Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Buffalo Stout (Version 2)

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 9.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

The name is the same and so is the brewery. But for some mysterious reason, this beer clocks in 50% stronger than its little brother. Odd that there's no distinction on the label...

Pours pitch black with a voluminous light brown head. So big that I was afraid I had an infected bottle. But the head fades to a a thin wisp in several minutes. Aroma contains sweet dark malt and milk chocolate notes with a touch of fresh coffee.

Taste is the same, a bit more bitter chocolate than milk though and persistent hints of espresso. Nicely balanced. Full bodied, no real hint of alcohol given its strength. Nice bitter chocolate in the finish and aftertaste with some sweetness to offset the bite.

Very tasty. Nicely balanced and well-crafted.

How do the beers of this series stack up? My rankings:

1. Buffalo Stout (Version 2) - See above. No flaws to speak of, very well rounded.

2. Hercule Stout - Dark fruit and bitter chocolate dance in a velvet smooth strong stout.

3. Buffalo Stout (Version 1) - Well-crafted and balanced, like its big brother. Nearly came in second.

4. t'Smijse Catherine the Great - The color is offputting but it makes up for it with a crazy combination of roastiness, bitter chocolate and ripe pears.

5. Podge Stout - Way more fruity and sweet than roasty but tasty nonetheless.

6. Wilson Stout - Not bad but too much alcohol showing for its strength, flavors never really mesh

7. Leroy Stout - Run don't walk...away

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Leroy Stout

Brewery: Brouwerij Leroy
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 5.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

Pours pitch black with a frothy tan head and some minimal lacing. Smells of dark fruit and light caramel aromas.

If I had a blind tasting of this beer, I would never pick it out as a stout. It tastes like a sweet brown ale. Tons of caramel flavor, no hint of roastiness or sweetness you would expect for black patent...but sickly sweet and overwhelming caramel flavors that don't mesh with a distinct fruitiness in this ale. Very carbonated, distractingly so. Unpleasant astringent finish and a lingering cloying sweetness in the aftertaste.

It's not good. At all.

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: 't Smisje Catherine The Great

Brewery: Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: March 2009

The label of this beer declares that this is an imperial stout. De Regenboog has yet to disappoint so I am looking forward to this one.

Surprisingly, this stout pours out a murky brown instead of a pitch black. Highlights of mahogany with a frothy tan head. Smells fruity, of Granny Smith apples and ripe pears. Quite yeasty and hint of alcohol.

Lots of lovely roasty flavors, espresso, bitter chocolate and mocha. Oaky too, vanilla, toffee and hints of dark fruit. Full bodied and sweetish, not sticky. Roasty and bitter in the finish, the coffee flavors coming through again.

If you closed your eyes, this would be a classic roasty imperial stout. It's very good, just that odd appearance that throws you.


Brouerij De Regenboog

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stouts: Wilson Mild Stout

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 5.2%
Date Poured: March 2009

This one bills itself as a mild stout so I am expecting an English character here. At 5.2%, this is the most sessionable stout I've tried thus far.

This one pours as black as night (of course) with a creamy brown head that leaves sheeting lace. Smells of fruity dark malt, very sweet, yeasty and estery.

First impressions are that it is kind of thin in the mouth and some prominent metallic flavors. Underneath, the raisin and blackcurrant flavors start to come through. Yeasty, a lot of yeast character for a stout...even for a Belgian one. Pretty sweet, some detectable alcohol in there and lightly oaky. Odd because the mouth is thin but there are sweet and sticky textures in the finish with just a bit of dark chocolate in the finish.

Interesting beer but too much alcohol presence for a beer of this strength. A bit haphazard with the flavors too.


Brouwerij Van Steenberge

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stout: Hercule Stout

Brewery: Brasserie Ellezelloise
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 8.4%
Date Poured: Feb 2009

Dense creamy tan head tops a pitch black body. Lots of dark fruit in the nose, very sweet, no hint of roastiness but there is a hint of alcohol

Wow. Smooth as velvet in the mouth, no hint of the alcohol whatsoever, just a pleasant warming effect in the finish. Sweet and fruity (ripe plums and raisin) with just a hint of roastiness in the finish. Bitter chocolate pops up in the finish too. Creamy, chocolaty flavors in the aftertaste.

