Belgium

Double Feature: Saisons

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Summer saison season continues! I’ve been drinking a lot of saisons this summer1 and even tried my hand at brewing a batch, and some things are becoming clear about the style. Or rather, not clear, as there doesn’t seem to be a single unifying element of the style, except perhaps a light color. If I had to describe the style to someone, I’d break it up into two main groups: the sweet and spicy kind, exemplified by Saison Dupont and Hennepin, and the funky2 tart kind that are brewed with Brett, of which Fantôme seems to be the standard bearer. I tend to be more of a fan of the former rather than the latter, though I’m starting to get a bit of a taste for funky beers3. Anyway, I’m catching up on a bunch of old beer reviews that have been sitting, unfinished, in my queue. Here are two saisons of the funky variety:

The Bruery Saison Rue

The Bruery Saison Rue – I’ve only had a few beers from The Bruery before, but they’ve been uniformly excellent. Pours a cloudy yellowish orange color with an ample white head. Smells of Belgian yeast, some sweet candi, and… is that brett? (Yes, it’s apparently brettanomyces. I was not aware of this when I opened it, but it’s printed right there on the bottle.) Taste is sweet with a little spice. The slightly tart brett flavor comes out in the finish. It has a kick to it, but not in an overpowering or particularly sour way. Bigger body than I was expecting, but still appropriate for the style . I had no idea this was a Brett beer when I opened the bottle, but it works very well. It’s definitely something I’d like to try again sometime, as I hear it has different characteristics when it’s fresh. B+ but maybe slightly better than The Bruery’s Saison de Lente, which is similar in style (In fact, it’s almost too similar – I’d love to see The Bruery’s take on a more Dupont-style saison, but C’est la vie).

Beer Nerd Details: 8.5% ABV bottled (750 ml capped). Drank out of a goblet on 6/17/11.

De Ranke Saison De Dottignies

De Ranke Saison De Dottignies – Pours a light golden color with a finger of white head. Smells very funky and twangy. I also got the impression of dark fruits out of the nose, maybe raisins? Taste is again funky and wild with some lingering bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is very dry throughout. Light body and relatively low carbonation. This is probably due to the relatively low ABV of 5.5%, which is actually closer to the historical saison style, but it still didn’t do much for me. Really, despite the funkiness, not much is going on with this beer. It’s certainly not even close to Saison Rue, and it seems to be missing something that would tie it all together. C+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.5% ABV on tap. Drank out of a tulip glass on 6/17/11.

I’ve had one other De Ranke beer, called Guldenberg, which seems like it could be a really great beer. I say “seems like” because I’ve had two bottles of the stuff, and both were so super-carbonated that the cap practically popped off the beer along with a jet of foaminess, leading to a beer that ultimately tasted a bit on the flat side. Ultimately, I’d like to find a non-exploding bottle of that to try again, but I don’t think I’ll be trying their saison again. As for the Bruery, this is not my favorite of their beers, but it’s damn good and I will continue to seek out their beers, wherever I can find them!

1 – Actually, looking at my archives, it seems like saisons are a staple of my beer diet, no matter what time of the year. Given that a saison was my real entrance into the world of great beer, I guess that makes sense.

2 – Believe it or not, “funk” is actually an almost technical term for this kind of taste. It’s one of the words typically used to describe beers brewed with Brettanomyces, a wild yeast strain often used in sour beers (though I guess it doesn’t always equate with sourness, it often accompanies it).

3 – I suppose my two broad categories could be considered too broad. There does seem to be a more historically relevant version of the style which is actually very low ABV, while more modern takes on the style tend to be in the 5-9% range. It’s probably possible to break the style down further, or to just say “screw it” and proclaim the style styleless, but I kinda have that instinct for most Belgian beer styles, which all tend to be rather broad (“Belgian Strong Dark” can be used to describe a huge variety of beer).

Noblesse

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When playing Belgian Beer Roulette, it’s advisable to pick a bottle that does not feature English text. That way, you have no idea what you’re getting into. In this case, I didn’t have much idea what I was getting into at all. “De Dochter van de Korenaar”? The doctor of the Korenaar? Was this brewed in honor of a fictional doctor from a fantasy novel? Perhaps a “noble” doctor (given the name of the beer)?

