Archive for Beer a Day
Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale
Posted by: | CommentsNot long after starting this “one a day with no repeats for a year” challenge, I began hearing about Belgian Sours. Chris from 52Brews.com originally brought sours to my attention, but I never did the legwork to learn more about them. So during my last beer run I scoured the shelves for anything that said “sour”, and found a bottle of Monk’s Cafe Flemish Sour Ale.
Monk’s Cafe is a Belgian beer-lover’s oasis in Philadelphia, billed as a “Belgian Café & Beer Emporium”. Their Flemish Sour Red Ale is a private label beer brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge, and rumor has it this beer is actually the same as Van Steenberge’s Bios Vlaamse Bourgogne. But who cares — isn’t Flemish Sour Ale more to the point?
It’s definitely easier to say.
You can imagine that I didn’t really know what to expect from this beer, since I knew nothing about sours. But I’ll admit it — I thought I had a clue. I actually thought I knew what I was getting into. You see, after truly discovering funky brett for the first time in Orval, and puckering up for the oh-so-sour Girardin Gueuze 1882, I imagined myself worldly in the ways of Belgian beer.
Girardin Gueuze Black Label 1882 Lambic
Posted by: | CommentsBelgium is a beer-lover’s mecca, and I could spend the next few months drinking nothing but Belgian beer. But I’m beginning to long for some American craft ales — so after a few more Belgian beers I will be going back to my usual routine.
That’s not to say I’m finished with Belgian beer for the year — quite the contrary, I have plenty in my cellar and will be peppering them into the lineup throughout the rest of the year.
For Saturday, I’ve jumped into the world of lambic beer.
Lambics are “spontaneously fermented” in open-air vats, relying on the natural yeasts and organisms that appear in the air only in the region of Belgium southwest of Brussels. I can’t imagine a more capricious brewing style than “open the windows and let nature take its course”, but it produces quite a unique beer! Because lambic is usually aged for several years, lots of hops are used as a preservative — but older, drier hops are used to avoid adding bitterness.
Orval
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Today concludes my trip through the Trappist ales (at least, through most of them — Westvleteren and Tilburg are unfortunately not represented).
Until this virtual tour of Belgian beer during my “one a day and no repeats” challenge, I had never tried a Trappist beer — and if any of my readers haven’t taken the plunge yet, I hope the past two weeks have inspired you to seek out a bottle. It’s a shame that I waited so long; each of these beers has been strong, memorable, and quite a lot of fun.
But did I save the best for last?
Quote possibly. And many will argue I did.
Trappistes Rochefort 10
Posted by: | CommentsWell. I just finished up Rochefort 10. Let’s hope I can write down my thoughts before the 11.3% ABV catches up to me.
The Rochefort brews really, really fascinate me. These three beers are all based on the same recipe but vary so widely in presentation, aroma, and taste. You could envision them as brothers with a clear family resemblance but driven by sibling rivalry . . . Think of the 6 as the sensitive younger brother who reads poetry, listens to anti-folk music, and is getting a D in algebra because he forgets to study. The 8 is the middle brother, loud and brash and looking for attention. But the 10 is the oldest child, casting a long shadow over the others. It was always good at sports, dated the popular girls, and knows the effectiveness of a good swagger. The others will grow up doomed to be compared to the 10.
And it really is a handsome brew. Dark reddish-brown, the beer poured into my chalice and politely left its sediment in the bottle. (When I finished the beer in my glass, I celebrated by drinking the dredges directly from the bottle — not too bad, actually.) It put up a nice head, but like the other Rochefort ales this head didn’t last very long, fizzing up loudly and fading away over a couple of minutes. The 10 produced a touch of lacing, but only very little.
The aroma was rich and understated. Deep malt, some chocolate, and lots of alcohol dominated the aroma. Undercurrents of brown sugar and fruit are present, but they are not nearly as clear as the sweetness displayed with the 6 or the 8.
Trappistes Rochefort 8
Posted by: | CommentsDrinking Trappistes Rochefort 8 the day after having Trappistes Rochefort 6 is strange in many ways. The two beers are alike, and yet so very different.
The 8 is stronger — stronger aroma, stronger flavor, and at 9.2% ABV it’s even got more muscle to flex. But I’d argue the 6 is more complex and nuanced than the 8.
I poured the Rochefort 8 into a chalice and managed — for the first time with any of these Trappist ales — to keep the sediment in the bottle and out of my glass. The result was a dark but relatively clear brown ale with a great big head.
The aroma was rich and fruity, smelling of figs and yeast and alcohol. The fruit persisted into the flavor, figs and bruised banana melding with brown sugar, nuts, and spice. Medium bodied in the mouth, this was a smooth beer that drank easily and warmed both my tongue and my belly.
I enjoyed the 8 very much, but I couldn’t help but think about Rochefort 6 the entire time. The 6 was like a fruity, flavorful tea that had many of the qualities of the 8 — but presented more delicately. I could hold the 6 in my mouth and pick out many flavors. The 8 was robust and delicious, but overpowered nuance.
Next up — Rochefort 10!
Recommended feviews of Rochefort 8:
