by Andres Acosta
The Wine Country’s
Beer Specialist
Our recent,
ragingly successful BeerVenture tasting graphically displayed a small
cross-section of the vast variety of flavors, textures and styles of beer found
in Belgium, arguably the center of the beer universe. We didn't have the time,
or liver capacity, to explore all the different styles of fermented malt
beverages from the land of the Flemish and the Walloons, but with the
assistance of Larry James, a bona fide Belgian beer expert, we did sample a
nice selection of styles, starting with five sour beers.
Sour beers are an
incredibly distinct and somewhat polarizing style of beer, and to an
ever-increasing number of hard core beer geeks, the only style that matters;
one could say trendy, as well. They are brewed using indigenous wild yeast and
sometimes inoculated with specific bacteria, which leads to varying levels of
discernible acidity or sourness in the flavor of the beer. The main styles are lambic,
gueuze and flanders red ale along with fruit-added versions, such as kriek
(cherry) and framboise (raspberry), and other local blends and variations.
Since we are talking about wild yeasts, and this simple, yet complex, living
organism varies by location and environment, there is a wide variation in the
flavors of the beers made by each brewery based on their particular yeast
strains, even within the same category of beer.
A large and
seemingly growing group of beer aficionados can't get enough of these beers and
I am frequently asked to point them out on our shelves or asked to try and
procure the more unique and rare versions. Perhaps the majority of lovers of
fermented malt beverages, me among them, think that many of these sour beers
taste like somebody screwed up perfectly good beer by pouring vinegar into it.
That being said,
since I am the beer guy here at The Wine Country and it seems like I should be
familiar with most, if not all, of the styles of beer we sell, I am making a
conscious effort to warm up to sours. I can happily report that this effort is
meeting with some success and the first beer we poured is one of the reasons
why.
Strubbe's Grand Cru Flemish Red Ale was a huge hit
($3.99 per 330ml bottle and 6.5% abv). It has a pretty malty sweetness with a
hint of cherry at first and then a delightful mild sour tang at the end, sort
of like the Sweet Tarts candy I used to eat as a kid. As sours go, this beer is
at the barely sour end of the spectrum, and it is really refreshing and hard to
put down. An entry level sour beer, if you will, and a good introduction to the
style, particularly for those who think they might not like this style of beer.
Well, beer number
two really cranked up the sour quotient and the sour heads in the crowd began
murmuring excitedly with their first sips, with many of the rest of us doing a
sort of shocked taste double take as the Petrus
Aged Pale Ale hit our taste buds ($4.19 per 330ml bottle and 7.3% abv).
Aged in oak barrels, this award winning beer is quite sour and somewhat wine
like, with the oak noticeable in the mouth and nose. It also has enough malty
sweetness to balance the vinegary tartness. Many of the sour aficionados really
enjoyed this beer for its aggressive up front sourness and clean finish.
With the third
beer, we definitely knew we weren’t in Kansas anymore, Toto. The Cuvee Des Jacobins Rouge Barrel Aged Sour was
noticeably more sour than the Petrus, which is saying something; mouth
puckering sour($5.89 per 330ml bottle and 5.5% abv). It too is aged in oak
barrels and had a distinct tart black cherry note to go with its remarkable
depth and complexity Many thought it was the beer of the night and had
similarities to a fine wine, with a flavor profile that would lend itself to
serious food pairings.
Beer number four
was the Timmermans Oude Gueuze
"Lambicus" ($15.99 a 750ml bottle and 5.5% abv). This was another
sour beast, although different from the oak aged beers that preceded it in
the tasting. A blend of old and new lambic brews, this beer had a citrusy
component to go with its significant sourness and more sweetness than either of
the two previous beers. It also had a bit of that Belgian spiciness, and a
somewhat rustic, slightly earthy note. The Timmermans brewery lays claim to
having a lineage to the original brewers of lambic beers and this beer is made
in their meticulously traditional style in extremely limited quantities.
The next beer was,
to me, the most interesting beer of the night. The Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale is made with two yeasts, the
usually-to-be-avoided Brettanomyces and the typical brewing yeast Saccharomyces
($3.99 per 330ml bottle and 9% abv). As a wine lover, it did seem odd to me
that you would advertise Brettanomyces on the label, something which, when
present in wine, is frequently considered a fatal flaw. Not so in beer,
apparently, and I must say that this beer had a really interesting complexity
and earthiness unlike any beer I have ever tasted. There isn’t much malty
sweetness present, but it does have a wild combination of citrus, minerality,
herbs, wood and a hint of tropical fruit. Not really a sour beer, but it did
have a hint of sour in that wild mix of flavors.