Yeah, of course not (my nerdiness knows no bounds). It turns out that the brewery name translates to “Daughter of the Ear of Corn” (presumably a reference to barley, though I’m not sure about the biological specifics here). Apparently they’ve only been open since 2007 (though I also get the impression that there was a brewery there in the past as well).

De Dochter van de Korenaar Noblesse

De Dochter van de Korenaar Noblesse – Pours a nice hazy golden color with a couple fingers of frothy head that leaves some lacing as I drink. Smells of musty Belgian yeast with some fruitiness and spiciness apparent. Taste has a nice spicy kick to go along with the crisp malt backbone. There’s a bit of an aftertaste here that’s not really working for me. Mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side, but it’s light and crisp and very easy to drink. A nice summer beer, I guess, but it’s not especially lighting the world on fire. B-

Beer Nerd Details: 5.5% ABV bottled (11.2 oz). Drank out of a tulip glass on 7/3/11.

Not a huge success, but a worthy effort that won’t dissuade me from playing Belgian beer roulette any time soon…

Dupont Bière De Miel Biologique

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Brasserie Dupont is most famous for setting the bar on the spicy saison style with their famous Saison Dupont, but as I’ve been chronicling lately on the blog, saisons can vary widely. Looking at Dupont’s list of currently brewed beers, I see that they have 8 that are categorized as saisons. I do wonder what it is about saisons that inspires this sort of dedication. Dupont, Fantôme (who have a whopping 20 saisons on their roster), and even the recently discovered Stillwater and Hof Ten Dormaal are all dominated by saisons. In some cases, it seems that the historical farmhouse nature of the style is the inspiration, though Stillwater is still a bit of a mystery…

In any case, since I’ve had two different Dupont saisons and proclaimed them both super-awesome, I figured I should branch out a bit and check out some of their more obscure brews (provided I could find them). First up:

Dupont Biere de Miel

Dupont Bière De Miel Biologique – Apparently one of Dupont’s series of “organic” beers (seriously, though, what the hell does “organic” mean in this context? Perhaps another rant for another time…), the name of this beer translates to “beer with honey” and represents a reproduction of a very old recipe. Indeed, they claim the label is an almost exact reproduction of the original label from 75 years ago.

Pours a cloudy golden orange color with visible sediment and tons of head. Smells strongly of honey and typical Belgian yeast (fruity and spicy). Tastes very sweet and spicy with a very dry finish. The honey does add a certain something to the taste, differentiating it from Dupont’s famous Saison. Very highly carbonated and a harsh mouthfeel, though it does get smoother as it warms up. Overall, a very good beer, but not up to the standards set by Saison Dupont. Or maybe I just don’t care too much for honey. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (750 ml, caged and corked). Drank out of a goblet on 5/28/11.

I wouldn’t say I was disappointed by this at all, just that it doesn’t live up to the impossibly high standards of Saison Dupoint and Bon Voeux. I will have to find me some more varieties from Dupont though…

Gnomegang

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I have to admire Ommegang‘s ability to incorporate brewery-name puns into their beers. It’s inspiring. Ommegeddon, O’mmegang (an Irish stout that I’ve never had), Obamagang (aka Inauguration ale) and now Gnomegang, a collaboration with sister brewery, Achouffe (world renowned for the cute little gnomes that adorn their bottles… and, you know, I guess they’re known for their good beer too). Both breweries are owned by parent company, Duvel, so it’s not much of a stretch to see these two collaborating, but it’s still nice.

