Bink Bloesem

Brewed by Brouwerij Kerkom
Style: Belgian Ale
Sint-Truiden, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle from Stirchley Wines and Spirits, Birmingham. Ruddy brown, Autumnal and sunsettish. Thin, tightly fluffed head, with creamy lacing. Slight strawberry aroma. Tanginess, deep milky fruit flavour. Flirts with sourness, but not sustained. Metal in places, watery shell. Lacks the sweetness of similar Belgian efforts, but that’s OK. This is a great beer - untainted by any noticeable ABV.

Bottle. Quite aromatic, but definitely on the Belgian yeasty side of things. Slight raisn and caramel, with a touch of pear/apple, quite good, tasty.

There’s plenty of useful information on this colorful label ( a pretty picture of blossoming flowers, a goofy cartoon bee hugging a pear), but none of it’s in English. For instance: "Ingedienten: brouwater, mout, gist, hop." But from further research, I’ve learned that the special ingredients are honey and pear essence, or syrup, or something. Well, let’s open it up and find out! Deep, dark chestnut color, nearly violet, with prodigious carbonation, bubbles filling the sides of the glass, and propelling a hugesness of head, in an off-whitish shade, but quickly crumbling down. Aroma: full with fruit, alive with hops, but not too dynamic. I can get the honey, and the pear, but other darker fruit suggestion interject and overpower. Taste: Some sweetness, but nicely balanced out, in fact, at the end, on the palate, rather dry. The pear flavor is delicate, but unmistakable, though, again, it hides under darker sensations. Hops continue to dance, sip after sip, dazzling and delectable, and that honeyish feel rides out on top, bright and tasty. Body is medium, and the finish is light, rather brief, but not without it’s rewards. Oh my God! I just burped, and it came out completely pear! Seriously! This is weird. What an unusual brew, or as the label says "speciaalbier", it gets pearier and honeyier as we go, and suddenly this 33cl bottle is too little. A nice, tasty treat from Belgium, try one if you can!

Cloudy, red-brown colour. This beer has a fragrant, sweet hop aroma. The fruit and honey comes through strongly in the flavour, although I’m not sure I would have identified the fruit as being derived from pear syrup. It’s not too sweet and has noticeable yeasty sourness to balance out the juicy fruit. Quite nice. Bottled at St Albans Beer Festival 2004.

Bottled - St Albans Beer Festival. A reddy brown coloured beer with thick chewy hop flavours. A dry medicinal cherry type taste. The fruity flavours come through strongly but they are never over-powering.

Dark beige head. The body is a dark cloudy red. Aroma is sweet with molasses, a little of flowers and some green beans. The taste is not nearly as sweet. It has a little bit of bread and some rotten apples. It has some sourness at the end. Decent.

33cl bottle, BBD 06/06 Pours dark brown with a good head. Aroma of modified malts(munich, aromatic types) and fruity, blossom honey. Taste is more of the same, with a balancing sourness in the end, mingled with a cameo appearance by some bitter hops. Pretty nice overall, nothing super complex and I didn’t think "pear" as I see the site lists, but it was in that realm I suppose.

33 cL bottle, snifter. Caramel, cookie, straw malt (M); perfume hops (L); dough yeast (L); pear, honey, bubble gum aromas. Deep brown-red body with a creamy, off-white head that lasts well. Heavily sweet, moderately acidic flavor becomes a moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter finish. Medium-full body, watery/creamy texture, average carbonation. The bottom line is: the pear flavor doesn’t really do it for me, but it’s a solid brew underneath.

Bottle at spuyten duyvil. Medium brown body, pale beige head. Sweet malty nose with just traces of yeast (peaches, pears, candy, almonds, apples). Light palate, gentle carbonation. Well-hidden alcohol. Original yeast peaks, even for a belgian ale.

Apricot honey aroma. Light chestnut appearance. Sugary fruity apricot peach pear flavors. Mild hop finish. Long fruity aftertaste. This beer is a fine example of Belgian experimentation.