nice head.... once the honey is suggested, all hope is lost--rich honeycomb flavors (including the beeswax); almost mead-like character. Damn, I want a full bottle...........

de Landtsheer Malheur 12--let me get back to you on that-----

Fantome Saison 8% 750ml bottle: Fuzzy amber, VERY grassy/herbal nose..... You know what this is reminding me of? Dandelion wine crossed with saison or sparkling mead! It's got that lovely dandelion bitterness and floral notes, balanced by a dollop of honey. This is late spring in a bottle, nice and freah.

Okay, back to Malheur 12: Colour of a big dubbel or barleywine, rich head, dubbel-like nose but more alcoholic..... by comparison with the many so far, obscene candy-like sweetness, rich and toffee-like, drifting almost towards a Belgian Thomas Hardy;s in flavor and mouthfeel, but the complexity of the yeast flavors inhibit the cloying sweetness of a Thomas Hardy's/JW Lees Harvest......

Pannepot Old Fishermans Ale 2006 330ml bottle 10%: a strongly aged character. slightly phenolic/cardboardy, as with an overaged Snow Goose...... the additional alcohol of this one makes it work, but it's LOADED with the buttery character of a rich Ringwood beer.... oh, HELL, yeah! Give me a bottle of this--but later.......... Okay, I was just informed that the bottle in question came from the Danish end of the project, whatever that is, now for the Belgian bottle.....

Now once again back to Malheur 12: spicy, almost decadent by comparison, barleywine with spicy yeast notes. dammit, am I ever gonna finish this?

Pannepot Old Fishermans Ale 2006 BELGIAN: Ka-BOOM, what a difference! Milkshake-like creaminess and sweetness, foamy as a nitro tap, seemingly diabetic-inducing sweetness, a beer you survive rather than relish.......... The "Danish" is for sipping, the "Belgian" for a party.