Ommegang Gnomegang

Ommegang Gnomegang: Apparently brewed with Achouffe’s house yeast in primary, and Ommegang’s house yeast in secondary, this beer has lots of spicy flavors despite no actual spices being added to the wort (something Ommegang typically does with their brews). Pours a hazy, light orange color with a finger of light head. Smells fantastic. Bready/fruity Belgian yeast, sweet candi, and a bit of spiciness in the nose. Taste is very sweet, a little fruity, and spicy, with some alcohol manifesting in the finish. A pretty full body here, with ample carbonation and a well executed boozy stickyness in the finish. There’s also a nice warming alcohol sensation here that works pretty well. As I’ve come to expect from Ommegang, it’s extremely well balanced and a joy to drink. I suppose it could be a bit too strong, but it worked well for me and it’s really nice to see Ommegang collaborating. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 9.5% ABV bottled (750 ml, caged and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 6/3/11.

I’ve always been a huge fan of Ommegang, but I should probably check out more from Achouffe sometime (they’re apparently famous for their Tripel IPA, which does sound rather interesting)…

Philly Beer Week: Stillwater Event

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Philly Beer Week kicked off last week, but since I’m one of those suburban types, I’m not sure how often I’ll be able to make it into the city for the festivities. Lucky for me, there are quite a few events happening out here in the burbs, so who knows, I may end up filling my schedule with good beer this week.

First up was an event on Saturday that featured Stillwater Artisanal Ales, 12% Importers (who happen to work with Stillwater quite a bit for reasons I’ll get into in a bit), and the Shelton Brothers Importers (who import a crapton of foreign beers, including the likes of Cantillon, Mikkeller, Fantôme and more). The focus of the event was Stillwater, which is another “virtual brewery” (or “gypsy brewer”) like Mikkeller. Brewer Brian Strumke doesn’t have a brewery of his own – he basically schedules time with breweries that have excess capacity and then brews his beers there. It turns out that the majority of his brewing is done at the DOG brewery in Maryland, and he says that once they got up and running, he doesn’t need to be as involved in the day to day brewing activities. He also makes trips over to Belgium and does some limited edition stuff there that is then imported (by the aforementioned 12% importers).

I didn’t get a chance to speak with him that much, but I did ask him why he seemed to primarily brew saisons and how he liked to differentiate his brews from others that specialize in the style. He seems to enjoy the variety that saisons afford, and he also mentioned that he tends to prefer dry beers, as they go much better with food. I get the impression that he really likes working with saison yeast strains as well, as there were a couple beers featured that were not typical saison styles, but which apparently used saison yeast (more on this below). I actually mentioned that I was planning a saison homebrew and was thinking of using the Wyeast 3711 French Saison yeast instead of the 3724 Belgian Saison yeast, and he mentioned that a bunch of his brews used the French Saison yeast and that if I was worried about temperature control (which I am!), that was the way to go. He talked a bit about the first time he used the Belgian Saison yeast and how hot it got during fermentation (upwards of 90 degrees), but he also has access to equipment that is slightly more advanced than my crappy plastic bucket.

I felt kinda dorky asking him about homebrew and I hope I wasn’t being too bothersome, but he seemed to perk up when I asked him about it (I guess it’s better or at least different than the typical questions he gets, which I imagine revolve around his “gypsy” brewing lifestyle). He gave me two pieces of advice when it comes to extract homebrewing (we were talking about saisons and dark Belgian styles): 1. Use the lightest malt extract available and 2. Try to do mini-mash as soon as you’re comfortable with it, because you’re otherwise totally at the mercy of the folks producing the extract (and there’s apparently not much consistency or control over that part of the process). He mentioned how in his early homebrewing days he tried using one of those pots with a built in spaghetti strainer to do a mini-mash (with what I gathered were mixed results, but it was a fun story). I don’t know that I’m quite ready for mini-mash just yet, but it’s something to keep in mind.

Stillwater has only been around for a little over a year, but it’s been getting a lot of attention and garnering a lot of “top new brewer” awards and the like, but Brian seemed to be very down to earth and focused on making good beer. I’m definitely going to be keeping my eyes out for more Stillwater beer in the future. I did manage to sample quite a few of their beers, along with a couple of others during the day (conditions weren’t exactly ideal – most of the below was served in plastic cups, though I did get a glass for the first one):

Stillwater Cellar Door

Stillwater Cellar Door – Apparently the phrase “cellar door” is among the most beautiful sounding phrases in the English language. Pours a hazy light orange color with a fluffy white head. Smells of Belgian yeast and candi. Taste is sweet and spicy with just a hint of citrus. The spice in this was really different and I couldn’t place it, but someone mentioned that it was sage, which makes sense. The mouthfeel is actually very dry (not surprising, given what Brian said), which really just made me want to drink more. Is it my favorite saison ever? Probably not, but it’s really good and distinct from other saison offerings. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.6% ABV on tap. Drank out of a tulip glass.

