IPA
Brouwerij De Leckere

This beer is an occasional beer brewed by Peter van der Arend, a Dutch beer connaisseur.
The color is orange copper, with a settling head. The head forms a layer of foam on the side of the glass.

The smell is a US hoppy smell with a fruity and dark berries smell. The hops offer a sort of cassis smell. There is a malty smell that has some light dextrinous notes.

The taste is bitter with nice hoppy aftertaste. The bitterness is not extreme and offers a solid base for the hop aroma. The The malts are light and have notes of honey, dextrines and some hay.

This is available around town here and I've had a few up to this point. This is an impressive beer and deserves to be part of beerclopedia. The first special edition release of 5 single batch beers celebrating their 15th anniversary. Each one features a guest brewer from Holland; this one was done by Peter van der Arend.

From a 30cl bottle into a snifter

APPEARANCE: Pours a 1+ finger, medium, creamy looking white head with very good retention. An opaque, cloudy gamboge orange body with lower levels of carbonation evident. Head slowly recedes to a full wisp and clings to the sides of the glass. Faint wisp remains leaving some dots of lacing down the glass.

SMELL: Smells like the style should. Big enough nose of pale malts, light caramel notes, light grassy and floral qualities, with some nice citrus and honeyew melon aromas. The cascade hops are evident, and a hint of bubble gum makes it fun as well. This smells quite nice.

TASTE: Pale malts, caramel, toffee and some light bubble gum up front, followed by grassy hops, floral notes and some light citurs at the swallow. Bold and lingering finish of honeydew sweetness, with lots of hop bitterness, grapefruit, pine flavors and some lemon notes. Quite a burst of bitterness after the swallow. Tasty and refreshing.

PALATE: Medium body and medium carbonation. Creamy enough on the palate, enough weight, goes down smooth and finishes with a bit of a scratch after the swallow. A bit of residual sweetness lingers on the palate and a good bite from the bitterness.

OVERALL: One of the best beers from De Leckere. Moreover, one of the best IPA's to be brewed in Holland, and it only cost €1,65 a bottle. Smaller craft breweries end up having to charge twice that price, and often they are not as good. Actually, I might say that this is the only commercially brewed American style IPA in Holland that I actually think is worth brewing. The others being of inferior quality and/or far too pricey for the style. Anyways, I have drunk my share of this and will continue to do so until it's gone. Sad that a Dutch brewery finally gets this style right and they're only going to brew it once. This would be my go-to beer for sure. Let's hope they change their minds.