What's an Alehouse without beer?
I have two to talk about this week,the first one being La Chouffe, a golden ale from Belgium's Brasserie d'Achouffe.
Please understand, there are a lot of Belgian ales I don't particularly care for. Due to their unique fermenting process, they give off aromas most homebrewers would would associate with infection. Those aromas also carry over to taste, and I don't much care for sour beer. Lots of people do, I'm just not one of them.
I've had this bottle for at least a year, so I figured it was time to pop it and see what we had. Interestingly, there was no cork, just a standard bottle cap. Aroma? The usual sourness, but I have learned that this doesn't always carry over to taste, so I broke out my tulip glass and gave it a pour. Nice, clean beer, bright straw color. Thick, creamy head. Please note, the tulip glass is not appropriate to style, but I always use one when trying a new beer. Many good beers now actually tell you what glass to use on the label. How cool is that?
Tasted good. No sourness to speak of, some nice hints of spice and fruit. Not going to drink the lees, as I have to be mindful of the demon gout.
I'm sure the age had mellowed it somewhat, but this is on my "buy again" list.
The next beer will be from the AleSmith Brewing Company, but I haven't decided which one it will be. Off the top of my head, I have a Grand Cru, Barleywine, and Belgian Style on hand. I'll ring in the New Year with one of these. Seeing as I don't like suprises, I'll probably go with the Barleywine, Old Numbskull (named after me? I think not!).
If you haven't tried AleSmith, you're missing out. It's one of the best breweries in America, if not the world.
Monday, December 31, 2007
This Weeks Beer
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4 comments:
Belgians have always been my favorite, including some of lambics. But mostly I prefer the sweet, malty dubbels and tripels. My staples are Chimay (blue), the various Belgian-styled beers by Unibroue, a few from Huyghe, Duvel, and Ommegang (all due to their normal availability.) However, I've recently discovered the Avery Brewing company with which I am significantly impressed. The only Avery beer I've had thus far is "The Reverend", which honestly kicked my ass... and my tastebuds' ass.
Avery rocks! I've had Reverend, as well as Maharaja and Kaiser (spent a week in Denver last spring).
I have an Ommegang in the fridge, but haven't tried it yet.
I like to let them sit a few months, when appropriate.
That's probably my favorite thing about a lot of Belgian ales: they age well. I've had 2 and 3 year old bottles that were quite perfect. I think my buddy still has a 4 year old bottle of Lazy Badger (the only one in existence, I might add... cuz we brewed it) that we'll break open sometime in the next few years.
Dang, as for-real beer geek.
You should check out Hopland (link on the main page). Lots of homebrewers and beer geeks there.
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