Stillwater Of Love and Regret – This was apparently Brian’s first beer made in Belgium that was then imported back to the US. Pours a bit darker. Smells very fruity and sweet, with a taste to match. There’s a very floral component to the nose that was quite pleasing and complex. And unsurprisingly, it was extremely dry (even moreso than the Cellar Door). It’s a little smoother, and the alcohol is a little stronger. Overall, a pretty good brew. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 7.2% ABV on tap. Drank out of a plastic cup.

Stillwater Jaded

Stillwater Jaded – Another Import Series beer made in collaboration with De Struise in Belgium, this is a dark wheat beer brewed with a saison yeast. Beer Advocate just calls it a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, but that belies the complexity of what’s really going on this beer. Pours a deep garnet color with a minimum of head. The nose is filled with dark fruit and sweet malts. Only really a hint of Belgian yeast in the nose. Taste starts sweet and finishes somewhat dry (not as much as the previous, but for a beer this big, it’s relatively dry). Some caramel is apparent in the taste as well. Very smooth beer that’s dangerously drinkable given the high ABV. Overall, my second favorite of the day. A

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV on tap. Drank out of a plastic cup.

De Struise Outblack – This is a collaboration between Stillwater and De Struise in Belgium, though I guess De Struise claims this as their own. I didn’t get the full story on this one, but it seems like the recipe was a standard De Struise beer that was modified. Pours very dark with a creamy tan head (good retention). Smells a bit roasty, with just a hint of fruitiness. Taste is sweet and roasty with a nice, sweet finish (not as dry as most of the other beers I had that day). It’s almost stoutish, but not quite. Too much character added by that saison yeast to really call it a stout. Another quite enjoyable beer. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 10% ABV on tap. Drank out of a plastic cup.

Stillwater / Mikkeller Two Gypsies – Our Side – Two of the world’s most famous gypsy brewers collaborating on one beer. Awesome. Pours a cloudy light amber color with about a finger of thick white head. Smell is filled with citrus fruits and hops. Taste is sweet and fruity with just a hint of tartness in the dry finish. It’s not super bitter or anything, but it reminds me a lot of a citrusy pale ale. My favorite beer of the day. A

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (I didn’t drink the whole bottle, it was shared!). Drank out of a plastic cup.

Hof Ten Dormaal Blonde

Hof Ten Dormaal Blonde – I spoke with the 12% Importer guy (sorry, don’t remember his name!) and he mentioned that this was one of his biggest new imports. It’s apparently made on this crazy self-sustaining farm where the whole brewing/bottling process takes place. Apparently there’s been some issues with carbonation (i.e. there’s lots of it!), but it’s quite good anyway. It’s similar to something like Saison Dupont, but it’s perhaps just a bit dryer. I enjoyed it, but didn’t love it. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (I didn’t drink the whole bottle, it was shared!). Drank out of a plastic cup.

When I was talking to the 12% guy, I noted that the Hof Ten Dormaal and other famous saisons (like the aformentioned Dupont and Fantôme) are all packaged in green bottles, which don’t protect at all from light (which can create off flavors and “skunking”). I asked him if he knew why and he said he wasn’t really sure, but it seemed like a traditional thing. I think I will be sending some more pedantic emails to breweries in the near future!

