Blonde porter?

I don't know anything about Hertalse Poorter, though judging from the label it appears to be endorsed by Renaissance Donald Trump. I do know that, despite the name, it's not a porter, the paleness visible through the brown glass of the bottle and pouring revealing it to be a very light shade of Budweiser yellow. Originally the glassful was perfectly clear but I got greedy and topped it up after the head settled, landing a pinch or two of yeast into the rest. Maybe it'll add character.

It smells pleasant: lightly peachy with a hint of pear. Getting to the flavour was harder work, however, due to the heavy fizz, its overactive bubbles jamming the taste signals initially. The beer underneath is fairly plain: a crisp and grainy blonde ale that's almost lagerlike. What rescues it from mediocrity is that fruit character I identified in the aroma, coming through here as lychee and hondeydew. The label mentions that it's brewed with spices local to Herentals (near Antwerp) but elaborates no further. Maybe they have something to do with the flavour, in which case, well done them. Despite it being a 6.5% ABV Belgian blonde it has no headachey esters or cloying residual sugars and I don't miss them one bit.

This was a pleasant surprise and a beer I'd be happy to drink again some sunny day.