Zwolle incognita

Yesterday's post left off with our arrival in Zwolle, a Dutch city I'd never been to before. From what I saw, it's a pleasant little place, if a little sleepy, lacking the verve that students bring to the likes of Leiden and Utrecht. Dominating the local drinks offering is Het Refter, a grand multi-storey bar and restaurant with a sizeable beer menu, and that's where we started.

There are two house beers of indeterminate provenance. Refter Blond is 5.5% ABV and definitely a cut above the typically generic examples. The aroma is a fresh and modern waft of mandarin and satsuma while the flavour is all tropical candy, like Starburst, finishing with a balancing kick of grapefruit zest. Yes it's a little sweet, but is light-bodied enough to stay refreshing throughout. Whoever picked this to have Refter's name on it made a good choice.

At the same strength, the other house beer is Refter Hoppy White, possibly dating to the time when white IPAs were still fashionable. Again they've squeezed a lot of tropical elements in here -- passionfruit and some coconut. There's a substantial amount of coriander, but unlike so many white IPAs it doesn't clash with the big hops, perhaps because they've gone for juicy rather than bitter. Anyway, it works very well, presenting a tasty juice-driven IPA with an interesting witbier twist. Another pleasant surprise.

A beer that caught my eye as it wandered down the list was something called Strawberry Basil Splash IPA from local brewer Stanislaus Brewskovitch. That had to be tried. 5.9% ABV, it smells of jam and candy, and not of IPA. Expecting something sticky I found it actually unpleasantly thin, and whatever complexities it might have had muted as a result. The basil appears in the flavour, not fresh and green but as a dried, apothecary shop effect, with a dab of bathroom-cabinet floral lavender. The strawberry jam twang follows that, but is brief. I realised I wanted this to be big and weird and daft, and wouldn't have minded if it were unpleasantly so. But it turned out to be a damp squib: inoffensive and not really making the most of the spec.

I figured that Jopen could be relied upon to bring the noise, and there was an unfamiliar triple IPA of theirs on the list: the 10% ABV Heavy Cross. This isn't actually particularly heavy but it is plenty bitter, piling in the lime in a very west-coast way. Caramel malt sweetness provides contrast and there's a slight complexity in the form of some floral and spicy jasmine and honeysuckle elements. Best of all, it's clean and dry, clearly demonstrating the high alcohol without turning sticky or cloying. I don't know that I can call a powerhouse of this sort "balanced", exactly, but it's not jarring or difficult either.

That session finished light, on a saison from the wacky Netherlands-based Finnish cuckoo brewery Flying Dutchman. It's called More Dry And Sour Than Your Mother In Law but it's not even slightly sour and isn't even especially dry, lacking the earthy spicing typical of saison. It is only 4.7% ABV and very light-bodied on that, to the point of thin. What saves it is the flavour: a lovely mix of refreshing lemon and exotic coconut. I just checked the ingredients and it's made with Sorachi Ace, so that explains that. The coriander, orange peel and grains of paradise are less discernible, but it does make sense to consider it as more of a witbier than a saison.

We came back to Het Refter the following evening and I got the chance to try a black IPA I missed previously: Gijte Paedje from De Natte Gijt. This 6.7%-er hit all the correct black IPA style points, beginning with a heady aroma of spiced red cabbage and concentrated aniseed. A creamy coffee foretaste leads on to a more spiky grapefruit bitterness behind. There's a flash of tart gooseberries and then a finish of cocoa and coconut. I loved the depth of it all -- one of those flavour profiles you can simply wade into and find new features with every sip. There's no better example of why black IPAs should still be everywhere.

The only other Zwolle venue I have for you is Café de Hete Brij, a rather more orthodox pub with a small beer list. Nevertheless, there were two house beers again. Bronckhorster certainly used to brew for them, I don't know if it still does.

Blonde Brij is 7% ABV so I don't know whether to place it down with the Leffe-a-like lager substitutes or up with the Duvel clones, and it doesn't really taste like either. It's dry and lightly spicy with a noble hop note of celery in amongst the grain husk. The strength is apparent and yet it remains quite refreshing, if a little rough. Compared to Refter's example, this is much more what I would expect from a house blonde ale in this part of the world. Unfortunately, perhaps.

We haven't had a bock today yet, and Brij obliges with Bokkige Brij, again at 7% ABV. There's the red liquorice, right on cue. But what's this? Raisin and grape tannins? Normally the base would be sweet and caramelly; this one is drier and more mellow. I got a brief kick of vinegar in the aroma so I'm wondering if the surprise complexity is more to do with the keg being on slightly too long rather than any creative flourishes with the recipe. Regardless, it worked. This wasn't just another autumn bock and was all the better for that.

Like many of Belgium's big breweries, Kasteel brews a strong blonde ale to compete with Duvel, and all of the other clones of it. Theirs is a level of culpability down from Duvel, Satan, Judas and Piraat, being merely un Filou. It's the full 8.5% ABV but doesn't have Duvel's complexity -- though that may have more to do with the draught serve than anything else. I really enjoyed the mix of spices and bubblegum at the centre of the flavour, though other than some pale and dry grain there's not much else happening, but perhaps that's enough.

That's certainly enough for today. Tomorrow we head further west, with the promise of a beer festival.