Hi there,
It's been a while since my last post here. Apparently winter is at it's end, spring is coming, and I've been suffering a nasty flew, as I seem to be having the last 10 years around this period of the year :( But I think (hope) I'm over it, and feeling better again. So the last few weeks my head wasn't really "beer-minded" to be honest, hence the lack of posts here. Now, feeling better again, it's time to get back on track :)
Two weeks ago, we had our first "open" beer tasting at Bier Central. Anyone interested could join the tasting at a very reasonable price of €12,5 per person. The tasting was lead by Hans Bombeke, president of the ABC (Antwerps Bier College). Hans is a real beer expert and has been giving workshops about beer for many years. He is also a full-time teacher in beer-science, and though he doesn't admit it: he knows about everything "beer", especially Belgian beers.
We started around 8:30 pm and took around 2 hours. During those 2 hours the approx. 25 participants got tons of information about beer/tasting beer, and eventually tasted 6 beers covering a wide range of Belgian beer-styles.
The tasting started of with a hefty intro, giving us everything needed to enjoy a good tasting. During that intro we first got a ton of information about "beer" itself. It's ingredients, it's elements and everything needed to taste beer the right way. During this intro we got to drink a "De Koninck", or "bolleke" as it called here in Antwerp.
A bolleke has never been one of my favorites, but with all the information we got and the positive atmosphere, I have to admit that for the first time I actually liked it (and I was actually feeling sick that day).
As it was the first tasting, we got served a wide variety of beer-styles. Future tastings will focus on specific beer-categories, in which we will taste different beers from a specific beer-style. Now, we got to taste 6 beers all from different categories.
After the De Koninck we got a "3 Fonteinen Oude Gueuze". Allthough I liked this one very much, I noticed that several people didn't share that same feeling, which surprised me a bit. In hindsight this is of course a bit normal. Gueuze is a special and very typical Belgian beer-style, not known to the masses. You would probably have the same when you would do a cheese-tasting and started off with a bleu Rocquefort (while having never tasted different kinds of cheese). It's too much of the good, too soon. One's taste has to grow towards more complex tastes before being able to appreciate all the aromas.
The third beer was yet again a very typical Belgian style beer: a Rodenbach, an Old Flemish Red style beer. Rodenbach is a sweet-sour dark beer, with it's roots in the West-Flanders.
The fourth beer was another typical Belgian style which is most famous around the world: a trappist beer. For the occasion we got to taste a La Trappe Quadruple, a very strong, rather sweet amber-dark trappist, which was liked by many of the participants.
The next beer was yet again of a complete different style called a "Saison". The Saison Dupont was a very nice surprise for me, as I never tasted a saison before. Bitter-sweet and very easy drinking. I can imagine that this kind of beer is super during the summer.
Our sixth and last beer was a XX Bitter. As the name already reveals, this is a very hoppy and bitter-tasting beer. I was a bit reluctant to taste this, as very bitter is not my thing. But much to my surprise I actually liked it a lot, and is certainly a beer I will drink again!
This first beer-tasting sure proved to be a success and I'm looking forward to the next tasting on March, 3rd, where we will delve further in a specific category to explore more beers. Again, this coming tasting is open to anybody interested. Just mail me, or info@biercentral.be to reserve your place. Hope I will meet you there!
Greetingz,
Koen.
Showing posts with label tastings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tastings. Show all posts
Friday, February 18, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Beer Review #3: La Trappe Tripel
The La Trappe Tripel is brewed by Beer Brewery de Koningshoeven, the only Trappist brewery in The Netherlands. All beers are brewed in collaboration with the monks of the O.L.V. Koningshoeven Abbey. This monastery was founded in 1880 and is compared to the other trappist monasteries, relatively young. It was founded in The Netherlands after moving from France, where they were worried about the fate of the monks.
There are actually quite a few La Trappe beers: Blond, Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel, Witte Trappist, Bockbier, Isid'or, Oak Aged, PUUR and Real Trappist. Here at Bier Central we offer the first 4, and the Tripel is the first one I'll describe.
