Brother Thelonious

Another fine brew from the North Coast Brewing Company – “Brother Thelonious” is a part of the mighty American Artisan Series and pays tribute to jazz legend Mr. Monk with both a Belgian-style ale and a donation for every bottle sold to the Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz. Good work on both counts.

Definitely Belgian tasting with an up-front yeast kick and the high alcohol content front and center, this brew’s got definite depth of character and all the hallmarks of a smooth sipping dubbel. There’s a sweet honeyed undercurrent and a complex assortment of roasted malt and caramel at work, and a slight bitter kick at the end of each mouthful that keeps you very interested in picking up the glass for more.

Little and often is probably the watch-word here, given the high ABV – take it as one for curling up with in your favourite arm-chair with a good book and plate of cheese by your side rather than a session beer, and you’ll be sure to enjoy.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

St Bernardus Abt 12

Yet again I have to thank Mr. Dave across the street for this fine tasting.  I also have to thank Erica at Maxwell PR for the chips!  Quite a night of tasting and a very good pairing. 

First with the beer… since this is a beer blog after all…

According to their website, St Bernardus Abt 12 is the pinacle of beer at the brewery.  A very interesting abbey ale… I doubt you could guess what it would taste like going in.  From what we could discern, this brew has complexity at all levels… nose, body, finish… complexity right out of the bottle, multiplied by the warming of temp.  To go along with our wonderful little brew, we paired it with some gouda and the chips mentioned below and both were very nice.  Overall, this beer has a big head, an ABV smell when cold, only slight belgian yeast characteristics, and a certain tanginess that you catch about half way through.  St Beranrdus has created a very approachable belgian abbey ale that pleases as it teases.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win (beer)

And the chips:

I have to admit… it is pretty cool to start getting chips in the mail now… beer is great, but food to go with it… priceless… although cheese samples would be wonderful as well.   Anyhow, Erica hooked us up with some Kettle Sweet Onion Potato Chips and I have to say… even if they weren’t free, these are some tasty chips.  Mr. Dave, Rachael, and I had downed half the bag in about 10 minutes and I had to sneak some into a ziplock to take to work to share with Po before they were completely obliterated.  They are mild and buttery with the onion more pronounced in the aftertaste than in the mouth, but really very good wiht the signature Kettle crunch.  I think the only downside to them is the fact that I surely wasn’t getting any that night due to what it did to my breath… but ditto the other way since my better half was feasting, as well.

**UPDATE** Oh Happy Chip Day #1: Kettle Brand Sweet Onion Potato Chips

DugPo Rating System©: For the Win (chips)

Leffe Blonde

Appropriately enough for a Sunday, this afternoon’s tipple is a perky little bottle of pale ale with a Belgian twist from the Abbey of Leffe,  who not surprisingly cash in on their medieval heritage with a stylish label that makes you think of ancient abbeys, whispering halls and rosy-cheeked monks, drunk as lords in the service of the Lord. Let’s see how close I can get to that vision with a couple bottles of this…

The beer they’ve come up with is a reasonble enough brew – a typical Belgian bouquet, a really nice golden colour and a fine, thick and frothy head greet you as you pour, and the brew’s got a reasonable amount of flavour, bite, and alcohol. But there’s something I can’t quite put my finger on that leaves me feeling a little bit cold – the beer tastes too clean, there’s no yeasty sediment in the bottle, there’s nothing really to mark this out as something special.

When you realise that it’s brewed ”on behalf” of the Abbey by the mighty multinational InBev, perhaps that’s what it is… this isn’t the quirky little beer that you might expect from a quick glance at the label. It’s the Belgian product of the world’s biggest brewer… huh. Nothing really bad about it, but there’s other Belgians out there you’d probably have a better time with. 

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road