556. De Ranke Hop Harvest 2012

Another beer from our trip to Louisville to see the UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships. And another European fresh hop beer! Will wonders never cease? This is our third beer from Brouwerij De Ranke in Wevelgem, Belgium, following Kriek De Ranke and Cuvée De Ranke. Basically, if it says De Ranke, count us in.

De Ranke Hop Harvest 2012 pours a clear—albeit slightly hazy—bright gold. It has a thin, clean white head that hangs around and also re-rouses easily. The nose is a mix of fruitiness—from the yeast esters I would think, but they could be hop-derived as well—and Belgian candy malt mixed with hop bitterness. In the nose, it is reminiscent of a Belgian golden ale or a blonde, although the bitterness is more pronounced—it is actually quite beguiling, as the fruit, Belgian candy, and bright spritzy hop bitterness all dance together in the nose. Flavors are clean and crisp with the soft malt character found in many Belgian beers; it starts with malt sweetness and Belgian candy before the bitterness comes into play in the middle. There is also a mineral/hard water component mixed in with the hop bitterness that contributes the light refreshing character. The finish is dry—bone dry—and chalk full of bitterness. There might be a developing brettanomyces component coming in along with the dry bitterness in the finish (this could account for the fruitiness in the nose beyond the yeast esters), as it does finish that dry, but we’re not certain, and we couldn’t find anything online one way or the other. Like Winter 13, this is not quite an American-style fresh hop beer, although this one is much closer than Winter 13. Still, this is a fantastic beer in its own right, and certainly worth looking for again, even as an out of date fresh hop beer. Bank.

From the RateBeer website: “Hop Harvest 2012 is a well balanced blond ale with a floral and grassy character. The 2012 edition has a Père Noël base with XX Bitter hops.”

 

ABV: 6.0%

 

(2/13/2013)

555. Hof ten Dormaal Winter 13 & UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships

We found this in Louisville, which we were visiting to attend the 2013 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships. And while this beer is good, the racing was even better. Mud? Check! Evil climbs and tortuous tracks? Check! Beer? Check! Disgruntled Europeans? Double-check! The unexpected elements included snow (although I will admit, I did wish for it, and was happy to get it) a flooding river next to the course, which meant that all the Sunday races got bumped to Saturday. Good thing, too, as the course was flooded on Sunday.

After the racing was over, we made our way to the Louisville Beer Store. If you recall, we’ve been there before. Technically, we had tacos along the way at Taco Punk, but for the purposes of this blogpost, I am glossing that part over to speed things up. The beautiful thing about the Louisville Beer Store: you can sample beers on draft while browsing.
In this case, they had a selection of four To Øl (they’re in Denmark) beers on tap, so we got a sampler of those, which included First Frontier IPA, Final Frontier DIPA, Sans Frontiere Belgian IPA, and Goliat Coffee Imperial Stout. For more on their beers, you can see here. Good beers, and interesting, although the hop presence in the various IPA version was, not surprisingly, below American standards for the style. My favorite was the Sans Frontiere, while Elli’s was the Final Frontier. Anyway, while browsing, we came across Hof ten Dormaal Winter 13, which is described on the label as a “wet-hopped Belgian Farmhouse Ale brewed with fresh hops from the Dormaal Farm.” If you know about my fresh hop fetish, then you know I was sold at “wet-hopped.” Sure, Belgian is great, and Farmhouse is also good—my love of saisons is also well known—but I needed nothing more than the “wet-hopped” descriptor to make this purchase, even with the knowledge that it was most certainly past its prime. I mean, seriously, how hard is it to resist the idea of European fresh hop beer? Wait, don’t answer that question.

Winter 13 pours a hazy burnished gold with a creamy white head that rouses easy and hangs on well. The initial nose is phenolic and slightly plastic-y, but some swirling of the glass bleeds them off, leaving behind grassy and herbal hop aromas followed by bubblegum phenols and candy sweet malt. The Belgian flavors are front and center: candy sweet malt and bubblegum phenols to open, while the middle is slightly gummy with herbal hop flavor leading into a juicy finish that also features a fair amount of dry bitterness. The hops are not as front and center as I would have hoped, but that’s not surprising given that it is February and this is a 2012 wet hop beer (even with the generousness of labeling this a 2013 beer—i.e. following the name of the beer—these are 2012 hops). The carbonation is prickly but not quite spritzy, which balances well with the chewy and gummy mouthfeel. Overall, this is a delicious and fantastic beer; it is not quite up to par for a wet hop beer, as the Belgian yeast character takes over the remaining fresh hop characteristics still hanging around, but the Belgian malt and yeast flavors almost make up for it. As well, the 8.0% ABV does play into muting the potential delicate hop flavors. Nonetheless, I am certainly happy to see that the interest in wet-hopped beers is spreading in the Old World.

Translated from the Wikipedia Hof ten Dormaal page: “Winter 13 (2012), blond beer with an alcohol content of 8%, with the addition of fresh hops from own cultivation (Magnum and Cascade).”

