Top Tastings 2008. A shorter version appeared on facebook January 2009.
ABV: 2.5%
Origin: Assebroek, West-Vlaanderen (since moved to Oudenaarde, Oost-Vlaanderen)
Website: www.smisje.be
"De Regenboog brews Mesopotamian beer: Archaeologists find recipe in Syrian song from 1800BC."
An interesting attempt to recreate an authentic ancient beer made in collaboration with the brewing school of Leuven university (KUL), this one-off was brewed on the initiative of an archaeologist and linguist based on a 4,000-year-old Mesopotamian recipe, from wheat and barley with herbs rather than hops. It was realised at Johan Brandt’s ‘t Smisje (“the little smith”) brewery, also known as De Regenboog (“the rainbow”), one of Belgium’s smallest micros, founded in 1996 next to a honey, home brewing & winemaking shop in Assebroek and originally known for brewing a range of beers including honey and fruit. After this beer was brewed, Johan moved to a new site in Oudenaarde; he’s since taken a business decision to rationalise his range to a single beer.
Sampled on draught at the Zythos festival, this highly unusual but refreshing pale yellow beer had high carbonation, a rapidly descending foamy white head, an unusual lightly sour lactic aroma with notes of farmyard, tar, paint and vinyl, a lightly fizzy almost cidery palate with burnt plastic and cream notes, and a lightly citric finish, mild rather than sour with elderflower and kvass hints. Actually kvass, the lightly alcoholic grain-based fizzy drink sold on the street in some parts of eastern Europe, is a good reference point for this, or a very light and fizzy version of a lambic.
Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/t-smisje-meso/81730/
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