Better Drinking

Duvel, or "devil" in Flemish, is one of the premier Belgian Strong Pale Ales available today. I picked up a one of the gift packs left over from Christmas (on sale of course), which included (4) 330ml bottles of beer, plus an excellent Duval glass.

A distinctive, stubby, dark brown bottle with a rather unadorned label which reads "Duvel", something about the year 1871, a little red dot with the ABV (8.5%) superimposed on it, and two notes about being bottle conditioned, and "pour unhurriedly". On the back is a 3-step instruction on how to pour, as well as the standard government boilerplate warning about beer causing birth defects in impaired ability truck drivers, or something like that.

Pours a brilliant, clear yellow, like a cheap lager. But even poured slowly, which I thought I was doing, a massive, thick, meringue head formed and nearly overflowed the glass, despite the fact that the bottle was only half empty. Took 10 minutes just to get all the beer in the glass.

The nose is a tart, flowery, spicy aroma, with a yeasty undertone. There is so much going on here it's hard to describe. Some fruit coming through, though what I cannot say with any accuracy.

Mouthfeel is crisp, light, and very carbonated.

Taste is, well...wow. What was just described as the aroma meets the palate, and then start working together in a symphony of flavors and aroma. A sharp, apple-like flavor comes in and is over taken by a yeasty layer, only to be replaced by a peppery spice that is sour at the same time. Extremely complex and difficult to describe.

There are still chunks, literally, of foam sitting on the surface of beer, despite the glass nearly being empty, and the entire glass is laced over from top to bottom.

This has to be the most complex beer I've ever had. Would not recommend it with food, as it really needs to be savored all on its own. Some will tell you that the 8.5% ABV will sneak up on you, but they must be lightweights; I feel fine.

Expensive? Absolutely. But do I recommend this? In the words of Napoleon Dynamite; "Heck yes!"

Labels: beer reviews

Todd Alstrom has written a great article on how to review a beer.

Check it out.

(Contains minor language)

There is a tendency to categorize the alcoholic beverage into its own "class" of material good, rather than simply another type of food and drink. This is especially true of Evangelical Christians. Reasons for this are legion, but I’m going to narrow it to two.

First off, alcohol is often the cause of many social ills and most would not want to be associated with such an instigator. However, the abuse of a thing is not the same as the use of a thing. The fact that alcoholic beverages do cause real pain and grief in people’s lives does not prohibit its Biblically lawful use, any more than gluttony should prohibit us from eating. Food and drink, all kinds, are held out to us as a good thing, to be received with thanksgiving, a testimony of God’s goodness to all creation. But rather than set the pace with a good example before the world, saints have shunned alcohol for fear of being associated with winebibbers and the resultant social problems associated with drunkenness have become epidemic. We should be leading the charge, rather than a retreat. If people of the Word, who have access to God’s specific instruction in all areas of life, do not teach by example, who will?

A second reason, related to the first, is a misunderstanding of the Christian’s use of the natural world. We read early on in Genesis that God created all things good and that man’s task was to take dominion (subdue, make it fruitful) of all things, for the purpose of displaying His glory. Man’s fall into sin hindered our duties, but did not take away our responsibility. In I Corinthians 3:21-22, Paul tells us that the world belongs to us, meaning that everything that God intends for the world through Christ (which is the salvation of men and the end of the power of sin) is ours for use. In other words, we are free to use all of creation so far as we obey Christ and His Law-Word, as He now reigns over all things as King.

To be sure, redemption is spiritual, as it impossible to bring about by human means, originates from God, and it is not "visible" in a way that can be quantified materially. But the material world is also being redeemed. Our spiritual life affects the whole man, not just something inside of us. Yet we think we’re more "spiritual" when we avoid alcohol or certain types of food. But as we’re reminded in I Corinthians 8:8, we are no better if we eat than if we don’t. In short, abstaining from alcohol does not make one more sanctified or holy. Sanctified drinking and eating is done with restraint and sobriety, not with abstinence.

And amidst all this, remember fermentation is a “natural” process that must be “unnaturally” suppressed under normal circumstances. The exercise of dominion is that power to control those processes to a specific end, namely the making of beer. The wild yeast in the Senne Valley (near Brussels, Belgium) may produce some exquisite lambics, but most of the time such organisms do not produce such consistency and must be tamed to bring about a certain result. Man’s obedience to the dominion mandate is seen very clearly in the production of beer. Check out this list of products from White Labs; each strain brings out a variety of flavor and aroma characteristics that would be impossible to produce without purposeful design. In the old days of beer making, brewers did not understand how yeast worked but knew that it did and called it “godisgood”. Today we know how yeast works and have made it do better things.