The La Trappe Tripel has an ABV of 8% (alcohol), and has a golden to light amber color. The firm white foamhead disappears quite fast, allthough there remains a very thin layer that stays on top of the liquid.
The smell is quite fruity and reveils the coriander, which definitely gives it a spicy character. The beer is well carbonated, but I found it to disappear quite fast, and made the it a bit flat if you don't drink it fast enough. I like my beers well carbonated.
The mouthfeel was well present, which wasn't the case for the aftertaste. It's taste reminded me of something roasted and also made me think about caramel. Bitter-sweet I'd say.
Allthough this is definitely not a bad beer, it's not one of my favorites, especially if you compare it to their Quadruple, which I like much more.
Don't try to compare it with the Westmalle Tripel, it's a complete different tripel, it would be like comparing apples to oranges. Where the Westmalle stands out in it's bitterness, the La Trappe Tripel is way more fruitier and sweeter.
My rating ... 6 out of 10.
There are actually quite a few La Trappe beers: Blond, Dubbel, Tripel, Quadrupel, Witte Trappist, Bockbier, Isid'or, Oak Aged, PUUR and Real Trappist. Here at Bier Central we offer the first 4, and the Tripel is the first one I'll describe.
The smell is quite fruity and reveils the coriander, which definitely gives it a spicy character. The beer is well carbonated, but I found it to disappear quite fast, and made the it a bit flat if you don't drink it fast enough. I like my beers well carbonated.
The mouthfeel was well present, which wasn't the case for the aftertaste. It's taste reminded me of something roasted and also made me think about caramel. Bitter-sweet I'd say.
Allthough this is definitely not a bad beer, it's not one of my favorites, especially if you compare it to their Quadruple, which I like much more.
Don't try to compare it with the Westmalle Tripel, it's a complete different tripel, it would be like comparing apples to oranges. Where the Westmalle stands out in it's bitterness, the La Trappe Tripel is way more fruitier and sweeter.
My rating ... 6 out of 10.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Beer Review #2: Achel Blond
The Achel Blond is, just as the Westmalle Tripel, a beer of one of the 7 trappist monestaries in the world. Achel Blond is brewed by the Saint-Benedictus Abbey "De Achelse Kluis", situated in the small town of Achel (B), near the Dutch border.
Just like most of the other trappist monestaries, it's roots go way back, back to 1656 to be exact. Since that time the "Achelse Kluis" is a center of prayer, spirituality and christian culture.
The Achel Blond is a tripel beer, with re-fermentation in the bottle, and has an ABV of 8% (alcohol), slightly less than the Westmalle Tripel.
The Achel Blond is again just as the Westmalle Tripel clear and yellow-gold of color, but slightly darker than the Westmalle Tripel. The foam-head is white and big, and lasts for a decent time. It is a bit more carbonated than the Westmalle, which you can see more clearly.
Just as the Westmalle it's smell reveals hop, but again a little explicit as the Westmalle. Mouthfeel is a bit lame, but the aftertaste is all about hop and bitterness.
In many ways you could say the Achel Blond is a slightly softer version of the Westmalle Tripel.
A very nice beer, which I surely will drink again, but personally I prefer the Westmalle Tripel, which is a bit more pronounced in all it's aspects.
My rating: 7 out of 10.
Just like most of the other trappist monestaries, it's roots go way back, back to 1656 to be exact. Since that time the "Achelse Kluis" is a center of prayer, spirituality and christian culture.
The Achel Blond is again just as the Westmalle Tripel clear and yellow-gold of color, but slightly darker than the Westmalle Tripel. The foam-head is white and big, and lasts for a decent time. It is a bit more carbonated than the Westmalle, which you can see more clearly.
Just as the Westmalle it's smell reveals hop, but again a little explicit as the Westmalle. Mouthfeel is a bit lame, but the aftertaste is all about hop and bitterness.