Overall, a very satisfying experience, and I’ll definitely want to check out a few more Stillwater beers (there are a few that I either didn’t get to or that weren’t available at the event that I do want to try, especially A Saison Darkly, which another patron recommended highly)

Fantôme Hiver

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The word “saison” is French for “season”. Originally brewed in Winter for consumption during the Summer harvest, saisons were meant to provide farm hands with hydration during the long, hot hours in the field. Not because they were a bunch of lazy drunks, but because a lack of potable water meant that very low alcohol (3.5% or so) beverages were preferred for such a task. In modern times, the style is brewed year round and the ABV has risen considerably (5-8% and sometimes even higher). Basically, what this means is that the saison style makes no sense whatsoever. They are usually relatively light colored, but that’s not much to go on. They can range from light bodied and refreshing, to sweet and spicy, to even sour ales.

Fantôme, a traditional farmhouse brewery specializing in saisons, has always been a bit of a mystery to me. I’ve managed to find a few of their beers before, but the labels weren’t in English, so I had no idea what I was looking at. My first Fantôme saison was quite an eye opener. I was, by then, a big fan of Ommegang Hennepin and Saison Dupont – big spicy brews that are nothing like the sweet and tart Fantôme. I haven’t quite acquired a taste for sour beers, but Fantôme’s beers certainly warrant further exploration. I picked up this bottle a little while back and was quite pleased:

Fantome Hiver

Fantôme Saison D’Erezée – Hiver – I believe this is the winter seasonal offering from Fantôme, apparently one of a series of beers focused around the 4 seasons. According to the label, head brewer Danny Prignon changes the recipe for this one every year, so I’m guessing this one is from the 2010/2011 winter (there’s a place for a date on the label, but it’s not filled out – the cork does have a cryptic number on it though: 086/477044, whatever that means). There are two weird things about the bottle I have here. First, it’s capped, but also has a cork (that you need to use a corkscrew for). Second, the bottle is green (which provides no protection against light, the source of skunking in beer). This one is weird, since Fantôme and Dupont (traditional Belgian Farmhouse breweries that specialize in saisons) both use green bottles. Is there something about saisons that is actually open to being lightstruck (that can’t be right, can it)?

It pours a little darker than I was expecting. A cloudy, light orange color with about a finger of quickly disappearing head. The smell is dominated by aromas I characterize as white wine or champagne, with just a hint of typical Belgian yeast poking through. Taste is similar to the aroma – there’s white wine/champaign notes, but not overpoweringly so. There’s a clear and prominent tartness in the taste, but it’s not overpowering at all. It comes through more in the sweet finish than anywhere else. It’s… unusual. When I start drinking, it’s like my brain immediately recognizes the hallmarks of a sour beer and sounds an alarm: brace for sourness! As I said before, it does come, but it’s not quite as powerful as I expected. And even stranger, I don’t think that’s a bad thing! Mouthfeel is well carbonated but smooth. Overall, a very good beer and a refreshing change of pace for me. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (750 ml capped and corked). Drank out of a tulip glass on 5/29/11.

Certainly a brewery and a style that I need to explore more often.

La Chouffe

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When I was 12, I played D&D as a Gnome Illusionist named Ralph. I’m glad I got that off my chest.

Speaking of Gnomes, I drank some La Chouffe recently. You may recognize the bottles as the ones with the Gnomes on them. If they really are Gnomes. They are variously referred to as Gnomes, Dwarves, Goblins and/or Elves. That last one seems the most unusual to me, but the La Chouffe homepage even calls them elves, so I don’t really know what’s going on there. Apparently the term “Chouffe” is Walloon for “gnome”, though according to Wikipedia, only 600k people actually speak the language, so who knows how it actually translates.

There’s apparently quite a backstory to La Chouffe, which is interesting since the Belgian brewery (actually called Achouffe) was founded way back in… 1982? I’m so used to longstanding (by which, I mean, like hundreds or thousands of years) Belgian breweries that something that new seems odd.

La Chouffe

Pours a cloudy light brown/gold color with a couple fingers of head and some lacing as I drink. The smell is very spicy (can’t quite place the exact aroma here, but it’s distinct, perhaps coriander) and features lots of the usual Belgian yeast aromas. Taste is sweet and spicy (again, can’t place the exact spices here and they seem more subtle in the taste than in the nose), with maybe a hint of citrus. Some people mention a hoppy character in their reviews, but it’s not something I found very prominent. There may be a little in the way of a dry bitterness in the finish, but nothing out of the ordinary. Lots of carbonation, but despite the spiciness and decent alcohol, it goes down pretty easy. Overall, a very good beer, something I could drink a lot more of (and probably will!) A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (750 ml, capped). Drank from a tulip glass on 4/17/11.