Lighter in the mouth than you would expect for a big strong stout but that just makes it that much more drinkable. Different but delicious.





Brasserie Ellezelloise

Tasting Notes - Belgian Stouts: Buffalo (Version 1)

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Den Bossche
Style: Belgian Stout
ABV: 6.5%
Date Poured: March 2009

One of the focuses of my trip to Belgium was to seek out some examples of Belgian stout. So here's a mini-series of tasting notes on a few of the bottles I brought home. First up, a version of Buffalo from Brouwerij Van Den Bossche.

It pours pitch black with a dense and creamy tan head.

Smells of fruity dark malt, sweet and with a hint of some metallic aromas.

Sweet in the mouth with just a hint of roastiness. Lovely balance that I wasn't expecting. Mocha and hint of dark chocolate. Underpinnings of ripe dark fruit. Medium-bodied with a sweet finish and a uncharacteristically clean finish.

Very flavorful but smooth and drinkable. A good start!


Brouwerij Van Den Bossche

Slideshow: Gent Part 1

Gent Part 1

Belgium Trip, Day 6 - Part 1: Morning in Gent

We arrived in Gent fairly early the next morning and headed for the center of town. We were too early for the bars, even in Belgium, so we headed to the St. Bavo Cathedral to see Van Eyck’s Adoration of the Mystic Lamb (which was fairly impressive).

After that, sufficient time had passed that some of the cafes had begum to open. We headed for one of the oldest and smallest cafés in town t’ Galgenhuisje. The bar claims to be housed in the former gallow’s house and was right on the Groentenmarkt…so I believe it and the building dates from the 16^th century. I can imagine the gallowmaster conducting business here waiting for the next victim.

Two floors of bar are crammed into a very small footprint with a restaurant in the cellar (former holding cells for the condemned). Very rustic with old exposed timbers, witches hanging from the ceiling, some tin beer signs, paper money of all nationalities and denominations stapled to the walls behind the bar and Flemish phrases painted on the timbers. The house beer was thick and brown, served in a mug and sold for less than 3 Euro. It was a good way to start your Wednesday!

Most of the bars we wanted to hit weren’t going to open until afternoon so we wandered the streets of old Gent, dodging trams and crossing canals. (The city is gorgeous by the way…rivals Brugge as far as I’m concerned.)

We also visited Castle Gravensteen, an imposing and impressive Medieval castle and worthy of a visit if you care to spend some non-beery time in Gent.

After the castle, we headed back across the Leie River to Het Waterhuis, a café right on the river that had a good reputation for beer. It did not disappoint.

They offered three different house beers. I stuck with a hoppy blonde called Gandavum, Dave grabbed a tawny colored strong ale Klokke Roeland. Both were surprisingly excellent. The cafe was lots of brick and timber, old dusty glasses on a ledge above the bar, beer signs galore and false vines draped from the ceiling. Nice view of the river too.

But there was more! What should I spy on the chalkboard but Rodenbach Foederbier. Fantastic! I ordered one and the server asked me if I was sure I wanted one because this beer was very, very sour. I reaffirmed that, yes, this was the beer I desired. She warned me again about the extreme sourness and asked me if I was really sure about this choice.Again, I assured her that I had an idea what it would be like and said that I was prepared. A third time she tried to warn me…”Bring it on!” I said. I am guessing she has had to take this beer back from unsuspecting tourists in the past…

The Foederbier was amazing. Imagine the difference in degree of acetic sourness between Rodenbach and Rodenbach Grand Cru. Apply that same increase in intensity to the Grand Cru and you have an idea of what you get in the Foederbier. Sour and woody but after the initial shock to the tastebuds, refreshing and wickedly drinkable. Puckeringly sour but ultimately delicious. It may have been the best glass of beer I had in Belgium.

Dave ordered a Timmermans Lambicus Blanche, an unusual cross between the funk and sourness of a lambic and the spicy sweetness of a Belgian witbier. Very unique and very good in its own right.

Bellies full of beer, we moved on, first to the frittur for some frites and then more sightseeing. We killed some time at the Folklore Museum (more time than I wanted but sometimes you have to indulge your travel companion, right?) and waited for 16:00 to roll around when the next wave of bars would open up for us.

