Fool's Gold

Brugse Zot

I nearly didn't write this blog, thinking that perhaps this beer is a bit too well known and you've all tried it before, but it might just be me who's been drinking this for years. Plus the fact that I visited De Halve Maan brewery on my honeymoon means this beer's often at the forefront of my mind.

Regardless, let's get on with it. I must start with my oft-included label review. Zot has one of those crap-but-I-like-it labels. 'Zot' means 'fool' and there's a fairly crummy picture of a jester chap prancing about and the typeface is pretty cheap. It's a mystery why some cheap labels have charm and others fill me with exasperation. I think in Brugse Zot's case it looks like a genuine attempt to come up with a great label but it hasn't quite worked. Setting up a brewery's expensive enough so you can't blame them for not forking out on snazzy labels.

Zot is a Blonde beer coming in at 6% so it's walking on steady shoes, but also a very well-trodden path. I find some Blonde beers like this can offer very little and come across as just a strong glass of Stella. Of course, Zot isn't, otherwise I wouldn't be wasting my time writing this.

It comes across very well with an alluring syrupy, lightly malted aroma. A distinct melon whiff was a nice treat; it's not something I usually find. Bread and butter came through too. It's not often that I get such specifics so it made me feel as though I had an accomplished nose. Whoever thought a beer could flatter you!

In the mouth, its texture is good, with I'd say a perfect level of carbonation (though we all like different things). There's a coriander flavour to it with a hint of hop and a gorgeous round sweetness to it.

The finish is fairly ordinary but very clean and balanced with just a short bitter moment. I even drank the yeasty bit at the bottom of the bottle because I wanted just that little bit more! To be honest I think some people (not all mind!) get a bit too flustered about a bit of yeast in the glass. I find it harmless, and even have it on good authority that it'll help prevent hangovers!

Anyhow, this was a beer that I hadn't in a long while as it was so good at the brewery I worried it'd live up to it. It did. Op uw gezondheid!

Brugse Zot - 8

http://www.halvemaan.be/index.php?id=15&L=2