Better Drinking

I did a review earlier this year of the Monk's Cafe, and recently have been sampling a few of that style. What follows are brief reviews of two more from the same brewery, Brouwerij Verhaeghe, in Belgium.



Verhaeghe Echt Kriekbier

Pours a clear red, a quickly dissipating head, leaving only wispy lacing that does not stick. The nose is a fruity, lactic sourness. Mouthfeel is relatively thin and moderately carbonated. Taste is rather funky and fruity, sour and slightly alcoholic. The beer is flavored with cherries, which gives it a rather medicinial flavor to the overall taste.









Vichtenaar

Pours a redish brown, darker than the Kriek, and generated no head or lacing at all. The nose was similar, except the fruit and funk is balanced by a woody aroma not present in the Kriek. The mouthfeel was a bit fuller and reasonably carbonated, which surprised me since it poured so "flat". The taste was similar to the Kriek with it's fruity sourness, but was sweeter and not medicinal. The wood aroma comes though on the tongue, which seems to cut through the whole beer, making it smoother and almost wine-like.

Overall, both very interesting, though not what I would call session beers. Refreshing and crisp, these beers are not for everyone. But learn to appreciate all styles of beer, so don't be afraid to give one of these a shot.

Labels: beer reviews

I bought this beer at the same time as the Dupont Saison and finally got around to drinking it. I have come to appreciate this style of beer, though too late this year for the appropriate season. That is the traditionalist side of me; drink the right beer in the right season, with the right meal, and so on. However, there is also that "buck the system" side of me that says drink beer in whatever season you want to, and don't sweat the formalities. There is merit in both, and since I drink stouts in the summer, I can certainly drink saisons in the fall.

As I did not mention in the aforementioned review, the saison is a Belgian farmhouse ale, brewed in the winter, consumed in the summer. It is meant to be "sturdy", meaning full-flavored, complex, and capable of refreshing the spirit without being simplistic or dull. A picnic brew if you will. It can be higher gravity (over 8% ABV), but oftentimes runs in what I call the normal range, 5-7% ABV. OK, enough of that.

The Fantome pours a hazy golden, effervescent, with a frothy white head. A nice lace is produced as the glass is drained, and on the second pour (I was drinking a 750ml bottle), sediment from the bottom of the bottle adds to the haze.

The nose is a rather subdued peppery aroma, mixed with the sweetness of a Belgian. There is vague notion of sourness, though it is obvious there is a high level of complexity here.

Mouthfeel is medium-thin to medium; smooth, not slick, and well-balanced with carbonation. This just screams for warmer weather and outdoor drinking under the sun.

Taste is very reminiscent of the nose; a very smooth malt sweetness, sprinkled with a peppery spiciness, while a tinge of sourness floats in the background. There is also a kind of flat or sour floral flavor that must be the hops, intentionally low profile in a beer like this. The flavor from taste to swallow is very consistent throughout. No surprises here. The 8% ABV is mostly absent from taste, though it makes itself known about halfway through the bottle very quietly. A nap would have been nice, but my notes would have been incomplete.

Overall a great beer, and better than the Dupont in this reviewer's opinion. And while I certainly recommend this beer, for a price accessible saison more as a session beer, try Ommegang's Hennepin, a great representation of what American brewers can achieve through patience and skill.

Drink better and certainly drink good saisons!!

Labels: beer reviews

Lion Stout comes with a serious pedigree - it's recommended and endorsed by Michael Jackson, the Beer Hunter. The exact relationship between Jackson and the Ceylon Brewing Company is not known to me, though the web has some interesting articles about this beer. My own wonderings are primarily limited to why he would endorse a beer from Sri Lanka, rather than his home country of England. But, does it really matter? Aren't you just interested in whether this is good beer or not? Indeed, good questions. But less geeking and more drinking...

One line I did really appreciate from Jackson was this one:

"Tea was not enough to quench the thirst of the Scottish tea-planters, who established what became the Ceylon Brewery Ltd., possibly as early as 1860 (it was certainly in operation by 1881)."

Leave it to my Scottish kinsman...

The Lion pours jet black with a generous tan head, which slowly dissipates into a nice lacing that sticks to the glass throughout the session. As the glass drains, the blackness seems to fade into a dark brown, still beautiful to behold.

The nose is an interesting mix of fruity malt, vague notions of chocolate, and an extremely vague notion of smokiness, all blended nicely to suggest something complex. As it warms, a subtle wood aroma develops but this is not as noticeable as the sweet malt profile that grows with temperature increases.

The mouthfeel is nicely full without being chewy. Creamy, smooth, and not overly carbonated. I would say right on target for a stout.

Taste is dominated by a sweet malt fullness, complemented by a mix of chocolate, prunes, and coffee. There is just a slight tinge of bitterness, maybe sourness. But only "just". Taste is primarily the same from beginning to end, from first touch of the tongue through the swallow. Not overly complex, but straight-forward without being simplistic. This is a very nice sweet stout, well-balanced and delicious. There is an 8% ABV attached to this beer, which one feels mid-beer and afterwards, but well hidden in the taste. Warmth enhances these flavors somewhat, but I drained my glass rather quickly so there wasn't much time to full appreciate it. Maybe next time, I'll have two in a row.

Lovers of sweet stouts should enjoy this one. Reasonably priced, this is available lots of places. Keep some on-hand for all occasions.

Labels: beer reviews