De Dolle Dulle Teve

Dulle Teve… never heard of it, but Mr. Dave thought it would be good and so he picked it up the other day… comes from De Dolle Brouwers in Belgium.

I am as fond of a solid Tripel as the next guy and wow… this one hits you hard.  First whiff is super strong Belgian… you get the yeast, the malts… in your face big time.  The great thing about this beer is that whiff carries right on through to the taste, the finish, and on ’till morning.  It has a bit of a smooth, nutty flavor/texture to it that was pleasing.  The finish had citrus undertones.  10% ABV…

Overall, Mr. Dave gives it a Will Buy Again, but I run this blog and I give it a little bit more of a standard rating as nothing really stands out.

JBB6 Rating: Middle of the Road

Allagash 2009 Confluence Ale

Two Middle of the Roads for Allagash in the past on this here little blog, but Allagash 2009 Confluence Ale has turned the streak for them.  This is a pretty complex ale, featuring 2 types of yeast, 3 types of malts, 3 types of hops, and 2 different aging cycles (stainless tanks and bottle).  Overall, though, this complex and lengthy process produces exactly what they were going for… an ale that blends water, yeast, malt, and hop perfectly to create super smooth, sweet citrus and spice ale that is easy to drink yet nice and complex. 

The bright white head leads to aromas of citrus and a body that is smooth and soft and comes across like a nice mild trippel.  A light sweet and bitter finish leaves you refreshed and ready for more.  Overall a great brew that I would recommend any day.

JBB6 Rating: For The Win

Piraat Ale

Avast there, me hearties! There’s another drop of Belgian goodness passing my way, and boy is this one a winner… Piraat hails from the Brouwerij van Steenberge in what must be the fine town of Ertvelde – lucky, lucky people who live there, for every day they have on their doorstep fine beers like this.

Poured from a woefully small stubby bottle into the glass, Piraat delivers a fine head that fades away much more quickly than you’d expect, a hazy golden body and an entirely enticing aroma of yeasty bread and fresh citrus fruits gets things off to a good start. First sip – nectar. A sweet malt undercurrent supports the typically Belgian yeast and coriander spiciness, with a healthy helping of hops to give it that final bitter twist. Check out the website for a tartly amusing description of why it’s called Piraat, and why it’s so strong, too.

So: smells good, tastes good, and probably does you good. This is one Piraat you’d do well to welcome aboard.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

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

Stone Cali-Belgique IPA

Had another solid round of tasting at the neighbors house the other day.  First on the list happened to be a new little number from Stone… Stone Cali-Belgique IPA.  This one looked really interesting when I picked it up at Top Foods the other day and it didn’t sit in the fridge long before it was opened.  Just as described on the bottle, this one lives up to exactly what the folks at Stone say… a solid IPA with Belgian yeast creating a yeasty/hoppy mixture that really pleases the pallate.  The yeasty yet hoppy mix lasts nearly through the entire tasting experience, save the finish… the nose is yeasty/hoppy, the body is yeasty/hoppy, but the finish… the finish just leaves you with a nice, hoppy, bitter finish… sans yeasty.  Overall the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy and with a nice fruity, hoppy finish, this beer is great for session or tasting.  Oh… and $6.99 for 6.9% ABV isn’t bad for this unique brew.

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Delirium Nocturnum

You know this beer. You might not have drunk it yet, but you know you know it. You’ve seen it in the beer aisle in your local supermarket, the big creamy bottle with the wobbly pink elephant on the label. And if you’re like me, you’ve been kind of put off by that label – you’re a normal beer dude, right? you’re not going to fall for something as cheap as marketing – so you’ve always avoided it, ‘cos $10+ for some beer isn’t a spur of the moment thing. If that’s so, well then, this review is for you… for I took the plunge, and brought one of these big Belgian beauties home today.

I guess I already gave the game away with “beauty”, huh? Let’s get it out the way – this is good beer. Pour gently from the bottle to release a chestnut brew with a thick tan head and a vinous nose that keeps things ticking along as you enjoy your drink. That head takes some settling down, but eventually you can fight your way through the bubbles to find a thick, sweet and malty beer that’s begging for you to love it. Those unique Belgian yeasts have worked their magic to bring you something pretty special, and you can almost chew your way through the raisins, prunes and sweet sultry goodness that make up this pint. Relaxing in front of the fire on a chilly Christmas Day with the snow falling outside and the wonderful Tarzan collection on DVD, I can’t think of many beers I’d rather have than this one.

