Brett Porter
Brasserie de la Senne

 

Indecipherable "best by" code; drank 12/28/25 @ the Yarchives.

Black/brown appearance.

An even pour yielded a small, noisy tan head which quickly dissipated; minimal lacing remained.

Peanut butter, mild chocolate & faint sea salt notes in the nose.

Medium thin mouthfeel.

Peanut butter & chocolate flavors up front; mineral water & mild clove notes in the nose.

Thin & dry but with interesting porter notes. Not an everyday beer for me, but it's one I'd revisit again.

wonderful beer in a style range we so rarely see, old world english type porter, well made but no frills, fermented with brett, which is a frill in itself i suppose, but its heavenly, a new to me beer from one of my very favorite operations anywhere, a treat to get into with the crew! a little dusty looking on the pour, not gross and sedimented but definitely not shiny, at least my portion of this small bottle, some puffing tan head rising up and falling back, bubbly beer, not quite black, matte, deep brown, active. the aroma is cool, mature even if the brett part is somewhat more subtle than expected, dry and earthy, awesome english malt character to this, specialty and dark, leathery, dry cocoa, ash, some obvious bitterness, a little fig thing but not really fruity, the brett has subtle wild funk, dries this a lot, bready too though, classically english underneath, the brett is somewhat defining because its unique, but also its at accent level intensity to my nose, kind of neat, but not outwardly brett brux driven like some of their beers here are, and like i thought this would be, still awesome, still english on the ferment too, both fermenters working together obviously. the flavor is awesome, its richly flavored by dry, dark enough on the low end to seem almost charred, but its not that bitter later. notes of dark soils, deep minerality, dark toasted bread, dry cocoa powder for baking, leather and like old furniture, in a good way. roasted chestnut, a hint of anise or something spicy, trace smoke and wood, the brett has way cool farmy character, more of it as it warms, dry and lightly vinous, but never tart to me, good funk but definitely not dominant. this is bubbly and easy to drink, love the aftertaste with the english ale yeast, the roast, and the brett, some coffee character there too, dry and fast, quite light bodied for its color. ill have to get a whole bottle of this for myself, i did not see my glass get poured, we had a group, and it wasnt as clear or heady as some pictures online look, maybe i got it near the bottom, maybe it was poured a little softer, id love to spend some more time with this one, more intentional, but any chance to drink beer from de la senne is one i am thankful for. this porter would slap on its own, the brett adds a lot, even if its somewhat subtle actually compared to expectations, and the overall quality is high, as with all their stuff, awesome winter drinker! our bottle had what looked like a best by date of november 2025, not totally sure i am reading it right, but that makes more sense than a born on date of just a month ago, all the way from belgium, would have expected more brett with the bottle time if this is a best by date, but either way i love the beer, hope to drink it again soon!

 

“You ever drunk Bailey’s from a shoe?”
—Old Gregg

Creamy, leathery, bitter dry roast malt, chicory, woody clove spice, a little musty. The end.

De La Senne #17

 

Dark brown color with red highlights and a thick three-finger beige head with great retention.
Aroma with notes of funky Brett, cocoa, oak and faint smoke.
Flavor with notes of roasted coffee, cocoa, Brett and prunes. Dry aftertaste with a medium bitterness.
Light body with somewhat effervescent carbonation.
Brett really took over here, but goes hand in hand with the cocoa, coffee and prune notes. It didn’t feel completely in harmony.

Onsite bottle at Monk’s Café in Philadelphia, PA.

This one pours a fairly dark black color, with a fluffy head, and a bit of lacing.

This smells like dark chocolate, roasted malt, light smoke, licorice, a yeasty spice, oak, and some vinous aromas.

This use of Brett is fairly mild here – it’s got some clovey and floral spice to it, with a nice vinous taste, and lots of chocolate and a clean, hearty roasted character.

This feels much bigger than the ABV of 5.7% ABV would suggest. It’s creamy, and really drinkable, with a smooth and dry finish.

De La Senne continues to be one of my favorite Belgian breweries.