Maredsous Tripel

It's Friday!  *Commence Happy Dance*

Tonight I'm drinking Maredsous Tripel, brewed by Maredsous Abbey, who licenses their name to Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat.  I've seen this beer in the past, and I believe it used to be named under a number system (Maredsous 6, 8, and 10), and this would've been the '10'.  A lot of Belgian breweries use this system, and it seems to be most commonly organized by alcohol strength.  But it looks like Maredsous moved away from the number system and now just calls it the Tripel.

The label is pretty basic, with a little description on the back.  The color of the beer is dark golden, slightly hazy and holds a massive layer of web-laced foam.  The aroma is full of that signature belgian yeast funk.  Plenty of light fruits, cloves, pears, maybe even a little pineapple.  Oh, alcohol is also in there.  The first taste is a bit different than I expected......lots of pale, pils maltiness laced with a tangy belgian yeast flavor.  Alcohol is a heavy hitter in the middle, along with peppery cloves.  The middle and into the finish brings an odd flavor that's hard to describe - it's a bitter, bubbly, fruity sweet champagne-ish-ness - not in a good way.  Mouthfeel is dry, with heavy carbonation.

Overall Rating:  This turned out to be a real let-down for me.  I'd pick an Orval or a Gulden Draak over this any day of the week.  Something just seems off, the bitterness holds a vegetal, medicinal yuck that's not good.  Possibly a bad bottle?  Hard to say.  C

Brasserie Caracoles - Nostradamus

The bottle I'm drinking tonight was picked up on a whim.  I've been on a brown ale kick for the last few days.  It turned my last trip to the beer store into one where I only focused on all forms of brown ale.  As you saw yesterday, I started with a classic brown ale from Samuel Smiths.  Tonight, I'm going towards the other end of the spectrum with Nostradamus, a Belgian brown ale from Brasserie Caracoles.  And due to my aforementioned brown beer buying binge, throughout October, you will find plenty of other brown ale reviews with my name on them.

Brasserie Caracoles is located in Belgium.  That's about all I got on these guys.  Their site is entirely in French.  And despite Google Translators best efforts, it could not overcome the websites broken links.  Apparently the Belgians care not for functional web design.  Here is a link to the site incase you are interested... Brasserie Caracoles.

This Belgian brown is actually classified as a Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  But the color remains true to the name on the bottle.  Colored copper and amber-brown with a minimal tan foam, the aromas swell from my pint and infuse the surrounding air with candied dark fruit, sweet malt and hints of clove and Belgian yeast.  The first sip brings a load of carbonation that's hard to get past.  But after a few minutes, the carbonation subdues itself and brings more candied fruit, toasted malt, milk chocolate and brown sugar flavors to the forefront.  Some grape and plum flavors are noticeable as well.  The high level of carbonation actually helps to balance a somewhat heavy malt body that would otherwise be overpowering.  Some hop bitterness comes through towards the finish to further dry out the sweet malty profile.  Did I mention the 9% ABV?  I didn't think so.  It's because I couldn't taste it.  The alcohol is virtually non-existent.

Overall - Even though I was tricked into believing that Nostradamus was a brown ale brewed with Belgian yeast, I was delightfully surprised and impressed with this incognito brew.  I'm a sucker for well brewed Belgian ales and it's tough to argue against one brewed within the country itself.  Nostradamus is a great Belgian Dark Strong Ale.  I highly recommend it.

Brasserie d'Achouffe - Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel

Tonight I'll be drinking a big bottle of brew straight from Belgium - the Houblon Chouffe Dobbelen IPA Tripel - which translated into English means.... hoobly choofly dobbly Tripel IPA.  Just kidding!  I have no idea what it means!  This brewery was founded by two brothers-in-law back in 1982, and has slowly grown through Europe and beyond, now shipping to 20 countries worldwide.  The Houblon Chouffe was first created back in 2006, with the idea that they would take an unfiltered, bottle-conditioned Belgian Tripel, throw some American hops in there, and see what happens.