I do so love Google Translate.

ABV: 8.0%

(2/2/2013)

496. Kriek De Ranke

Our second beer from Brouwerij De Ranke in Wevelgem, Belgium—our last one was Cuvée De Ranke. I do like the pink label on the bottle—this label far surpassed our last pink Belgian beer label, and the beer is, well, light-years ahead.

Kriek De Ranke is described on the label as a “70% Belgian sour ale fermented with cherries with 30% lambic added.” It pours a faint maraschino cherry red—faint because it is lightly pink-hued, and not as deep of a red as maraschino cherries are by themselves. The head is thin, white, and pink; it quickly fades, although there is a fair amount of small streaming carbonation up the sides of the glass to keep a faint ring along the edge, while the nose is a mix of musty cellar, tartness, and old mown hay. Basically, it is all the good parts of your grandparents’ basement, and, might I add, none of the bad. I find the aromatic nuance of the nose beguiling, while Elli queried as to what I meant by old mown hay. To be honest, I’m not completely certain, but it strikes me as close a descriptor as I can muster to describe the beer’s bouquet. Flavors start sharp and bright; the initial cherry flavor is mixed with citric tartness—repeated tasting and contemplation brought a light flush across my cheeks. The tartness rises in the middle, with the mineral brightness coming to the foreground, and the prickly carbonation helping push these palate sensations to the forefront, allowing the tartness to dominate and finish the beer. A delicate cherry flavor lurks on the back and sides of the tongue as the main thrust of tartness drops away, resulting in a clean yet tantalizingly subtle finish—the cherry flavor is reserved but adroit, coming across far gentler than the color might indicate. Elli notes she would like a bit wider range of flavor, and I mostly agree. Nonetheless, the sparse composition is a study in understatement; while the ethos behind this beer runs counter to a fair amount of American brewing ingenuity, it is something I wish that brewers on this side of the pond considered in greater depth.

Love the highlights...

From the Brouwerij De Ranke website: “Kriek De Ranke is a 7% vol. Alc. Kriek that’s unique because the composition is based on two different styles of sour ales. Being the red-brown style from the Roeselare/ Kortrijk/ Oudenaarde-region and the Lambic style from the Pajottenland-region, close to Brussels. We produce and acidify the red-brown ale ourselves, after which we add 25% sour cherries. These cherries stay in the ale for 6 months. Once fermented, the cherries come out and we add Lambic from Brewery Girardin. After this the ale matures for a while before being ready to drink. It’s an explicit thirst quencher, that contains nearly no sugar.”

ABV: 7.0%

(12/6/2011)

459. St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition

St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition is from the Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck in Inglemunster, Belgium. I wish I had more to offer than that, but I don’t, except for this brief aside: this beer is brought to you by Darren Link. I was wandering around in Belmont Party Supply, aimlessly trying to determine the flavor of the evening. You’ve all been there, and know what I mean—you’re looking for that tasty that you’re craving, but you don’t quite know what it is. I ran into Darren, who works next door at Brewtensils—I had stopped there to grind the grain for my Gose. Our discussion led him next door to find a treat of his own (he wanted an 1809 Berliner Weisse), and as we wandered the aisles, he pointed this out to me. You’re a good man, Mr. Link.

St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition pours a hazy burnished but simultaneously iridescent gold; it has wonderful orange highlights that dance on the table after each sip. The head is a thin white covering that quickly reduces to a ring, but there are lots of tiny white bubbles constantly running along in miniscule lines inside the glass. Aromas start with citric sourness followed by lower levels of earthy and barnyard funkiness; as well, there is a slight mineral component that, along with the sourness, brightens the beer in my nose. Flavors start tart, sweet, and dry—there is that citric sourness that makes my mouth pucker and my cheeks flush—before giving way to the earthy and musty funkiness of the middle. The finish has a return of the citric bite mixed with a mineral dryness—both provide the final tart punch, and both linger pleasantly on the tongue and the sides of the mouth. Gueuze Fond Tradition mixes effervescent carbonation with a dry, puckering mouthfeel—the lightness of the body balances the brightness of the carbonation. With warmth, a bit more of the earthy funkiness emerges, both in the nose and in the body, but it is still second fiddle to the bright puckering tartness. Coupled with the reasonable price—$6.99 for a 12.7 oz. bottle—this is something we’ll be hitting up again soon. Puckery goodness aplenty!

ABV: 5.0%
Bottled on: June 20, 2008

(2/24/2011)

396. de Glazen Toren Saison d’Erpe-Mere and 12: Huckleberry Wheat

And the decadence continues. The Brooklyn Flea is right around the corner from Adam and Jenn’s place. After perusing the spoils of basements from all over the greater NYC area, we dined on lobster rolls, wood-fired pizzas, and buffalo jerky. Jenn also went with the grilled cheese. Oh, and I can’t forget the porchetta sandwich. Must remember that.