In many ways you could say the Achel Blond is a slightly softer version of the Westmalle Tripel.
A very nice beer, which I surely will drink again, but personally I prefer the Westmalle Tripel, which is a bit more pronounced in all it's aspects.
My rating: 7 out of 10.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Beer Review #1: Westmalle Tripel
In my previous post I showed you my first batch of beers I'm about to taste ... tonight I tasted my 2 first beers. I started with the Westmalle Tripel. Not actually the best choice as it is a very strong beer in it's taste and overwhelms other tastes. Using this as the first beer is risky, cause it's taste might stick and influence the taste of the next beer. But since I consider Westmalle Tripel as a reference beer, I thought it to be a good starter.
Westmalle Tripel is brewed by the Monastery of Trappists of Westmalle. The history of this monastry goes way back, back to April 22nd, 1836 to be exact. One constant in it's long history is that over the years they kept on investing in their manufacturing plant with only one aim: better quality of their Trappist beers. Better quality is truly the "leitmotiv" through the history of the brewery.
And it shows (or tastes in this case). The Westmalle Tripel is a true example of a high quality Trappist beer that has had this high standard for many years.
No need to mention that the Westmalle Tripel is categorized as a Trappist beer. Trappist beers are beers brewed by or under control of Trappist monks. To learn more about what exactly defines a Trappist beer (or Trappist monastery), check the International Trappist Association website.
The Westmalle Tripel is as a true Tripel should be, quite strong in alcohol. With 9,5% ABV this beer has a strong punch. If you plan to drink Westmalle Tripels for a whole night, beware! Believe me, I've seen very tough guys, who really can handle a lot of alcohol, go completely wasted after 5 or 6 of these. Personally I think this has not only to do with the alcohol percentage, but also because of the density of the beer. Trappist beers seem to be more dense than other beers, and as we say here in the Flanders: "die blijven aan de ribben plakken" (literally translated "they stick to the ribs", meaning they are stronger than what you're used to).
When pouring in the beer, you notice that besides the golden yellow clear color, you get a firm, white foamhead, which lasts for a decent time. The smell reveals a lot of hop. I noticed some "glue"-like scent. I recall that this smell is due to a particular sort of hop, but I can't recall which one (I'll ask my mentor one of these days). I also noticed some vanilla-aromas. Be sure when you first taste this trappist, not to pour everything into your glass. The bottom of the bottle holds a lot of yeast. If you add this to your glass the beer might get a bit cloudy and adds an extra punch of bitterness. It is also said that this last bit of beer holds a lot of vitamine E.
When tasting, I found the mouth-feel a bit disappointing, but the taste in the back of the mouth is quite the opposite and overwhelming. A strong bitter taste that lasts very long. Bitterness is the keyword for this beer.
The Westmalle Tripel is definitely one of my favorites, a beer I like to drink on a regular basis, and which is, here in Belgium, easily available in many stores.
Allthough there are numerous beers that have a more pronounced bitter taste, for me the Westmalle Tripel is about as high as bitterness of a beer should go. More bitterness would probably be too much. For me, the Westmalle Tripel is, as far as bitterness goes, the perfect match.
If you like bitterness and hoppiness, and you want to get to know what a trappist (tripel) beer tastes like, this is definitely THE beer to start with!
My rating: 8 out of 10.
And it shows (or tastes in this case). The Westmalle Tripel is a true example of a high quality Trappist beer that has had this high standard for many years.
No need to mention that the Westmalle Tripel is categorized as a Trappist beer. Trappist beers are beers brewed by or under control of Trappist monks. To learn more about what exactly defines a Trappist beer (or Trappist monastery), check the International Trappist Association website.
The Westmalle Tripel is as a true Tripel should be, quite strong in alcohol. With 9,5% ABV this beer has a strong punch. If you plan to drink Westmalle Tripels for a whole night, beware! Believe me, I've seen very tough guys, who really can handle a lot of alcohol, go completely wasted after 5 or 6 of these. Personally I think this has not only to do with the alcohol percentage, but also because of the density of the beer. Trappist beers seem to be more dense than other beers, and as we say here in the Flanders: "die blijven aan de ribben plakken" (literally translated "they stick to the ribs", meaning they are stronger than what you're used to).