God is indeed good to us; let us not separate good things out from that which is declared good, but separate ourselves unto real righteousness as we drink unto the Maker.

I should emphasize at the beginning that this beer, to the best of my knowledge, is not available in GA. This bottle was picked up on our February trip to AZ.

The "alt" style originates in Germany in the city of Dusseldorf, and simply means "old". In this case, "old" is contrasted with the "newer" lagers Germany is mostly known for, as opposed to that aging bottle of Heineken in the back of your fridge which is truly old. An alt is a top fermenting ale in the same general category as an English brown ale, though the flavors are a bit more crisp.

My Uerige Sticke came in a beautiful 11.2 oz bottle with a re-sealable ceramic cap. Very ornate, only marred by the government warning label recommending that pregnant mothers and their children should not drink while driving heavy equipment. Must be a problem in Germany.

Pours a lovely brown, somewhat hazy, but much more transparent than a brown ale. The head was white, thin but dense.

The nose is a slightly bitter malt, perhaps some caramel.

Mouthfeel is smooth and creamy, an interesting mix of a moderately thick ale, with the cleanness of a lager. Much like a Kolsch, for those in the know.

Taste is malty, slightly roasted, faint hints of coffee and chocolate. Hops add good balance, preventing the sweetness from being dominant. Finishes clean and slightly dry. Leaves a pleasant aftertaste, reminding the drinker to finish the glass.

A fine example of an alt, but nothing to make a trip to Germany, or even AZ, over. At $4.45 per bottle, this will be a good memory of a good beer, but not a session brew.

Labels: beer reviews

We spent most of the day up at Lake Lanier, celebrating my oldest children's birthdays, both belated, Ashley's 16th and Seth's 13th. The weather was rather dreary until about 3pm, but in the company of some friends, it was nonetheless a pleasant event. And not a drop of alcohol was consumed.

Normally this kind of event brings out a bottle, as I consider the drinking of beer to be consistent with celebration, fellowship, and rejoicing. But occasionally there is none to be had. This is a good thing...which may be strange to say on a blog devoted to better drinking. Yet abstinence from a good thing is sometimes a good thing because it reminds us that good, in the eternally beneficial way, is not found in the temporal. Abstaining for the sake of joy; now there's a concept worth pondering. Of course, that means finding balance since enjoyment of anything is not found in unbridled consumption nor in total self-denial. It means knowing when "to", and when "not to". Today was "not to" and it was a fine day.

And it doesn't count that amongst the party favors we gave away, I gave beer to the men. The Sam Smiths were received with joy, but slight disappointment as they were not chilled.

I conclude with the "almost" since I did in fact have one of my brown ales (which is maturing more into a brown porter) with my dinner of sliced seasoned pork and swiss on toasted sourdough. What does that mean? Nothing. It was a good dinner and good near-conclusion to the day. A night cap of my new dunkelweizen will make it complete.

Taking the Bible at face value, one must contend with a great number of truths that God has communicated. One of the fundamentals can be summarized as, "Everything is theological". This is just another way of repeating Romans 14:23, which places all human activity within one of two realms, sinful against God, or faithful to God. For my purposes, given these statements, I say that beer is theological. What this means is that our drinking, our brewing, and our thoughts and words about beer ought to reflect the glory, grandeur, and goodness of the Creator.

In our current culture, "christianizing" something usually means to downgrade it in order to make it palatable, or turn it into something that it's not meant to be. We're not interested in doing that here. Beer should reflect God in it's creative and complex production, as well as in it's joyful consumption. Drunkenness is exactly a sin because it causes us to forget that God requires obedience to His Word, and tells the lie that the created thing can fill a void made by and for the Creator alone. In other words, being drunk dishonors God and the creation which reflects His name. But when imbibing correctly, God's name is held up in honor, His law is obeyed, and His glory is put on display for us to see.

And we still get good beer, which is really only a fleeting by-product in all of this. So stick around and while enjoying the temporary, perhaps He will grant a glimpse of the Eternal.

Well, maybe not that recent but check out these beers:

Mississippi Mud - a black and tan from NY (southern beer brewed in Yankee-land?). Dark, but easy drinking. A decent beer that even "light" beer drinkers can stomach.

Yeti Imperial Stout - a big stout that is not as good as Sam Smith's Imperial, but better overall than Old Rasputin. Malty, hoppy, thick, and tasty.

Terrapin's Shake-n-Bake Imperial Oatmeal Stout - whoa...a big oatmeal stout brewed with coffee. Extremely tasty, consistent with the style but a little too thin for an imperial. Available only on tap, but worth a pint.

That's it for now...

Makarios will be doing most of the posting after this one so check back often for tasting information, reveiws, and general chicanery...