#Hello, beer lovers! 🍻

How are you? It’s still sunny here - perfect weather for the holidays. It’s almost summery outside, 26°C in the afternoon. Actually, it’s about time to head into the shade and quench your thirst with a cold beer. I’ll gladly treat myself to a beer or two. For #BeerSaturday, number 461 in a row.

I have two bottles in front of me. Again, one French and one Belgian, both with a high alcohol content. I’m ready to empty them and share the experience with you.

Let’s go!

#Thelma

Brewed by Brasserie Thiriez, Esquelbecq, Hauts-de-France, France. Bottle, 0.33 l, alcohol 7.0% ABV, IBU N/A. Season farmhouse ale.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Wonderful floral farmhouse saison with delicious spicy pepper that catches the back of the throat in a tingly way and a lovely hibiscus sweetness.

What I'm reading is really interesting. Spicy pepper and hibiscus.

The beer is a light red, slightly brown color, with an average head that fades quickly. It really does smell like hibiscus, just as they say. It goes down smoothly; at first, I taste a hint of sweetness and a slight spiciness, followed by the sweetness of hibiscus. The aftertaste fades quickly.

Refreshing and interesting; in terms of taste and sweetness, it reminds me more of a radler or a panaché - that is, beer flavored with fruit juice. It doesn’t have the classic beer taste. The hibiscus adds a strong, sweet, fruity note, while the pepper (Madagascar wild pepper) adds a slight spiciness. In short, it’s complex and aromatic. Even though it has a high alcohol content, it feels light. I got it from a friend who was in France.

#Bush Caractère

Brewed by Brasserie Dubuisson, Leuze-en-Hainaut, Région wallonne, Belgium; Bottle, 0.33 l, alcohol 12% ABV, IBU 25. Belgian Strong Golden Ale.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Introduced in 1933 under the name of “Bush Beer”, it's the flagship brand of the Dubuisson Brasserie. A filtered, top-fermented beer made from malt, hops, natural sugars, water from the brewery’s own underground source, and an exclusive house yeast that has been cultivated for 80 years. The pronounced bitter-sweet taste of this beer and its characteristic amber color are due to the caramel malts used, and the patience of the master brewer (the beer rests for four to six weeks). The high density – the proportion of malt – and the active house yeast make for one of the strongest Belgian beers, with an alcohol volume of 12%.

This is a very strong beer; caution is advised.

The beer is amber in color, with an average, creamy head. It has a caramel aroma. It goes down smoothly; on the palate, I detect the sweetness of caramel (and likely alcohol as well), dried plums, and at the same time the bitterness of roasted malt, which lingers in the aftertaste as everything slowly fades away.

A full-bodied, strong beer. It’s not exactly refreshing - too sweet and high in alcohol - and is better suited for dessert and sipping slowly than for quenching your thirst. If you like strong Belgian beers, this is a true classic that pairs well with a sweet treat or blue cheese. Like a liqueur, more for winter than summer. A friend brought it to me; he bought it in Luxembourg.

And what am I listening to when writing this and tasting beer? A new group I'm following.

City of the Sun - London https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNl38v0INK0

Thank you for your attention.

Latest (this year) tastings: Here Comes The Sun and Fang & Flame, Steam-Brew Imperial Stout and XO - Punk is Not Dead, Küss die Hand Helles and Irish Craft IPA, Nero Stout and Banquise Attack Double IPA, Nuke Mars NEIPA and General Maister IPA, Bevog Deetz and Siren Broken Dream, La Chouffe Blonde and TAZ Tasmanian Ale, Reservoir Dogs CruX Gose and Wicklow Wolf Elevation Pale Ale, Organic Chocolate Stout and Fuller's IPA, Hirter 1270 and Pécsi Prémium Lager, Erdinger Dunkel and Lone Wolf Single Hop IPA, Perlenzauber Kellerpils and Bavaria Holland, Salt Breeze & Ironik, Budvar Dark Lager and Krombacher Weizen, Rosa’s Fest-Märzen and Christmas Stout, HOPZ 2025 and Kozel Dark.

#5% of this post's earnings will go to community beneficiaries - @beerlover.