At first I thought it was just an unlucky choice of spacing to brand this beer “extra ordinary”, but looking at the website of the brand, I’d say it’s probably an intentional joke.

Vedett Extra Ordinary IPA

This pale gold beauty comes with a relatively big, white head. It’s pretty solid too, sticking around for minutes and not much to the glass. There’s some pretty lacing left on the empty glass, but it’s not significant.

In retrospect I probably should’ve sniffed it for longer than I did. I just noted that it feels closer to some lager than an IPA, with the characteristic over-hopped punch of the latter missing, but there should be some hints in there about the wonders below.

Because, to be honest, this light and easy-to-drink beer is one of the best I’ve had in a while. It’s surprisingly complex, and the first beer in a good while that’s not an extremity in some way, but is simply delicious. Its light bitterness provides the backdrop for a delicate mixture of hop fruitiness, with mint, lemon and lavender. There’s also a hint of the Belgian traditional yeast, but that might be just the placebo effect of the brand. There’s a light sweet touch too, like sweet icing on a dark chocolate cake.

And despite all that, the way it’s smooth and light at once makes it really refreshing.