After our self-inflicted food comas, we retired a while to recuperate. And since I had brought along several deuce-deuces of my fine homebrew products to sample (after all, who doesn’t travel with beer?), we decided to pull out the Huckleberry Honey Wheat beer I brewed a little over 2 ½ years ago. Ah, aged beer. It’s been over a year since I sampled any of this batch, and that year has been very very good to this beer. Let’s just say that I’m sad this beer is on the verge of extinction. Crisp, tart, dry, and the oxidation that has developed works well with the huckleberry flavors. I need to remember to score myself some more of that huckleberry honey next time I am out west. Scoring pounds of fresh huckleberries is gonna a tad more difficult...

12: Huckleberry Honey Wheat
Mini-mash:
8 oz. Rahr 2-row Pale
4 oz. Durst wheat
8 oz. Dingeman’s Biscuit
8 oz. Weyerman Pale
8 oz. Maris Otter

Mashed @ 150° F for 45 minutes
Sparged with 1 gallon of 170° F water

Added fluid to brew kettle, brought to a boil (60 minute) and added:
4 lbs. Alexander Wheat Malt
2 ¼ lbs. Huckleberry Honey
8 oz. Belgian candy
1 oz. German Hallertau pellet

w/10 min. to go:
1 oz. German Hallertau pellet
1 tsp. Irish Moss

Cooled wort, racked to bucket, and pitched Wyeast 3942 Belgian Wheat

Brewed: 9/28/2007
Secondary w/fruit: 10/6/2007; added 3 lbs. frozen and crushed huckleberries
Secondary: 10/26/07; @ 1.009
Bottled: 11/04/2007

OG: 1.050
FG: 1.008

Saison d’Erpe-Mere...

So if all of this wasn’t enough, we headed off to Prime Meats in Brooklyn for dinner. Nothing like a dozen oysters, steak tartare, and a wild mushroom risotto. Plus, they had de Glazen Toren Saison d’Erpe-Mere on tap. That’ll round out dinner just about perfect. Dee-licious. Oh, and Brouwerij de Glazen Toren is in Erpe-Mere, Belgium. Belgium is to saison like beer is to tasty. Saison d’Erpe-Mere has a spicy bubble-gum ester nose. While it was delicious across the board, I recall the nose. That, and I’m still not taking notes. Suck it up and deal.

From the Brouwerij de Glazen Toren website: “Bitter in the nose like citrus, dry and sweet bitter in the mouth, long gradually spreading bitter aftertaste.”

ABV: 6.9%

The wild kingdom took a hit today, what with all the various creatures we ate. Alas, my hedonistic run is about to be closed.

And where o’ where is the fish-ball man? My visit to Clinton Hill is not complete without your delicious repast, oh fish-ball man...

(7/31/2010)

393. St. Feuillien/Green Flash Bière de L’Amitié

Ah, the collabo. Seems like everyone is doing it nowadays. Which is a good thing—spread that beer knowledge and share that beer experience. And with Green Flash willing to head east and cross the pond to Belgium to visit St. Feuillien, the world just got a whole lot more interesting. Because while the domestic collabo is good, the international collabo is all things to all people. And yes, you can quote me on that. We’ve previously tried beer from both breweries: from St. Feuillien we’ve tried the Saison and the Belgian Abbey Ale, while with Green Flash we’ve had Hop Head Red Ale.

Bière de L’Amitié pours a lightly hazy bright gold—we can see through it, but there is some slight cloudiness. The head is white and mousse-y, and laces the glass rather well. The nose has bubblegum (Bazooka Joe, to be specific) and creaminess, along with spicy phenols that are lightly clove-like and spicy. Which is just a fancy way of saying that it smells very Belgian. Bière de L’Amitié starts slightly sweet in a candy-like way with some juicy flavor coupled with fruity esters and spicy phenol flavors across the back of the tongue. The middle dries out on the palate, and has a fair amount of bitterness, especially in relation to the drop in sweetness. There is a slight touch of alcohol warmth in the turn to the finish that sits on the tongue, further drying out the beer on the palate, although the beer does finish a slight creaminess in both the flavor and mouthfeel. As well, there is a bit of lingering dryness and bitterness on the tongue after the creamy finish passes, leaving a pleasant and lightly fruity taste. The carbonation is bright and effervescent, helping to dry out the beer, while the body is pretty light—while there is some alcohol warmth, the body is far lighter than your normal 9.5% ABV beer. In fact, while the label refers to this as a “blond Belgian collaboration ale,” it does have some saison characteristics to it, specifically with the dry body and mouthfeel coupled with some of the aromatics. The complexity and nuance of this beer made for a great drinking experience—Bière de L’Amitié is a study in subtlety and enjoyment. I wish we could find some more of this so that we could both enjoy more of it in the short run, and throw a couple of bottles in the basement to see how it ages. It should go without saying (although I’m still gonna say it) that this beer is a Top 10 best contender for the year. So delicious.

