Reviewed by
Mary
Blurb:
‘Every month we discover a different craft brewer and collect the freshly brewed beers together with glassware, beers mats, posters and anything available on site.
In our warehouse the #beerbox are carefully prepared for you.
“We are the first online shop providing Belgian craft beers with a monthly discovery and subscription.”
Subscriptions are as follows:
8 bottles: £23.90 + £4.90 home delivery (other delivery options available)
4 bottles: £18.00 + delivery as above.
This month’s box has a little bit of a festive theme!
As always, everything is packed very well.
On top you can see a little bonus: a bottle opener!
This is their excellent magazine.
Waterloo is this month’s featured brewery.
You also get information on each beer in the box.
And this month, instead of the Belgibeer glass, this awesome stoneware goblet from the Waterloo Brewery!
(I should add I didn’t use it for the pictures as you wouldn’t actually be able to see the colour of the beer! I used one of the previous Belgibeer branded glasses instead.)
Let’s pour.
Waterloo Recolte
6%
This blonde beer has a very fresh lemony smell. It tasted very light, then turned to bitter right at the end. Quite refreshing!
Waterloo Triple Blonde
8%
Not only did this have a seriously lively head, it had something of a kick to it at 8%!
It had a malty, almost sweet taste, and was really quite rich in flavour.
Waterloo Strong Dark
8%
Well, the name says it all! It had a rather savory smell, and the taste was seriously malty and rich. There was a very mild hint of fruit right at the end.
Waterloo Bière de Noel – Recolte Hiver
6%
This beer is a special edition, and didn’t taste as dark as it looked.
The smell was surprisingly fruity, the taste had a bitter edge but with a definite hint of caramelized fruit.
You can also cook with is! This is a little bonus recipe included in the magazine.
This is a nicely varied box. One thing I think is excellent about this box is that it focuses on just one brewery. You can see some of the range of beers created by just one place, rather than mass produced.
There was another cool thing enclosed in the box: a gift box for your duplicate beer, if you’re feeling generous!
It folds together nicely, and I’m actually gifting my other four bottles this year! Aren’t I generous?
Value-wise, the large box is a no-brainer. Including home delivery, each beer is £3.60, rather than the £5.72 each for the small box. (You can knock delivery down to £2 if you collect from a dpd collection point, which is even better value.)
As always, beer is cheap in supermarkets, but you’re not going to find proper craft beer from small breweries. When you start to look online for Belgian craft beer, the prices are entirely comparable.
So, if you’d like to explore Belgian craft beer, especially based on individual breweries’ ranges, this is a great box. Oh, and it would make a lovely gift for anyone who has a taste for Belgian, or would like to try it!
By Evelyn 