The label on this brew shows a little knome/elf dude picking hop flowers from a garden.  It also lists the 9% ABV, and a little story on the back which is pictured below.  The beer is a cloudy light golden color with a cob-web layer of white head the leaves a lot of lace behind.  The aroma brings loads of citrus and florals, with some yeast funk behind it.  Fruity smells with apricots and grapes, almost reminds me of champagne.  The flavor starts off light and crisp, with a decent amount of bitterness up front.  Citrus takes center stage, with lemon rinds and bitter orange peels, very zesty. This is complimented by a softer peach flavor, and then transitions over to a light biscuit maltiness.  Some warming alcohol comes next.  The finish brings it full circle back to the citrus zest, with a pleasant dryness that leaves me ready for the next drink.

Overall Rating:  This is a phenomenal beer.  It doesn't compare to American belgian IPAs - the Tripel base really stands out and gives it another level of complexity that American interpretations just don't offer.  Epic beer - highly recommend it!  A

Sorry, very tough to read - my iPhone camera sucks!

St. Feuillien - Saison

Tonight's review is of a beer within a category that I love.  The Saison style is very unique in that the nature of the style includes a varying level of sourness.  In some examples its hardly noticeable or not present at all.  In others, it can be one of the primary characteristics.  It keeps the style interesting and adds a characteristic generally not found in most other styles.  In fact, if you do taste sour in any other style I would suggest that the beer is infected and should not be consumed.  As homebrewers generally term it - "You got some bad bugs in your brew!"

St. Feuillien's Saison hit the states back in 2009.  Its a relative newcomer to the Saison world.  But that didn't stop it from skyrocketing to the top of the craft beer world.  In the same year it was first brewed St. Feuillien's Saison was voted the best Saison in the world!  I don't care who you are but you have to admit that's pretty damn impressive.

This brew comes in a sturdy corked bottle with a very simple label on the front depicting a small bunch of hops.  The solid bottle is critical due to this styles high level of carbonation.  Visually this style is not striking.  Generally cloudy or hazy and pale orange.  The head often quickly billows to the top of the glass and will overflow if you are not careful.  After receding the foam retains a sturdy, rocky texture that continues to linger through to the end.  A very soft malt aroma mixes with a distinct honey sweetness and is backed by a hint of spice.  Not quite what I was expecting.  The flavors continue with this profile and remain sweet but crisp throughout.  A heavy dose of carbonation accentuates a mild sour tang alongside sweet pilsner malt, pepper, candied sugar, and hop bitterness.  The finish is dry as a bone between the carbonation and bitterness.  Hardly any hint of alcohol from this 6.5% ABV brew.

Overall - Honestly, I was a bit disappointed.  I like my saisons to be more on the spicier, bolder side of the spectrum.  St. Feuillien's example is definitely on the more mild, sweet side.  There is nothing wrong with that though.  Its a well crafted beer that is clean, crisp and easy to drink.  And if you like your beers to be a bit sweeter then this will certainly be a winner.  For me, I'll continue my search for my favorite saison elsewhere.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge - Gulden Draak Ale

Tonight I'll be crossing the ocean and heading to Belgium for a glass of Gulden Draak.  According to BJCP, this brew falls under the Belgian Dark Strong Ale category, although I've also seen references of it being considered a Tripel.  The Gulden Draak is named after a golden statue that was originally donated to the city of Constantinople by the Norse king Sigrid Magnusson in 1111 during one of the first crusades.  It's been fought over since then, but ultimately it ended up on top of the Belfry in Ghent.

The bottle is unique - painted white with a golden drake emblem on the front.   It notes a reminder that this is a 'Product of Belgium", and also reminds of the potent 10.5% ABV.  After a soft pour, the head is furious and frothing, massive.  As it recedes, it leaves a web of lace like I haven't seen before... I took a picture of it below.

The beer is a dark blood-red color with a light tan head.  The aroma is full of sweet caramel malts, fruity esters, and plenty of alcohol.  There's also a slight yeasty belgian funk that swirls around in there.  The taste starts off with a blast of sweet malts - sweet caramel malt, then a wave of cherry and other fruits that I can't quite discern...apples?  Definitely apples.  Alcohol then heats things up, potent when blended with the fruits and the high carbonation.  The finish is spicy and sticky.

Overall Rating:  This was a big hot mess of Belgian goodness.  Lots of flavor, big chewy malt body, tart fruits, and a prominent alcohol note that wraps the flavors up in a basket and delivers them with a buzz.  Delicious.

