Hello, beer lovers! 🍻 😎 🍻

But are we in the Christmas spirit yet? We certainly are.
All activities are coming to a halt, people are becoming more casual and relaxed in anticipation of the family holiday soon to be followed by New Year's Eve and New Year's Day. Many people are already on holiday, including me :)

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As you can see I am working on a Christmas tree under which I've placed two important icons (my wife protested that this isn't the way to do it) but I reassured her that this is just for the opening image for the 286th #beersaturday and that I'll remove them as soon as possible (ASAP) :)

I have two beers again today, one English can and one Belgian bottle, both with flavors gravitating toward IPAs so it'll be interesting.

First, (I read somewhere that beer is tasted) the one with less alcohol.

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Tiny Rebel Pineapple Express IPA

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I picked it up in a food shop in Bath, England, over two months ago, why? The tin looked interesting to me, I like the taste of pineapple and it has been in my fridge until now. It's about time I opened it :)

It is brewed by Tiny Rebel, Wern Industrial Estate, Rogerstone, Wales, UK.
Can, 0.44 l, alcohol 6.2 ABV, 45 IBU. It's a Flavoured IPA which means that's a bitter, hop-forward beer with an intensive flavoring element.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Pineapple Express IPA is a collaboration with our good pals in North Wales. We took the juiciest hops and blended them with fresh pineapple, better with an explosion of pineapple both on the nose and to taste, a juicy, hazy, pineapple IPA.

Yeah, that's the reason why I choose it to taste. Intensive pineapple flavor.

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The beer is a cloudy, light yellow color with a pronounced head that does not disappear so quickly. It smells of, what is it? Pineapple, clearly.
The IPA bitterness is in the mouth and after that, the pineapple immediately takes over, whose flavor and sweetness are very pronounced but the bitterness still prevails.

In the aftertaste, the sweetness of the pineapple disappears, but the bitterness of the hops remains for a while.

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I have to admit I like this beer. Even though it's been in the fridge for over a month, it's fresh and fruity, and the hop bitterness lets you know that this is a very good beer and not just some mix of fruit and hops.
This style, Flavoured IPA, seems to suit me best and I wonder if more producers will try this combination.
Unfortunately, it's not available here, but I would like to have it on my fridge.

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No meme today, just a picture of my Christmas tree that my wife and I have just put up. No children, unfortunately. My boys are at the age where they don't even care... well, to be honest, I didn't care then either :) 😁

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🍻 😎 🍻 😎 🍻

Duvel Tripel Hop Citra Belgian IPA

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This beer I got as a gift for the birthday, which means, as it's my birthday in April, it's been waiting even longer than the last one for me to open it. I would have opened it and tried it earlier, but I got sixty beers for my birthday and it was just waiting somewhere.
Last one :)

Brewed by Duvel Moortgat, Breendonk-Puurs, Antwerp, Belgium.
Bottle, 0.33 l, alcohol 9.5% ABV, 40 IBU. It's Belgian Strong Golden Ale style, pale and complex, and features fruity and hoppy notes.

What do the Master Brewers say?

Discover Citra, voted by our fans as the best hop variety for our special duvel tripel hop. This aromatic third hop is grown in the Yakima Valley in Washington and enriches the flavor palate with fresh hints of grapefruit and tropical fruit.
The Duvel Tripel Hop with Citra not only won a gold medal at the Brussels Beer Challenge, it was also awarded the consumer trophy at the Zythos Beer Festival.

Very nice. I'm waiting for something like this. Let's taste it!

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The beer is clear yellow in color, and the head is solid and disappears quickly. It smells malty. A sip goes down the throat smoothly (like all the others, haha). On the palate I taste bitterness but not too pronounced, a malty sweetness creeps in immediately but it is not invasive, and citrus flavours develop on the palate, especially grapefruit and lemon, but they are not overpowering, and hay. Slightly spicy, probably due to the alcohol.

In the aftertaste, everything slowly disappears except the bitterness of the hops and the sweetness of the malt.

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Very good beer. Complex flavors but balanced enough to be very delicious. No wonder it has won many awards. I'd have liked to have it in the fridge but you have to order it. It's not available in the shops where I usually buy beer, nor in pubs.
You can smell the alcohol, though. So I wouldn't recommend more than two a night :)

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And what am I listening to as I write this? Something from my yesterday #newtunes post.
I think this band is the biggest attraction in popular music at the moment and if you have the chance go and see them live!

The Smile - The Opposite (Live at Montreux Jazz Festival)