When tasting, I found the mouth-feel a bit disappointing, but the taste in the back of the mouth is quite the opposite and overwhelming. A strong bitter taste that lasts very long. Bitterness is the keyword for this beer.
The Westmalle Tripel is definitely one of my favorites, a beer I like to drink on a regular basis, and which is, here in Belgium, easily available in many stores.
Allthough there are numerous beers that have a more pronounced bitter taste, for me the Westmalle Tripel is about as high as bitterness of a beer should go. More bitterness would probably be too much. For me, the Westmalle Tripel is, as far as bitterness goes, the perfect match.
If you like bitterness and hoppiness, and you want to get to know what a trappist (tripel) beer tastes like, this is definitely THE beer to start with!
My rating: 8 out of 10.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Tasting Notes ... the format ...
Hi there,
I'm about to start tasting all our beers listed in the "Bier Encyclopedie". I just need to bring the first batch of beers home and start doing "the hard work" ;) ... if all goes well and I don't feel sick tomorrow (today was/is horrible ... some kind of nasty flew), I'll go and pick up the first beers and all the glasses that go along with it.
But what exactly will I describe/write about each beer? Again, I consider myself a beginner when it comes to tasting beer. Sure, I can tell if I like a beer or not, but what does that help you? Your taste is probably completely different than mine, and what I like, you might dislike (or vice versa). And the goal after all is to have a collection of tasting notes that helps you and me make better choices when selecting beers.
So what things will I write down? For each beer I will first start to write down some very objective criteria: name, brewery, category, ABV, and a picture. Next come the tasting notes themselves: the aroma/smell, color and density of the foamhead, color and brightness of the beer, first impressions of tastes and the after-taste.
After that I'll try to list some other beers that can be compared to the beer tasted, and where possible maybe add some background information about the beer, it's history or other trivia. And I'll also try to give each beer a rating from 1 to 10.
This is of course an initial set-up, and as my tastings evolve there might be some changes, but at least it's a start.
If you have any suggestions/comments, please feel free to let me know, using the comments below!
Greetingz,
Koen.
I'm about to start tasting all our beers listed in the "Bier Encyclopedie". I just need to bring the first batch of beers home and start doing "the hard work" ;) ... if all goes well and I don't feel sick tomorrow (today was/is horrible ... some kind of nasty flew), I'll go and pick up the first beers and all the glasses that go along with it.
But what exactly will I describe/write about each beer? Again, I consider myself a beginner when it comes to tasting beer. Sure, I can tell if I like a beer or not, but what does that help you? Your taste is probably completely different than mine, and what I like, you might dislike (or vice versa). And the goal after all is to have a collection of tasting notes that helps you and me make better choices when selecting beers.
So what things will I write down? For each beer I will first start to write down some very objective criteria: name, brewery, category, ABV, and a picture. Next come the tasting notes themselves: the aroma/smell, color and density of the foamhead, color and brightness of the beer, first impressions of tastes and the after-taste.
After that I'll try to list some other beers that can be compared to the beer tasted, and where possible maybe add some background information about the beer, it's history or other trivia. And I'll also try to give each beer a rating from 1 to 10.
This is of course an initial set-up, and as my tastings evolve there might be some changes, but at least it's a start.
If you have any suggestions/comments, please feel free to let me know, using the comments below!
Greetingz,
Koen.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Bier Central beer reviews ... we have a plan!
Hi there everyone!
First of all, I wish everyone a very happy new year!! May you all get what you wish for, and a little more (of the good things)!!
I hope everybody enjoyed the new years'eve parties, we sure did!
Remember one of my earlier posts, in which I pointed out my new years resolution for 2011? In that post I said I wanted to taste (and describe) every beer we offer in Bier Central. All those beers are described in the "Bier Central Bier Encyclopedie".