Tasting Notes: Half Moon Hefe Weizen

Brewery: Charleston Brewing Company
Style: Hefeweizen
ABV: ?
Date Poured: January 2009

Pours a surprisingly clear gold with a bright white but thin head. Smells lemony, sweet wheat malt and a hint of bubblegum.

Crisp wheat malt, some lemon, even fainter hint of bubblegum with an astringent, CO2 finish. Finishes clean. The aroma offered some hope but in the end,it's just another lacking American wheat beer. Not much more to say.

Bruges: Day 1 Slide Show

Bruges: Day 1

Belgium Trip, Day 5 - Part 2 - Intro to Brugge

It's about an hour drive from Westvleteren to Brugge so we arrived at the campground (Camping Memling) around 2:30 and checked into the trekkershut that was to be our home for the next three nights. After a quick unpacking, we hoofed it just under a mile to the center of Brugge.

We had barely gotten inside the old wall it seemed when we spotted a bar that was on my list of places to visit. It was called Cambrinus. So we headed inside to get a sampling of the beers available in Brugge.

I started with a new beer from Brouwerij Straffe Hendrik, Brugse Bok. It's a Belgian take on a bock beer but for the most part it is remarkably, traditionally German. Outside of a breadiness and a slightly more pronounced hop profile, very traditional and very tasty. Dave started with Brugse Zot from the same brewery.

The bar is a bit more modern than most we had gone to at this point in the trip but with folksy murals on the wall including one of Cambrinus himself above the fireplace. The beer list is advertised at more than 400 and from the look of the menu, I believe it. It was early afternoon and our waitress' service was fairly good by Belgian standards.

Next I moved on to the Adrian Brouwer, a big brown ale at 8.5% ABV which is a stunning combination of the tartness and fruitiness of an oud bruin and the sweet maltiness of a dubbel. Lots of dark fruit and rich breadiness...amazing beer. Dave went with an Alvinne Podge Imperial Stout that was astonishingly good.

By now it was after 4:00 PM, so we headed out to look for some food and just generally see the sights. After wandering around the vicinity of the main square, we stumbled right onto Brugs Beertje. Score!

This cafe was at the top of my list for Brugge and was quite crowded when we entered. We grabbed two rickety chairs at a small table which may have been the last two seats in the house. Even though it was quite busy, our server arrived in no time and took our order. I ordered the Verhaeghe Echte Kriek and Dave took a chance on a mustard bier, Wostyntje from Brouwerij de Regenboog. The Echte Kriek was pretty unique, a mixture of a Flanders red and a kriek, but the combination is a natural that I'm surprised other breweries don't try.

The cafe walls are covered with old brewery signs and it's a cozy, if cramped, little space. The beer list is not as large as Cambrinus but it a very well chosen selection of more than 200. The list is so well-chosen, in fact, that it makes it hard to choose yourself.

For dinner, we ordered a bowl each of Spaghetti Bolognese which was pretty damn good I have to admit.

*****

The lack of sleep (or poor quality thereof) of the past few nights was beginning to take its toll so we threw in the towel and headed back to the campground for an fairly early turn in. Clean showers and comfy beds (the best of the trip so far) were a welcome sight and we split a 750 ml bottle of 60th Anniversary St. Bernanrdus Abt 12 for a nightcap and headed to bed.

Tasting Notes - Mustard Beers: Alvinne Melchior

Brewery: Picobrouwerij Alvinne
Style: Mustard Beer
ABV: 11%
Date Poured: January 2009

It's a hazy orange with a billowy white head. Very sweet and fruity in the nose with some spiciness from the hops. I'm not picking up any mustard seed aroma.

Boozy and sweet but a strident spicy hoppiness (Challenger and East Kent Goldings according to the label) give it some balance. I'm not sure I would notice the mustard seed flavors if I didn't know they were there but underneath the hops is a distinct bitterness of the mustard seed. Sticky body with a strong lingering hoppiness with a hint of mustard in the finish. Strong hoppy aftertaste.

The mustard is not as pronounced but like Wostyntje, it makes it work.