Avery Brewing - Collaboration Not Litigation Ale

Tonight I'll be drinking a blended Ale - two belgian brews, one from Avery Brewing, and the other from Russian River Brewing.  The owners, Vinnie and Adam, realized that they both had a Salvation beer in their line-up.  Instead of fighting over the naming rights, they decided to collaborate and bring the two salvations into one bottle......Collaboration not Litigation!  Thus, this little belgian strong ale was born.

The label on the bottle lists Batch #5, bottled in Jan. 2011, 8.91% ABV.  

I'm pouring this into my snifter glass - the beer is a hazy, dirty mahogany brown. The aroma is full of belgian yeast-funk, very sweet apple cider, hint of bananas and cloves.  Also some booze-prunes hiding in there.  That's right, booze-prunes.

The flavor first brings a wave of warm, sweet caramel malts.  Light woody, vanilla flavors join the party with the malts.  After a moment, the beer remembers that it's a belgian and brings a jumbalaya of cloves, spices, and burnt bananas.  All of it is super dry, in spite of the full body and delicate carbonation.  The dry banana spice lingers stubbornly for quite a while.   

Overall Rating:  Rich and delicious!  The belgian characteristics are subdued - not overpowering, but pleasant.  A+ for drinkability - the alcohol is well hidden and this beer goes down smooth.  Give it a try if you can find a bottle.

Hoegaarden - Original White Ale in Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Tonights review includes an interesting combination of food and brew.  The wife had a craving for pot pie this morning and that sounded delicious to me.  Over lunch I found a book on cooking with beer and noticed wheat beers generally went well with chicken.  Chicken pot pie baked with wheat beer?  Hell yes.  My wife being the culinary genius she is took the Hoegaarden Wit that I came home with and incorporated it beautifully into a homemade pot pie.

Sautéed chicken, shallots and garlic were cooked together until chicken was mostly done.  The chicken was removed and a bottle of Hoegaarden was added and reduced.  Green beans, coined carrots, peas and corn were then added along with a bit of flour for thickening.  The mixture was brought to a boil and simmered for 5 minutes until sufficiently reduced.  Cream of chicken and broth were then added to the veggie beer mixture and combined in the stoneware pot along with the original chicken.  A homemade crust was then placed over the pot and set in the oven until the crust was a nice and flaky golden brown.

The final product was amazing.  Our normal pot pie has always been thick and hearty.  This was no different but the pepper and citrus zest definitely made an appearance making it come alive.  It added an another layer of complexity that was very welcome.  Now, onto the actual beer!

This witbier pours very light and cloudy with a bright white head forming and quickly receding.  Like most white ales this one is full of different aromas.  Lemon rind, pepper, yeast and citrus all play a part here.  The flavor is malty sweet.  A high carbonation makes the flavors bounce around your mouth.  More citrus and subtle yeast and pepper notes reflect the aromas tones pretty closely.  A smooth finish with a mild bitterness finish this brew off.

Overall 5.2/6.0 - As far as witbiers are concerned this is a pretty solid example.  In fact, its the first example listed for the BJCP witbier style.  Nothing is overdone and the flavors are all blended nicely.  For somebody who typically drinks large, American craft beers this was a nice deviation from my standard line up.  I also think you could have used just about any wheat or witbier in the pot pie.  Although I would probably stay away from the sweeter wheats and stick to the more spicy ones.  The spice will compliment the food more than any fruity beer would.

Green's - Dubbel Dark Ale (Gluten Free)

Gluten free beers are something that I have never experimented with before in my beer drinking life.  With that disclaimer out of the way, I will do my best to review this as an unbiased beer drinker.

Gluten free beers are made with ingredients that don't include glycoproteins.  These types of brews are marketed towards those who have gluten intolerances or have allergic reactions to wheat or barley.  The ingredients you will typically find in gluten free beers are rice, sorghum, buckwheat and corn.  There are a number of these types of beers sprouting up within breweries across the globe.  I was able to find a pretty solid list here.  In fact, gluten free beers have even become popular enough to warrant their own festival back in 2006!  A quick glance at that site shows that they seem to have all the information you would ever want to know about gluten free beers.  Check it out if you want to learn more.