From the bottle: “St. Feuillien’s centuries old brewing traditions combine with Green Flash Brewing Company’s cutting edge brewing techniques to form our first collaboration brew: Bière de L’Amitié (Friendship Brew). A blond Belgian collaboration ale, brewed with St. Feuillien’s traditional yeast and spices. For a modern twist, we add rye malt, wheat malt, and American Amarillo hops. At the crossroads of collaboration, we dry-hopped the brew for more zest. It’s old-world Belgian Abbey-style meets new-world American craft brewing—and a friendship is formed.”

From the Green Flash website: “During a recent twelve day Great Belgium Beer Tour, brewer’s from Green Flash Brewing Co. of San Diego County, California and Brasserie St. Feuillien of Le Roeulx, Belgium teamed up to produce the first-ever collaboration ale between American and Belgian family-owned breweries. The beer will be called Bière De L’Amitié, or Friendship Brew, and will be released in the United States in June 2010.”

ABV: 9.5%
Brew Date: March 9, 2010

(7/28/2010)

372. Saison Dupont

Saison Dupont is brewed by Brasserie Dupont in Tourpes, Belgium, where they have been brewing since 1844. That’s one year less than the house I live it, but that’s still quite impressive. We had this with a delicious dinner of mussels and mushroom ravioli. Yum yum.

Pouring a hazy gold with mousse-y and pillow-y head, Saison Dupont has a earthy and spicy nose with a bit of a hop tang; there is not much malt aroma present, although that’s par for the course for a saison. Flavors start dry and slightly sweet in the front, moving into an earthy and bitter middle, although the earthiness is bright and fresh—let’s call it a bright loaminess. The finish is dry, spicy, and lightly grainy with a bit of creaminess and some bitterness that lingers. Saison Dupont has a medium to light body with a bright, fresh, and crisp mouthfeel that also has a touch of softness; the body is well-attenuated and lightly puckering from both the low levels of malt and the hops. The carbonation is starts soft, but picks up until the final third to finish bright and tart on the palate. A delicious beer, although not the most complex in regards to the flavor profile. Nonetheless, we can see why this beer is the standard-bearer for the style—the brightness and crispness would be perfect on a hot summer afternoon. We approve.

From the Brasserie Dupont website: “The Saison Dupont is a top fermentation beer with refermentation in the bottle. Since 1844, this beer has been brewed in our farm-brewery, during the winter time. Then this beer became a second refermentation in the barrel. During the next summer, this very thirst-quenching beer was served to the ‘saisoniers’ which were working on the fields. Surely therefore, our Saison Dupont is considered as ‘the classic’ among the Belgian season beers! Coppery blond, the finest aromas and a strong bitterness transform this beer into a thirst-quenchener with no equal, just the way it was created. Our selection of yeasts is the perfect base for these typical aromas and ditto taste. A real refermentation in the bottle, which will continue for a long time in your cellar, result into this complex and particular aromatic beer.”

ABV: 6.5%

(7/7/2010)

351. St. Feuillien Saison

This is our first official beer from St. Feuillien, although we previously drank and blogged about St. Feuillien Brune Belgian Abbey Ale. Brasserie St. Feuillien in located in Le Roeulx, Belgium. And who doesn’t love Belgium? Well, besides the French, I mean.

St. Feuillen Saison pours a dull, hazy gold with a spritzy and mousse-y white head; the nose has a spicy Belgian yeast ester aroma with a bit of juicy/creaminess buried underneath. Flavors begin with a soft and spicy malt front that dries out in the middle; there are also some yeast ester flavors and a bit of the classic juicy saison flavor that Elli always finds, although in this beer it blends cleanly into the body. The finish has a slight (and I mean ever so slight) bit of sweetness before the carbonation bite and the high attenuation drop the beer into a lightly bitter and dry finish. St. Feuillen Saison has a medium albeit dry body with a medium carbonation that emerges in the final third of the beer; the carbonation couples well with the dryness of the beer to build the crisp bite of the mouthfeel and give the beer a bright and lively feel on the palate. This beer is an excellent example of the style; the high attenuation blends well with the crisp carbonation to create a refreshing and thirst-quenching beer—smooth, easy, and enjoyable to drink from first pour to last sip.

From the St. Feuillen website: “St. Feuillien Saison is what the Belgians call a beer of the terroir, a traditional farmhouse ale with all the rich savour of the fertile land of southern Belgium. Saison, a warm golden blonde ale, is a top-fermented classique. Thanks to secondary fermentation in the bottle, Saison has an unmistakable flavour full of rich nuances and a slight tang. Saison, the latest in a long line of top-quality St. Feuillien beers, went into production in March 2009 at the request of the US market, where there is a big demand for this kind of “hoppy” beer that is so emblematic of the rich Belgian tradition. As soon as it was launched in New York on 11 April, Saison was an instant success with consumers across the Atlantic, so much so that the launch of this new St. Feuillien product in Belgium was delayed by several weeks.”

ABV: 6.5%

(6/16/10)

345. Hanssens Artisanaal Oude Gueuze

Belgium’s in the house tonight—this is our first beer from Hanssens Artisanaal in Dworp, Belgium. Oude Gueuze pours a clear reddish honey color with a minimal white head that quickly rings the glass, although there is a fair amount of active small, tight bubbles; the nose has a big citric tartness accompanied by some barnyard and earthy aromas—it has just a bit of the funk hiding in the background. Opening with a citric earthy tartness—think crushed vitamin C tablet rubbed in a fresh loam—the tartness slightly fades in the middle, leaving a more rounded vinegar/acetic acid flavor with a slight sweetness. The finish is dry with both a chalky and mineral flavor and feel in the back of the mouth from the return of the citric bite from the front. Oude Gueuze has a light-body, which is further lightened by the bright and sharp carbonation. There is a good deal of tongue curling from the super tart and tangy elements of the beer—it is a puckery, savory masterpiece. While this may a bit too tart for the beginner, it is certainly a beer that we’ll be looking for again—I loved the tang and the curl of my tongue from this beer, and Elli was initially shocked by the tartness, but quickly got behind the flavor. Most certainly a challenging but rewarding beer, and one of the better gueuzes we can recall having—we’re making it a Top 10 Best contender.

From the Hanssens website: “A regulation of the European Community, dating ninety-seven, defines a difference between geuze and old geuze. The name old refers to the way of making a geuze and is synonym for traditional. It has nothing to do with age. The blending of old and young pure lambic is the traditional way of making Geuze. Old geuze is made of one hundred percent lambic beer, which undergoes an additional fermentation in the bottle resulting in the natural formation of foam and carbon dioxide.”

ABV: 6.0%

(6/10/10)

316. Jandrain-Jandrenouille Saison IV

Our first beer from Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille in Jandrain-Jandrenouille, Belgium. As you can see, there is not much to their website, but then again, some things are more important than web presence, like making good beer. At the same time, however, that means we have to rely on other information found on the internet, which is dodgy at best. Go the internet!

Saison IV pours a clear gold with a mousse-y bitter head; the nose is spicy mixed with yeast esters, paperiness, bitterness, and soft malt. Starting with a dry flat malt that is crackery and papery, Saison IV moves into a lightly bitter and slightly caramel sweet middle before moving into a leathery finish accompanied by more paper and some lingering bitterness along with low levels of spiciness. As it warms, there are some chamomile flavors accompanying the spiciness that develop in the middle and on into the end. The mouthfeel is quite drying; it is a combination of the highly attenuated body mixed with the hop bitterness and the papery flavor components. There is also some chewiness, even though the body is a bit soft. The carbonation starts soft, but ends bright and lively on the palate, accentuating the spiciness and the dry papery characteristics. Saison IV is light and dry across the palate and flavor profile, but has good complexity and nuance. An excellent and well-crafted beer; we hope to find more bottles of this to try again.

From the random website I found that had some marginal discussion of Saison IV: “The Fourth Season is brewed by Stephane Meulemans and Alexander Dumont in a beautiful farm in Brabant Wallon. This season kind beer 6.5% alc. has a beautiful golden color. The hops used in brewing its beer to make a fruity and refreshing, balanced by good bitterness.” The above was translated via Google, since my French is not so good (and by not so good, I mean non-existant); the original reads: “La IV Saison est brassée par Stéphane Meulemans et Alexandre Dumont dans une très belle ferme du Brabant Wallon.Cette bière de type saison de 6.5% alc. a une belle couleur dorée. Les houblons utilisés lors de son brassage en font une bière aux arômes fruités et rafraîchissants, balancés par une bonne amertume.” Exactly.

ABV: 6.5%

I also attended the Stone Vertical Epic ’03-’09 tasting at Brewtensils (Elli let me go this one alone)—seven of them in all, all in one night. Yes, I felt a bit slow the next day. Here’s the rundown:

Yours truly getting his sniff on...

03/03/03: Hazy copper color with an ivory head; the nose was sweet caramel with a slight amount of yeast esters accompanied by Belgian candy and some dark fruit. Flavors begin with caramel in the front, along with some yeast characteristics and rich malt complexity as it moves into the middle. The finish is mellow and smooth; there is almost no alcohol flavor or warmth—this has certainly mellowed and the flavors have married with time. The mouthfeel is chewy with a medium carbonation; some alcohol flavor does emerge as it gets warm, but still very smooth and rounded. Overall, a good beer, but I’m not sure how much better it will get. It is not that distinct anymore and, as Jeff observed, it is a bit flabby. Still, 03/03/03 tastes like a very drinkable barleywine.