Good stuff indeed, and a triumph of the brewer’s art over my aversion for that of the marketeer. Finally – you really do need to check out Brouwerij Hughe’s web site. A fabulous slice of 90’s web design, an interesting read on the history of the brewery and the brews they make, and as fine a collection of beer bottle labels as you could hope to see. Enjoy!

JBB6 Rating: For the Win

The Lost Abbey Inferno Ale

The Lost Abbey Inferno Ale

The name of this beer stands alone as the introduction to this post and while I start to write, I feel a sense of internal conflict.  This is a wonderful beer… outstanding, IMO.  Maybe even one for the Hall of Fame if I can talk Po into it… but this beer did bad things to me… it lived up to its back label and it sent me to a form of hell that took me a really long time to get out of… ~1:00pm today, in fact and I started this bottle at 3:00pm yesterday. 

I happened upon this ale quite luckily… a good person over at Malt & Vine just happened to allow me the honor of having a single bottle from the single case that he was able to get.  I am grateful to him for this… he has my gratitude, as always, for running a fine establishment and treating people good.  Thanks Doug!

So… the beer.  As shown, it pours a beautiful golden yellow orange color with a substantial head and a cloudy body.  The smell is good… very belgian, you can smell the yeast.  I swear I picked up some citrus and coriander in there, too, but that could just be me.  The taste is near perfection.  An outstanding belgian that you can just simply tell has had a ton of love and care.  Not too strong, but the stength is there and is smoothed out by the finish… a very complex finish that simply begs you to experience it over and over.

I tell you… this was the first of about 4 last night and is probably my favorite.  It did take me into the bowels of hell… the label freaked me out a bit, as well, but I am back now and definitely very fond of this beer.

On a side note, the artwork on the front is amazing.  They don’t have anything on their site about this one yet, but their blog does have this to mention from Friday, May 9th:

‘Perhaps  the coolest thing we accomplished last weekend was the release of Inferno Ale.  I have been dying (not literally) to get this beer (and more importantly) the label done.  This has to be one of the most detailed pieces of label art out there.  It’s too bad that Seans painting skills get shrunk to such a small scale.  It definitely will be one of the coolest shirts we have when it’s all said and done.”

JBB6 Rating: For the Win (Pending Hall of Fame)

Lucifer Belgian Golden Ale

Not quite as devilish as one would hope for, but the first mouthful of Brouwerij Riva’s Lucifer has a spicy kick that catches at the back of your throat and lets you know this is one decent bottle of beer. In the glass it’s a vivacious little thing, a dirty blonde ale with a whallop of carbonation from the secondary fermentation that really tickles at first but soon settles down as you work your way through it.

Winner of a World Beer Cup Gold in 2004, it’s pretty yeasty on the nose (in a good way) and served very cold it manages to hide some of the high ABV so the alcohol doesn’t overpower the light notes of fruit (apples?) and a certain spicy hoppiness that gets stronger as it warms up. Refreshing and strong, it’s a good combination and one I’ll be back to in the future.

Of coruse, the obvious question is “how does this stack up against Duvel?” – and right now, I really don’t have an answer. I like them both, but in different ways… perhaps that’s another idea for a comparative tasting

JBB6 Rating: Will Buy Again

Kasteel Rouge

Oh man.  What a beer for the cul-de-sac tonight.  Kasteel Rouge made it to my fridge after my last Malt & Vine trip where I asked for something good and cherry.  I don’t know why, but ever since the Sam Adams Cherry Wheat, I have been jonesing for another good cherry beer.  Well, my friends, look no further.

Kasteel Rouge has a long legacy of cherriness.  A Belgian beer that has stood the test of time by carefully infusing this prime brown ale with cherries.  See below for their explanation:

Castle Red is the fruit beer of the Castle range.
Its unique dark red colour is obtained by mixing Castle brown that has been left to mature for at least 6 months with sour cherries.
This beer has gastronomic qualities and can be drunk as an aperitif, with a BBQ, to accompany a dessert or simply as an outstanding real ale.

I opened this for some new guests tonight and we all quickly agreed that it smelled good, looked good, and tasted good.  You could definitely smell the cherries as you poured, leaving a 1/2 inch head at the top of the glass.  The beer is a dark red color, amber to ruby in nature.  The taste is pure and simple cherry.  It isn’t trying to hide the fact that it has cherry in it… oh no, it announces it with flair and pizazz and a bullhorn.  The good thing about it, though, is that it is finely intertwined.  It is not a syrup, it is not too strong on the Belgian aspect.  It is purely good, clean, refreshing ale that will really be enjoyable this summer.  At 8% ABV, it isn’t too light on that aspect either!

Oh… and their website… old school interesting.  Worth a peruse, for sure.

JBB6 Rating: For the Win