So by now, the
sour-loving people in the crowd are getting really happy, and the rest of us
are wondering when the ordeal of tartness will be over and we get to taste some
“normal” beer. The Poperings Hommel
Golden Ale returned us to sanity, with its delightful malty sweetness and solid
hit of hops ($4.09 per 330ml bottle and 7.5%
abv). Hoppier than many Belgian beers but not quite what I would call an IPA in
California terms, this beer really hits my sweet spot, with the combination of
rich maltiness and medium strong hops typical of a good golden ale. Sporting a
nice hint of citrus and spice to go along with a smooth balanced flavor, to
many in the room this beer tasted like soothing sweet nectar after the previous
five beers’ vinegary assault.
The next beer was
the Caracole Saxo Blond Ale ($5.39
per 330ml bottle and 8% abv) and it, too, had a delectable malty sweetness,
and, although it had a very nice citric hoppiness, it had less of a hop
signature than the Poperings. It displayed a lemony/floral nose and showed a
bit of fruitiness in the mouth with a slightly rustic but interesting finish.
It finished fairly dry but had a solid sweet streak throughout. A good example
of a blond ale and the sweetness hid the not insubstantial 8% alcohol nicely.
We moved next to a
style of beer that is relatively new to Belgium, a truly hoppy California style
IPA, and, based on sales, it was a big favorite. The Troubadour Magma Triple IPA ($5.09 per 330ml bottle and 9.3% abv)
brilliantly combines the strong hop signature of a California style IPA, achieved
by using American hops and also dry hopping the beer, with the unique flavor
profile generated by utilizing the brewing style, malted grains and yeast
typical in Belgium. Although it was labeled a triple IPA, mostly because of the
high alcohol content, in California
terms it had the hoppiness of a single IPA. It had an interesting thick and
creamy mouthfeel, a nice fruity/spicy streak typical of Belgian ales, and a dry
hoppy finish. Overall, a really nice balance of a very slight sweetness, fruit,
spice, hops and alcohol. Some of the folks in the crowd who identified
themselves as California IPA drinkers indicated that this was the first Belgian
beer they had ever had that they truly liked.
We then switched
styles to a magnificent example of a brown ale, the Val-Dieu Brown Abbey Ale ($10.09 for a 750ml bottle or $x.xx for a
330ml bottle and 8.0% abv). This beer really had a lot of subtlety and
complexity to go with its basic deliciousness. And it was just downright
delicious, with a beautifully smooth dark malty sweetness that went on nearly
forever. Classified as a dubbel, as opposed to the stronger tripel and
quadruple style ales, this beauty had chocolate and coffee notes on the nose,
and in the mouth, a complex combination of deep malty sweetness, slightly
bracing malty bitterness, a hint of bittersweet chocolate and with just enough
of a hop signature to balance everything perfectly.
At this stage in
the tasting, we were starting to crank up the flavor, intensity and alcohol
content, for which the Belgian brews are famous. There’s a reason all the monks
on the labels of these beers are sporting a you-know-what-eating grin. The Brasserie des Rocs Grand Cru Brown Ale
($4.89 per 330ml bottle and 9.5% abv) certainly had the alcohol, at 9.5%, to go
with its massive sweetness. We’re talking caramel, brown sugar, figs and prunes
to go with the typical spiciness found in most Belgian beers. The remarkable
thing about this incredibly thick and smooth beer is that there is virtually no
hint in the mouth of the high alcohol. This would make a great dessert beer.
OK, time for the
double-digit alcohol big boys to come out and play and boy, did they. In its
distinctive white bottle, the Gulden
Draak Dark Tripel ($4.99 per 330ml bottle and 10.5% abv) has been a standard
bearer in the States for huge, dark, sweet and malty Belgian beers for quite
some time. You’re greeted by aromas of licorice, raisins, even toffee and in
the mouth, an explosion of thick, smooth flavors - malty chocolate, molasses,
candy sugar. It has a wonderful combination of syrupy sweetness and peppery
alcohol that balance beautifully. All most of us could say is wow. It reminded
some of Port wine in its complexity, sweetness and strength.
Last, and certainly
not least, was the only quadruple ale we dared taste, the Straffe Hendrik Bruges Quadruple ($12.29 per 750 ml bottle and 11% abv). If the Gulden Draak elicited wows, this
beautiful behemoth had many of us uttering mild oaths to our preferred deities.
Boldly strong, hauntingly complex, intensely flavorful, remarkably smooth and
with extraordinary depth, this sweet, lush malty beauty had it all. It had
strong malt bitterness which combined perfectly with the sweet brown sugar,
caramel and toffee flavors. The finish stayed with me for literally minutes.
With just enough hops to go with the other massive flavors, this beer didn’t
show its 11% alcohol either. A pinnacle of the brewing arts and just a
magnificent beer, it was a fitting way to end the magical evening.
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