ABV: 8.2%

IBU: 48

04/04/04: Pours a hazy gold, but relatively clear with a nice white head. The nose is very much that of a Belgian strong ale: slightly metallic with some butter and a nice aromatic and creamy malt character. Beginning with a soft malt front, it moves into herbal and yeast ester flavors in the middle, with possibly just a touch of bitterness. The soft mouthfeel and medium carbonation help smooth this beer across the palate; there is a little alcohol heat at the end, especially as it warms. Very good as it it right now, and could certainly have some more life to it.

ABV: 8.5%

IBU: 35

05/05/05: This beer offers a big change from the last one; sitting a dark chocolate brown in the glass, and possessing a creamy tan head, 05/05/05 has a rich dark fruit nose that includes raisins, prunes, dates, figs, and cherries—basically, all of your pitted fruits, combined to create a complex and delicious olfactory experience. The flavors started sweet, and quickly dropped into the fruity middle—I’m guessing that there was some Special B used to help create the raisin, fig, prune, and dates flavors in this beer. There was also some earthy and leather tastes in the middle; the end lingers away softly—while it is not clean, it is very smooth. With a medium carbonation and the combination of a chewy mouthfeel and complex fruit flavors, this beer was a winner, and my favorite beer of the evening.

ABV: 8.5%

IBU: 45

06/06/06: So since this was a long evening of tasting and discussing, some of the beers got the short end of the stick in terms of the actual notes I recorded about each one. And sad to say, my good friend 06/06/06 did get shafted. I can tell you that this beer poured a clear dark brown with an ivory head, and had a creamy nose mixed with clove and phenolic spiciness as well as more subtle touches of dark malt and brown sugar. I’m guessing some of that brown sugar made it into the flavor profile, but I didn't write any of that down, although I did note that this was the most Belgian of the beers thus far in the evening. Not like any of these beers were losers, though.

ABV: 8.66%

IBU: 25-30

This was my table of misfits. I’m texting someone who cares.

07/07/07: This came out of the bottle a clear gold with a luscious white head and a nose full of peppery phenolics mixed with bubblegum and fruit—banana and apple, specifically, although the banana was very low. Flavor-wise, 07/07/07 started dry but sweet with a metallic flavor in the front and some juicy fruit flavors in the middle, followed by a return of the banana from the nose. There is also some warmth and spicy alcohol flavors that come out in the finish. The carbonation is medium, and is bright and sharp on the mouth. A good beer, but one that still tastes a bit young; while a good beer, some of the flavors could further marry and settle to make this a smoother beer.

ABV: 8.9%

IBU: 20-25

08/08/08: This hoppy Belgian golden ale is a clear gold with a white head; the nose is hoppy with spicy Belgian yeast ester aromas. This ones tastes a lot like Stone Cali-Belgique, but this one tastes much better; the spicy hoppiness merges well with the Belgian yeast characteristics. The medium body and medium carbonation work well with this beer; this one is just about right, and is my second favorite of the tasting—even though it got a bit of the short shrift with the notes, it is an excellent beer overall.

Say hello to our little friends...

ABV: 8.9%

IBU: 65

09/09/09: With roasty dark and rich malt notes along with spicy yet subdued coffee aromas, 09/09/09 has a big aromatic nose. Flavors open with a brown roasted malt front and move into a spicy middle with a little bit of dark chocolate and coffee roastiness that swings this beer towards home. There is some warmth from the alcohol, but this beer is very drinkable right now, with a good balance between flavors and mouthfeel; it will be interesting to see how this one holds up over time.

ABV: 8.6%

IBU: 50

Finally, because he can, Mike Schwartz brought along a couple of growlers out of his J. W. Lees ’06 Lagavulin Cask for everyone to try—not that we all needed more beer at this point in the evening. The nose on this one was peaty and malty with a good dose of Scotch still evident in the aroma. While the beer was nice and malty, there was still plenty of Scotch and oak to help build the body, as well as peaty and smoky flavors buried in the body. As well, some nice sherry notes had begun to develop via some of the oxidation in the cask. All in all, an excellent and enjoyable evening. Word.

(5/12/2010)

310. Avery Anniversary Ale Ten (2003)

Tonight was a humdinger of a sampling night; we rolled through a whole buncha fun stuff, so I’m gonna stick to the highlights, since rambling on about the bottle-hopped Two Hearted clone and the couple of other Hefeweizen homebrews we tried would take away space from our two big champions of the evening, Avery Anniversary Ale Ten (2003) and St. Feuillien Brune Belgian Abbey Ale. Elli and I were joined by our friends Jeff Fortney and Jeffery McElfresh for the evening—it was a redux of our night playing Brewmaster, although we didn’t bust that out this evening. For all of the obvious reasons, we've going with the Avery as our beer of the day, since I don’t think another will be coming our way soon.

Avery Anniversary Ale Ten is from Avery Brewing; we’ve previously run through Brabant Barrel-Aged Wild Ale, Ellie’s Brown Ale, 16th Anniversary Ale and duganA IPA, making this our fifth beer from Avery.