Picobrouwerij Alvinne

Tasting Notes - Mustard Beers: t' Smisje Wostyntje

Brewery: Brouwerij De Regenboog
Style: Mustard Beer
ABV: 10.5%
Date Poured: November 2008

Part 1 of a mini-theme about "mustard beer". I may have heard of beers made with mustard peripherally but they really didn't come to my attention until my trip to Belgium. I was further surprised to find not one but two Belgian ales made with mustard as a prominent ingredient! This is the first one from Brouwerij De Regenboog.

Pours a hazy orangey copper with a dense sandy colored head. Chunky lace left on the sides of the glass. Fruity, yeasty and sweet malt, spicy in the nose. Is that the mustard? I think so. Spicy hops too.

There's a fair amount of bitterness in this ale. A fruity sweetness provides a nice backbone for the spicy hops and the spicy mustard seed. Spiced apple and an earthiness form the yeast. Well -balanced sweetness and herbal\mustard spiciness. The hop\mustard spiciness lingers through the finish and aftertaste.

Really nice. The mustard seed lends a unique flavor that is not heavy-handed and therefore works quite well. Delicious!

Brouwerij de Regenboog

Tasting Notes: Green Man ESB

Brewery: Green Man Ales
Style: ESB
ABV: 5.6%
Date Poured: January 2009

A couple a weeks ago, I took a hiking trip up near Asheville, NC so I drove into town to hunt for some beer. North Carolina has no annoying laws forbidding growlers so I picked up a growler of fresh ESB brewed by Green Man Ales.

It pours a deep orangey copper with a creamy but thin, light tan head. Sheeting lace on the glass. Very fruity and herbal in the nose

Taste is bready and fruity, a well balanced ale with herbal English hops, (Kent Goldings and Fuggles according to the website) offsetting a sweetish, fruity malt. Quite British in character but surprisingly sweet and that sweetness lingers long in the finish and aftertaste.

It's a well crafted ale and certainly enticing enough for me to want to try some more from Green Man the next time I find myself in Asheville.

Green Man Ales

Best Beers of 2008

Inspired by Boak And Bailey (who were themselves inspired by Fuggled), here are, in no particular order, the top ten beers I've tried for the first time in 2008.

1. Rodenbach Foederbier - The sourest Flanders red out there. If you like Rodenbach Grand Cru, you'll love Foederbier. Tasted at Het Waterhuis in Gent.

2. Westvleteren 12 - the Holy Grail. Rich malt and dark fruit. A little hot when I sampled it at In De Vrede outside the abbey but still damn good.

3. Westvleteren Blond - Totally underrated little brother of the 12 and the 8. Crisp, sweet and hoppy at the cafe. Really excellent, at least fresh at the abbey.

4. 2000 Boon Oude Gueze Marriage Parfait - I've had this beer before but this aged bottle from the cellars of the Kulminator was divine.

5. Bell's Double Cream Stout - Huge but smooth, a unique and delicious double stout.

6. Saint Somewhere Saison Athene - Relatively new brewery in Florida. A shockingly tasty and complex saison...from Florida which makes it even more shocking.

7. J.W. Lees Harvest Ale Lagavulin 2001 - I have never been able to get my head around the various incarnations of Harvest Ale but at the 10th anniversary of The Brickstore Pub there was a 7 year old vintage that had been aged in Lagavulin whisky casks. My eyes were opened. Looking forward to trying more Harvest Ale in the future.

8. Sam Adams Longshot Weizenbock - One of the winning homebrews from the Samuel Adams Longshot competition. This was one of the winners and falls under the category of "well crafted in every way".

9. Weyerbacher Heresey - Weyerbacher Old Heathen is one of my favorite imperial stouts and Heresey is that beer aged in oak barrels that were used to make Kentucky bourbon. Typically not a fan of oak aged stouts but this one hit the spot.

10. Mikkeller Stateside IPA - A Danish brewery doing an American style IPA. Juicy, bitter and delicious.

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 25: 2003 N'Ice Chouffe

Brewery: Brasserie Achouffe
Style: ???
ABV: 10.0%
Date Poured: December 2008

This is one of my favorite beers and I grab one every winter. The bottle describes this brew as a dark ale brewed with thyme and orange peel. It also says that this beer can be aged up to 5 years. So this is a bottle I've been holding onto for just that long.