Interestingly, Achouffe and Ommegang recently announced a collaboration. Not super surprising, since they’re both owned by Duvel, but still, I’m looking forward to the awesomely named Gnomegang. Stay tuned for that one, as I recently procured a bottle.

Vegas Beer Update Part 2: Vegas Harder!

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While my last update covered some fantastic beers, I was a little disappointed by the variety of good beers available to me in Vegas. I’m sure that if I actually sought out some beer bars, I would find something new and interesting, but it seemed that most places stocked the standard Macros and maybe one or two interesting beers. Fortunately, I did managed to have a few other beers, even some that I’d never had before:

  • Moretti La Rossa – At some point we ended up at an Italian restaurant for a sponsored junket/open bar and they actually managed to have a few Italian beers available. I picked one that I hadn’t heard of (because most of what I have heard of from Italy is not so good, like Peroni) and it turned out to be pretty good. It’s technically a Doppelbock, a style I’m not terribly familiar with, but which I should probably check out more often. It was a darkish red/brown color with a finger or two of head, and the smell was much fruitier than I was expecting. It’s also got some roastiness and maybe caramel sweetness in the nose. The taste went along with that. Medium bodied with high carbonation, it was quite drinkable and the alcohol was well hidden (I had no idea it was as strong as it was). As doppelbocks go, I understand this one is a bit thin, but it worked well enough for me, and was a welcome diversion from the typical macro selections. I have no idea if Moretti is part of the burgeoning Italian Craft beer scene, but my gut says it isn’t, even though I enjoyed this. More research needed… B+ (Beer Nerd Details: 7.2% ABV bottled (12 oz). Drank from a plastic cup (yeah, no good beer geek glasses to be had – hard to complain about then when I’m getting free beer though))
  • Sin City Stout – Walking around the maze that is the Venetian shops, I spied this little hole in the wall:

    Sin City Brewing Logo

    In talking with the bartender, I learned that this is an uber-local brewery, only distributing to Las Vegas. Their lineup seemed rather standard (though I should note that their “seasonal”, apparently some sort of IPA, was out when I was there), but I wanted to try something new and different, so I ordered up a stout:

    Sin City Stout

    It was on a nitro tap, so I got one of them gorgeous pours, even if it had to be in a plastic cup. Indeed, it took forever for the nitro foam to subside, which wasn’t really a problem for me, as I do enjoy a good nitro pour every now and again. The beer itself was actually a pretty solid stout. Nothing particularly special about it, save for the nitro pour, but it holds its own against the other nitro stouts I’ve had, including Guinness. Dark, roasty, and tasty, I would probably order this before a Guiness, actually. Not a huge flavor-bomb or anything, but a really solid standard entry in the style. B+ (Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV on nitro tap. Drank from a plastic cup.)

  • Sin City Weiss – I stopped back into the bar to try this one out, and what I got was another solid example of a rather standard style. When I ordered it, the bartender told me that it had a “banana clove” taste to it, as if it was a bad thing (apparently lots of people order it without realizing what wheat beers taste like), but that’s music to my ears. Again, very good beer, but not really exceptional or the best of its kind. Still, I really enjoyed it and if my upcoming homebrewed attempt at a wheat beer turns out this good, I’ll be quite happy. B (Beer Nerd Details: 4.5% ABV on nitro tap. Drank from a plastic cup.)
  • Chimay Grand Reserve (Blue): Chimay seems to the be the Fancy restaurant’s go to beer in Vegas, as it was available in a lot of the nice restaurants. So ordered one of these, probably my favorite Chimay variety, to go along with a really good steak I was having. As usual, it’s fantastic. Deep, dark brown color, sweet and fruity in the nose, and a taste to go along with the aromas. Fruity sweet, full bodied, and complex, it’s a classic. A

Of course, I had quite a few other beers during the course of the week, but nothing particularly interesting or that I could do a good review of… As noted in the comments to my previous post, Vegas isn’t quite a real place. Somehow the laws of the universe don’t seem to function properly there. It’s a good time, but after a few days, it wears on you pretty quickly. Still, from an alcohol-scared state like PA, it’s nice to be able to walk around outside with a drink. But that’s not really enough. I’m glad I’m back.