Chug it! Chug it!

Bottled in 2003, Avery Anniversary Ale Ten was originally a DIPA, but has since mellowed into something more like a barley wine. Pouring a hazy golden yellow copper with a minimal white head, Avery Anniversary has a minimal white head, but is still decently carbonated. The nose is intriguing and complex; we got creamy and fruit aromas, including yellow raisin, apricot, and orange preserve, a light spicy aroma, which could be the remaining hops, and a soft tobacco aroma. The body, while medium to heavy, is still smooth and has mellowed very nicely with age—there is very little perceptible alcohol flavor or warmth, although a small amount did emerge once the beer warmed to room temperature. The carbonation is medium to low, but still most certainly present in the beer. Avery Anniversary starts with a dry flat maltiness mixed with a bit of sweetness before moving into some spicy hop characteristics in the middle; the finish is dry and clean, although slightly chalky. A very good beer that has aged well, and still has some further life in it, making me wish I had more than just this bottle. Our only real critique would be that there is a slightly disjointed feel between the nose, the flavor profile, and the finish. While it is still very good, the chalky ending is not as exciting a finish as the nose initially indicates. The nose is certainly one of the highlights of this beer—I smelled mine for a long time before I even bothered trying it, and spent a good portion of my time slowly enjoying the subtle aromas this beer presented.

And it’s probably no surprise that there is no description of this beer on the Avery website. Here’s what Beer Advocate has to say, though.

ABV: 10.0%

Here’s another hand full of trouble.

The second victim of our evening was St. Feuillien Brune, which is a Belgian Abbey Ale dubbel from Brasserie St. Feuillien in Le Roeulx, Belgium. Not surprisingly, this is our first beer from St. Feuillien.

Brune sits a caramelly dark copper with red and orange hints in the glass; it has a creamy tan head and a dark fruit nose consisting mostly of raisin and prune with a fair share of accompanying caramel sweetness. The front is mostly a rich sweet caramel flavor, moving into a darker fruit middle with a fig flavor emerging to compliment the raisin and prune of the nose. Brune ends with a lingering rich Belgian candy sweetness; it has a rich chewy mouthfeel with medium carbonation that has some brightness at the end that helps clean up the finish. A very good and drinkable dubbel, although very rich—the proliferation of this term in the review slightly shocked me in the re-reading, but Brune was still certainly enjoyable, and never excessive in its richness. We’ll be checking out St. Feuillien again.

From the St. Feuillien website: “This brown ale has a marked ruby brown colour with a generous and lasting head. It has a distinctive aroma reflecting the wide range of ingredients used in its production. The fruitiness resulting from its fermentation blends harmoniously with a dominant liquorice and caramel flavour.The body is decidedly malty. The bitterness is the result of a complex alchemy between the fine hops and special malts used. These give St-Feuillien Brune a typical dark chocolate appearance. This beer creates an endless variety of sensations with a lingering taste and powerful aroma.”

ABV: 7.5%

(5/6/2010)

293. Fantôme Black Ghost

“That weird taste is getting stronger...”

More Fantôme means more good drinking for us. This is our fourth beer from Dany Prignon; we’ve already tried Brise-BonBons!, Saison D’Erezée Printemps, and Biére de Saison Pissenlit. Here’s to the Fantôme!

Black Ghost pours a murky caramel brown with an ivory head; the nose is herbal with hints of chocolate and cocoa and light sweetness running around the edges. Opening with bright herbal flavors accompanied by chocolate and some bright yeast esters and spiciness, Black Ghost turns to candy sweetness in the middle along with a continuation of the herbal and spicy flavors. It ends with herbal bitterness and cocoa dry chocolate and/or alkaline flavors, leaving something of a bright uptick in the mouth. Black Ghost has a medium body and medium carbonation, although it is a bit spritzy in the middle to final third. There is a good amount of dryness and an alkaline quality on the palate. While Black Ghost is interesting and good, it is not as good as the other Fantôme beers that we’ve had. The herbal characteristics do tend to dominate, especially as the beer warms.

From the Shelton Brothers website: “Once described as a Belgian Irish-style stout, Black Ghost has undergone lots of changes over the years. It now bears no resemblance whatsoever to a stout, and brewer Dany Prignon has begun adding spices to the beer. What they are is anybody’s guess . . . . the Fantôme confounds once again.”

ABV: 8.0%

(4/19/2010)

288. Silly Pink Killer

From Brasserie de Silly in Silly, Belgium. Pink Killer has a zesty, citrus nose; the yeast esters work well with the grapefruit to give the beer a tart and spritzy aroma. The beer pours a pinkish yellow (hence the name) with a light white head. Starting dry with candy and citrus, Pink Killer moves into a sweet middle with light grapefruit flavors before ending dry and tart (almost a bitter, drying tartness) with more of the grapefruit as a lingering aftertaste. Light bodied with lively, effervescent carbonation; there is also a good amount of pucker via the grapefruit and citrus flavors. For Elli, the sugary sweetness is the dominant flavor, while I get more of a balance between the sweet and tartness. Pink Killer is very soda-like; it could easily pass for a Jarritos flavor via the sweetness and bright carbonation. Nonetheless, Pink Killer is an interesting take on the Belgian Wit, one that is perfect for hot afternoons on the porch.

