Brasserie De La Senne make some very good beers, and one of the favourites is their hoppy, dry Belgian Pale Ale called Zinnebir. To celebrate 20 years of brewing Zinnebir, It wa decided to make three collaborations, choosing breweries who played an important part in De La Senne’s history, and which paid tribute to the original beer.
The first in the series is Ribenniz, for which they collaborated with Brouwerij De Ranke. It was here De La Senne brewed their beers when moving between their old and current brewery – a move that took five years, so not a trivial stint!
Ribenniz – which is Zinnebir spelled backwards – was brewed to mirror the nature of the original Zinnebir recipe, which used different hops and yeast.
It is a lovely light-bodied pale ale, with just a little malt sweetness up front. Grassy, herbal and slightly peppery hops are quickly evident with the characteristic firm bitterness that De La Senne beers are known for. It finishes dry with that lasting spicy and peppery bitterness.
I don’t remember whether I had tried the earliest version of Zinnebir, but if this is what it tasted like I’m sure I would have enjoyed it!