The "Bier Encyclopedie" is our 86-page beer-menu that every visitor to our pub uses to make his choice of drink. Customers can also buy our "Bier Encyclopedie" for a very reasonable price, if they want to have a thorough look at it at home.
By now, we're already 4 days in the new year, and it's time to get started. But tasting 300+ beers is not an easy task :) ... Where do I start and how do I continue to bring it to a good ending? Honestly I was a bit confused and overwhelmed. Should I taste beers per category, or should I taste several types of beers of each style per tasting-session? How much beers should I taste per session? Where, and when should I taste them? It all seems very easy, but I promised myself to do it thorough, and as objective as possible.
This morning I had a quick chat with one of our beer-experts, Hans Bombeke, president of the "Antwerps BierCollege" (Antwerp Beer College). Hans gives us (the Bier Central staff) regular updates/workshops about beer and everything that comes with it. Presenting him the question in what order I should taste beers, he advised me to keep it simple, and just start tasting from page 1 to 86, in that order, so that you, the reader, can easily follow each tasting, using the "Bier Encyclopedie" (if you have it of course :).
Luckily our "Bier Encyclopedie" is already categorized, and is not an alfabethical list of all our beers.
A short recap of the categories, listed in the order as printed in the "Bier Encyclopedie":
So, using the list above, I should start with the beers on tap ... However, I will not :) ... As I want to start my tastings at home (as the tastings evolve, I will do them at the pub in the future), I have to start with bottled beers. So my first category will be the beers bottled in 75cl bottles.
As I've already learned the hard way, you should limit the number of different beers per tasting, and thus I can not taste one category in one tasting (20 beers is just too much :). So I will take one page per tasting max (each page has a maximum of 6 beers, some have less). One tasting per week, 50 weeks in the coming year ... that is about 300 beers ... It's gonna be tight, but we sure will try :).
Ok, we have a plan ... what's the next step? The first tasting!
Let's have a look at the first category: large bottles.
We have 20 different beers listed in that category. Wherever possible I will taste from a small bottle, rather than a big bottle, it's simply no use to drink 75cl of each beer to taste it. Taking the first page of that category, we see the following beers:
These will be the first beers in my "Bier Central beer reviews"!
Stay tuned to read the first tastings in the coming days!
Greetingz,
Koen.
First of all, I wish everyone a very happy new year!! May you all get what you wish for, and a little more (of the good things)!!
I hope everybody enjoyed the new years'eve parties, we sure did!
Remember one of my earlier posts, in which I pointed out my new years resolution for 2011? In that post I said I wanted to taste (and describe) every beer we offer in Bier Central. All those beers are described in the "Bier Central Bier Encyclopedie".
The "Bier Encyclopedie" is our 86-page beer-menu that every visitor to our pub uses to make his choice of drink. Customers can also buy our "Bier Encyclopedie" for a very reasonable price, if they want to have a thorough look at it at home.
By now, we're already 4 days in the new year, and it's time to get started. But tasting 300+ beers is not an easy task :) ... Where do I start and how do I continue to bring it to a good ending? Honestly I was a bit confused and overwhelmed. Should I taste beers per category, or should I taste several types of beers of each style per tasting-session? How much beers should I taste per session? Where, and when should I taste them? It all seems very easy, but I promised myself to do it thorough, and as objective as possible.
This morning I had a quick chat with one of our beer-experts, Hans Bombeke, president of the "Antwerps BierCollege" (Antwerp Beer College). Hans gives us (the Bier Central staff) regular updates/workshops about beer and everything that comes with it. Presenting him the question in what order I should taste beers, he advised me to keep it simple, and just start tasting from page 1 to 86, in that order, so that you, the reader, can easily follow each tasting, using the "Bier Encyclopedie" (if you have it of course :).
Luckily our "Bier Encyclopedie" is already categorized, and is not an alfabethical list of all our beers.