From the Silly website: “Fruity and thirst-quenching, sweet yet not sickly, Pink Killer is a beer based on malt, wheat and pink grapefruit, which explains its very unique colour and the hint of bitterness typical of this fruit, in turn quenching the biggest of thirsts with a flavoursome taste.”

ABV: 5.0%

(4/14/2010)

284. Chimay Triple

This is our first Chimay beer for the year, although by no means is it our first Chimay—who hasn’t experimented with those lovely red, blue, and white bottles? I’ll tell you who—people who are scared of a good beer! We had this on tap at the new Side Bar coffee shop/bar—it’s not quite finished yet, but I am sure it will be soon.

Chimay Triple pours a soft hazy caramel with a light white head; the nose is fruity and sweet—mostly of the candy variety of sweetness—along with a good dose of yeast ester aromas (and maybe some phenols as well—I’m still not certain of all the specific distinctions between the two)—let’s just say it’s very Belgian, and leave it at that. The front is a soft, yeasty, and sweet with some light hop bitterness in the middle as well as a bit of bubblegum and clove flavors before ending sweet, bright, and slightly perfume-y and spicy. Chimay Triple is light to medium bodied with medium carbonation that is bright and slightly effervescent. A very good beer across the board—but then again, it is Chimay.

From the Chimay website: “Named Cinq Cents in 75 cl (25.4 fl.oz.) bottles, this beer with its typical golden colour, its slightly hazy appearance and its fine head is especially characterised by its aroma which results from an agreeable combination of fresh hops and yeast. The beer’s flavour, as sensed in the mouth, comes from the smell of hops: above all it is the fruity notes of muscat and raisins that give this beer a particularly attractive aroma. The aroma complements the touch of bitterness. There is no acidity, but an after-bitterness which melts in the mouth. This top fermented Trappist beer, refermented in the bottle, is not pasteurised.”

ABV: 8.0%

(4/10/2010)

280. Fantôme Brise-BonBons!

Our third beer from Fantôme; the last two were Saison D'Erezée Printemps and Biére de Saison Pissenlit. Brise-BonBons! pours a hazy straw with a minimal white head; the nose has a candy malt sweetness along with some juicy yeast aromas and some herbal aromas. The flavor starts with candy malt before moving into the middle, which has an interesting bitter floral aroma—we’re not sure whether the bitterness is hop or herbal derived, as the bitterness tastes slightly like dandelion. The finish is bright and sweet with some lingering bitterness; Brise-BonBons! has a light body and a clean sharp bitterness—it drinks much lighter than an 8% ABV beer. Like all of Fantôme’s beers, excellent and interesting; we’re making it a Top 10 Best contender.

From the bottle: “With joy, and a little bit of mischief, Fantôme brewer Dany Prignon dedicates this very bitter beer to all of the many varieties of brese-bonbons—literally, ball-breakers—in the world. Specifically, this beer is meant for wise-guys, braggarts, pains-in-the-ass, muck-rakers, trouble-makers, know-it-alls, stuffed shirts, blow-hards, and bores, as well as nut-cracking, wind-bag, prattling-on, self-appointed experts on every-thing, and nose-in-the-air snobs, convinced they can do anything better than you. Dany intended to make a beer too bitter for a normal person to enjoy. The problem is, everyone loves it! Guess we’re all just a bunch of brises-bonbons sometimes...”

ABV: 8.0%

(4/6/2010)

279. Lindemans Framboise

Tonight’s beer is from Brouwerij Lindemans in Vlezenbeek, Belgium; this is our first beer from Lindemans. We had this on tap @ South Park Tavern. Always something new on tap will keep us coming back, I tell you.

Served to us in a tulip glass, Lindemans Framboise is a clear raspberry red with an ever-so-slightly pink head; the tart raspberry nose has a crisp fruit sweetness to it. Starts tart and bright before moving into sweet raspberry; the fruit flavor hits hardest in the middle, stripping away the other flavors, although this does lessen at the end, finishing with a tart citric tang that cleanses the palate. Framboise has a light to medium body accompanied by a medium carbonation that is bright, sharp and bubbly on the mouth. Low amounts of tart puckering at the start and the finish. A good beer, although the fruit presence did have more sweetness than we anticipated. A bit less fruit sweetness would have allowed some of the lambic qualities to shine through in more detail—we’ve seen more balance in other version of Lindemans fruit lambics.

From the Lindemans website: “Long before hops were common in most beers, various fruits and vegetables were used to season beers. The acidity of Lambic beers blends perfectly with raspberries.”

ABV: 2.5%

(4/5/2010)