Pours a murky dark brown with a frothy tan head. Smells of sweet spice, rich caramel malt, dark fruit and a hint of alcohol.

The first impression is that the beer is very smooth and the flavors are well balanced. Sweet spice, caramel malt, black currant, sweet dark chocolate, a hint of hops and some warming alcohol, all mixing around together and alternately taking the lead. The mouth is not as full as when fresh but it is more drinkable.

What can I say? Did it improve with age? I wouldn't say it's better than when fresh but it turned into something equally as good.


Brasserie Achouffe

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 24: Breckenridge Christmas Ale

Brewery: Breckenridge Brewery
Style: Winter Warmer
ABV: 7.4%
Date Poured: December 2008

This winter warmer has been brewed by Breckenridge Brewery in Colorado since 1993. This is the first Christmas it has been available to me.

Deep opaque brown with mahogany highlights, thinnish white head, light lacing. Smells of roasty malt, some underlying citrusy hops.

Roasty dark malt, bittersweet chocolate and caramel malt. Just a hint of dark fruit and a light peppery bitterness. Rich but drinkable, very smooth for a beer approaching 8% ABV. Full mouth and a sweet and roasty finish. Lovely stuff.


Breckenridge Brewery

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 23: Abita Christmas Ale 2008

Brewery: Abita Brewing Company
Style: Brown Ale
ABV: ???
Date Poured: December 2008

This is the second year that Louisiana-based Abita Brewing has put out a Christmas Ale. Each year they change the recipe. This year it seems that it is a brown ale.

A crystal clear but lightly reddish copper topped by a dense, creamy tan khaki colored head. Lots of fine lacing down the glass. Lightly fruity caramel malt.

Crisp and light faint caramel malt, some herbal English-style hops. Light and crisp in the mouth with a very clean finish.

That's about it. A light, mildly refreshing ale in a style I'm not that crazy about to begin with. Not bad I suppose, just not much here.


Abita Brewing

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 22: 1997 Samuel Adams Triple Bock

Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Style: Triple Bock (???)
ABV: 17.5%
Date Poured: December 2008

Samuel Adams Triple Bock was brewed in three vintages: 1994, 1995 and 1997. Even though it hasn't been brewed for over ten years, the cobalt blue bottles are still sporadically found on liquor store shelves. This was probably the first real "extreme" beer. It was brewed with maple syrup and aged for some months in oak whiskey barrels. At the time, it was considered to be the strongest beer in the world. This bottle is a 1997 vintage and was purchased about five years ago and has been int he cellar even since.

Dark brown in the glass with no head at all but nice "legs" like a port or sherry would have. Lots of oaky, whiskey components in the aroma. A hint of molasses and vanilla. Strong and sweet.

Rich malt, dark fruit and a scorching alcohol flavor. Very, very sweet. Distinct whiskey flavor. Oak and vanilla. A hint of the maple syrup in the aftertaste as well as a nice alcohol burn. Very sticky after the heat subsides.

This is a sipper, treat it like a cognac instead of a beer. I only drink this about three ounces at a time. I still like it though. I like what the age has done to it and I like the overall flavors this beer is delivering. Good stuff.


Samuel Adams

25 Beers of Christmas '08, Day 21: 2006 Avec les Bons Voeux

Brewery: Brasserie Dupont
Style: Saison
ABV: 9.5%
Date Poured: December 2008

Avec les Bons Voeux is no longer a winter seasonal but was for years before Dupont decided to make this "big daddy" of a saison a year-round offering. This one has been in the cellar for two years.

This one pours a hazy bright gold with a fair white head that leaves some modest lacing. Quite lemony in the nose, some sweet spice and maybe a hint of orange zest. Significant herbal hop presence still in this beer. Sweet pale malt up front but dries out quick. A distinct flavor of juniper berries comes through again and again. The mouth is full bodied but dry. Lovely bitterness in the finish.

Over the fresh beer, the big change it goes through over two years is the body has thinned a bit and some caramel and molasses flavors evident in the younger beer have all but disappeared. A much more crisp and dry beer now but it's still pretty amazing stuff. A classic.


Brasserie Dupont