Todays review is of the first gluten free beer I was able to find at my local beer store (the giant "GLUTEN FREE" on the label helped in my search).  They have a massive selection of beer so I am sure there are more gluten free beers to be found if you were to dig for longer than 30 seconds like I did.  Green's specializes in gluten free beer as emphasized on their site.  They have three of their beers that they ship over the pond to us here in the states: Discovery, Endeavour and Quest.  Although, my bottle says Dubbel Dark Ale.  It looks like they change the name on the bottles for the beers that find their way to America.  Either way, I think its time to prost!

The first thing I notice with this beer is the high carbonation.  As I poured it into my mug it started to foam up fast.  Since this is my first experience with gluten free beers I dont know if that is normal or not. No worries though... I press on.  The color is clear and dark.  When held to the light you see shades of ruby red.  The foam lingers for quite a long time and finally collapses into a thick layer floating on top and never quite goes away.  The aroma is a caramelized fruit and is what I would expect from a beer made with Belgian yeast.  My first taste is better than I had anticipated.  Thin to medium body and a carbonation level that is lower than what the initial pour led me to believe.  A lot of dark fruit flavors are present.  After a few sips the sweetness begins to sneak up on you.  Probably due to the brew warming up.  The finish is a little watery.  The hop bitterness is there but the sweetness overpowers it a bit.  The alcohol is nowhere to be found which is nice considering its 7% ABV.

Overall 2.7/6.0 - I was surprised by how drinkable this gluten free beer was.  Just because its drinkable doesn't mean I want to drink a lot of it though.  Once it warmed up it really became overly sweet.  Be sure to have this one nicely chilled.  For my taste this was a little too sweet to start.  The style lends itself to being sweet but I think I could perceive the difference between a malty sweetness and a "millet, buckwheat, rice and sorghum" sweetness.  You will definitely need to enjoy a sweeter beer in order to get through the entire pint.  For what its worth, the brew was good enough to make me a semi-believer in gluten free beers.  I'm sure I'll review another beer from Green's.

Delirium - Noel

This week is the first full week Dunz and I have been reviewing craft beers and we couldn't be happier about the progress we have made on the site so far.  Incase you haven't been told, we purchased a new web address at www.theworldofbeercraft.com so we can drop the blogspot tag from our site.  We have also added a few resource pages at the top of our site for those of you that are hungry for more information.  We hope those of you who are following us regularly are enjoying the site and telling your friends!  Dunz and I are having a blast creating it and we have no intentions of slowing down anytime soon.

Today I am reviewing a beer that was recommended to me twice throughout the day yesterday.  My friends who told me about it said it was something worth trying so I went out and picked up a bottle after work.  Delirium brewery was founded in 1654 as best I can tell from their website.  Their site is clearly not developed for Americans.  Although, if you are into pink elephants you will find an over abundance of them dancing cheerfully within their site looking as though they have consumed too much Delirium.  The pink elephant must be their mascot.  The beer Delirium is known for is their Tremens which won the title of "Best beer in the world" in 1998 for this Belgian style pale ale.  However, today I am reviewing their Christmas seasonal, Noel.

The bottle is made from glass but painted in a greyish color to make it look ceramic and keep the light out.  Doing so keeps the beer from getting a skunky quality to it.  Once I removed the tin foil seal the cork tells me that this is a 2009 vintage.  The pour is very smooth with hardly any foam lingering afterwards.  Chunks of yeast float in my glass telling me that this is a traditional bottle conditioned Belgian ale.  I'm surprised the yeast didn't settle in a layer at the bottom after sitting around for over a year.  My first smell is a full bouquet of fruit.  I can smell white grapes, apricot, cherries and a few other subtle aromas I can't discern.  Hops are hardly present, if at all.  This brew almost smells like candy.  I'm a little hesitant to take my first sip with the yeast still floating around... fruit, caramel, everything I smelled is in the taste which I like.  No yeasty flavor either.  The finish is still sweet but not cloyingly so.  After a few drinks you begin to appreciate the higher level of carbonation which helps to dry out this flavorful 10% ABV Belgian strong dark ale.

Overall 4.7/6.  I really enjoyed this beer.  I had no problem drinking the entire 750 ml bottle.  The yeast sediment is what really threw me off here.  You will need to not care about the sediment floating around in order to enjoy Delirium's Noel.  Fruity, sweet, easily drinkable.  A good beer to have during a spicy meal or after dinner as a desert beer.