Update: Removed La Rossa picture. Because it’s a bad picture, that’s why.

Vegas Beer Update

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I’m in Las Vegas this week for a work conference and so far I haven’t really run into an awesome beer selection, though Bouchon in the Venetian has a pretty decent selection of beer for a fancy restaurant. There may be some other opportunities for great beer later in the week, but for now, this is what I’m making do with:

  • New Belgium Fat Tire – A pretty straightforward amber ale, this reminds me of a sorta west-coast Yuengling lager. It seems to be ubiquitous around here and while it won’t blow you away, it makes a good session beer. It might be a little better than the Lager, but that also may be the novelty of it speaking, as New Belgium does not distribute anything near me… Hopefully I’ll be able to find some of New Belgium’s more adventurous beers at some point.
  • Chimay Cinq Cents (aka White) – Chimay’s version of a tripel is fantastic, as always. I’ve had these many times before and may even have a half finished blog entry about it somewhere. I still wouldn’t call it my favorite tripel or anything, but it’s very good and retains a certain distinct Chimay character. I had it on tap at Bouchon, and it went well with my meal.
  • Delirium Tremens – Another beer I’ve had several times before, but which is, as always fantastic. In fact, I enjoyed it much better while having it during a meal. It’s a very sweet beer, so having it all by itself can get a bit cloying after a while. Mixing it with rich, meaty flavors of my dinner worked really well. Also on tap at Bouchon.
  • Shiner Bock – There’s a bar attached to Treasure Island called Gilles. It’s a Country/Western bar (strike 1) and their beer selection featured mostly macros (strike 2), but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the Shiner Bock and was glad to have a few of these. The bar is pretty funny though. It’s got a mechanical bull, and the waitress’ uniform was… interesting (I suppose these two features mitigate the two aforementioned strikes). Oh yeah, the beer. It’s good. As Bock’s go, I have to say it’s easily better than the recently reviewed Yuengling Bock, and made for a nice session beer last night. I can see why this beer is so popular (though I don’t know why the beer nerds and BA are so hard on it).

I’ve had a few other beers and will hopefully have something more interesting before the week ends. More to come…

Beer Blogging and a Double Tripel Feature

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I have to admit that I have really grown to love the concept of a double feature. So far, I’ve generally used the opportunity to compare two beers of similar style to see how different they can be (not to mention, which is better). I feel like I’m getting better at evaluating beer, but I still really appreciate the opportunity to compare two beers of similar style, one after the other. It’s something you don’t see much. For instance, you rarely, if ever, see any sort of comparative notes on Beer Advocate or Rate Beer. I always found this strange. It would be much more helpful if you could tell me how a given beer differs from a standard or, at least, common version of a beer.

Noted beer scribe Andy Crouch has recently lamented the state of beer writing, citing the common reliance on tasting notes as a crutch that are uninteresting. I can see how one person’s subjective evaluation of beer at a micro level could get tiresome, and indeed, much of the beer blogosphere is focused on that sort of thing. In the Aleheads’ most recent All Beers Considered podcast, they discussed how boring a tasting notes sorta post could be, noting that they try to avoid such things. And yeah, I can see how that could strike some folks as being boring, especially if the review is solely based on one person’s opinions.

When I started this blog, I didn’t really want to fall back on reviews or tasting notes, but I almost immediately settled into exactly that sort of post. I think this is perhaps due to my tendency to blog for my own benefit, as opposed to what other people will want to read. This is no doubt why I have, like, 2 regular readers (if that). But as usual, my pattern of long-winded online writing has taken hold. Lately, I’ve been trying to be more interesting with what I write, even if it almost always culminates with tasting notes. Writing a review is easy, but being interesting and providing more information about the beer, the history of the style, or whatever, is more difficult, and I seem to have started to provide more context about the beers I’m writing about.

I always tried to spice things up with my other passion, movies. But I’m sure most beer blog readers don’t really care much about that, unless I get ambitious and come up with a screenplay post. Still, I hope that my recent writing has been more enjoyable. I also hope that these double feature posts, with comparative reviews of similar styles, are considered more helpful and interesting than a simple tasting note.

And tonight, I have a particularly interesting double feature. I didn’t watch two movies (as I often do), but I was switching back and forth between the Flyers game (we clinched a playoff spot tonight) and the NCAA Wrestling championships (college wrestling is rarely televised, so this was a welcome surprise). On the beer front, I tried two tripels I’ve been meaning to drink for a few months now. I always find it interesting when a single brewery releases multiple beers of the same style. When it comes to a style with a wide variation in flavors, like an IPA, it certainly makes sense. But for more narrow styles, like, for example, a Belgian style dubbel or tripel, there seems to be less room for variation. That being said, when I got my hands on a variety pack featuring 6 different St. Bernardus beers, I noticed that there were two dubbels and two tripels. The dubbels turned out to be interesting – one was a lot lighter than I was accustomed to, and the other was more of a standard dubbel. Both were great. And tonight, I’ve got two tripels for you.

St. Bernardus Tripel

St. Bernardus Tripel – The standard version seems to be quite popular, and this is the one that is more widely available as well. This is evidenced by the fact that his beer has 951 reviews on Beer Advocate, while the Watau tripel has only 217 reviews. This beer is a slightly hazy gold color with ample head and minor lacing as I drink. Smells of spicy belgian yeast (typical cloves and bananas smell) with a little fruity alcohol peeking through. The taste is fantastic – spicy and sweet with just a hint of sticky alcohol in the finish. Some fruitiness apparent as well, and that sticky sweetness lingers, especially as the beer warms up. High carbonation and full body with a bit of a harsh mouthfeel, but still extremely drinkable. Dangerously drinkable for such a high alcohol beer (even though 8% is relatively low for a tripel). That being said, I don’t think it really contends strongly for a favorite tripel – though it’s certainly a solid example of the style and something I can’t imagine turning down. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 8% ABV bottled (330 ml). Drank from a goblet.

Palate cleansed with a single UTZ pretzel rod.

St. Bernardus Watau Tripel

St. Bernardus Watau Tripel – The less commonly seen version of the two beers, this version is named after the village of Watou in West Flanders, Belgium (where the beer is brewed, natch). Indeed, I’ve seen the St. Bernardus brewers labeled the “Wizards of Watau”, which seems fitting given the quality of their beer. When I first got a hold of this, I searched around for some descriptions of what the difference was between this and the standard Tripel, but alas, I found very little on that front, which is a big part of why I wanted to do this as a double feature. Pours a slightly lighter, but still golden color. I want to say it’s less hazy, but that might just be because of the color. Less prominent in the way of head and lacing. Smells more intense than the regular Tripel though. Along with the standard Belgian yeast aromas, there is perhaps more fruitiness apparent here as well. Again, taste is fantastic, though similar to the regular Tripel. I think the main difference is that there’s more fruitiness here, and less sticky alcohol (which is a welcome development). There’s some additional complexity and maybe even some funkiness that isn’t present in the regular offering. The body seems fuller as well, and this is actually more drinkable. The ABV is actually less than the standard Tripel, so I’m not surprised that it’s more drinkable, but I am surprised that I like the flavor more – usually I associate higher ABV with more intense flavors, but not in this case. The differences are subtle, but I actually think this one is better than the regular St. Bernardus offering and it could even rival my favorites. A

Beer Nerd Details: 7.5% ABV bottled (330 ml). Drank from a goblet.

There’s less variation between the two than there were between the the St. Bernardus 6 and 8 versions of the dubbel, but I think the Watau is the clear winner. The differences are subtle enough that I can see why folks who don’t drink them back to back don’t offer much comparison between the two, but drinking them back to back made it clear to me.