A short recap of the categories, listed in the order as printed in the "Bier Encyclopedie":
- Beers on tap (20)
- Large bottles (26)
- Trappist beers (20)
- Abbey beers (54)
- Gueuzes and Lambics (22)
- Kriek beers (20)
- Fruit beers (18)
- Speciale Belge beers (4)
- Flemish Brown ("Oud Bruin") beers (10)
- Belgian golden ales (8)
- Belgian White beers (8)
- Biere Brut beers (Champagne beers) (3)
- Saison beers (5)
- Speciality beers (119)
- Saisonal beers (and beers hard to get) (20)
So, using the list above, I should start with the beers on tap ... However, I will not :) ... As I want to start my tastings at home (as the tastings evolve, I will do them at the pub in the future), I have to start with bottled beers. So my first category will be the beers bottled in 75cl bottles.
As I've already learned the hard way, you should limit the number of different beers per tasting, and thus I can not taste one category in one tasting (20 beers is just too much :). So I will take one page per tasting max (each page has a maximum of 6 beers, some have less). One tasting per week, 50 weeks in the coming year ... that is about 300 beers ... It's gonna be tight, but we sure will try :).
Ok, we have a plan ... what's the next step? The first tasting!
Let's have a look at the first category: large bottles.
We have 20 different beers listed in that category. Wherever possible I will taste from a small bottle, rather than a big bottle, it's simply no use to drink 75cl of each beer to taste it. Taking the first page of that category, we see the following beers:
- Chimay Bleue
- Westmalle Triple
- Dominus Triple
- Ename Triple
- Gueuze Fond Girardin
- Iris 2007 Cantillon
These will be the first beers in my "Bier Central beer reviews"!
Stay tuned to read the first tastings in the coming days!
Greetingz,
Koen.
Sunday, December 26, 2010
How NOT to taste beer ...
Yesterday (Christmas day) I had to work. Not really a day I like to work, as I prefer to be with my family, but that's part of the job. So I'm not complaining.
From a professional standpoint, Christmas is a weird day to work on. During the day there wasn't that much work, as most people spend their time with family, but later in the evening people do come out and want to socialize in a pub. As I worked all day I could stop around midnight, and got to drink a couple of new beers with some colleagues.
We first tried the Ename Tripel. A rather pale blond but very clear tripel with white head. The taste was a bit disappointing. There actually wasn't much of it. It felt a bit as drinking water with alcohol. Very neutral, too neutral. The bottom of the bottle did add a little sweetness, which reminded me to a taste I sometimes find in some Duvels. Ename Tripel is brewed by Roman and has a ABV of 8,5%.
The next one was a Kapittel Abt. Kapittel is brewed by brewery Van Eecke. Van Eecke is located in Watou, a very small town in the West Flandres. Watou is also the home of another very famous brewery, Sint Bernardus. Just as the Ename, the Kapittel Abt is an abbey beer, refermented in the bottle. It's a bit darker than the Ename Tripel, and is also unfiltered. The foam-head is much nicer and solid. It has a much richer taste and I was really pleased with it ... a touch of bitternes makes it a very nice Tripel, one that I'll drink again, for sure. The 10% alcohol does find it's way in your blood, so beware ;).
After that my colleague, Mike, insisted to try a Watou Tripel, as this is his favourite. The Watou Tripel is brewed by the Sint Bernardus brewery, which is the only commercial brewery that also brewed the world-class West-Vleteren trappist beers (they had a license untill 1992).
The Watou Tripel is indeed a very nice abbey beer, which does have some nice aromas, that the Kapittel doesn't have, but it did miss a bit of the punch, probably because it's lighter in ABV (7,5%).
Again, this wasn't really a real tasting ... we were just talking at the bar, having fun while enjoying some new beers. By the time we were drinking the Watou Tripel, another colleague joined us, and we were talking about the strongest beer we have at Bier Central ... we actually have a couple, all with an ABV of 13%. One of them is the Black Albert.
Black Albert is brewed by De Struise Brouwers and is a stout. As most of us aren't really fond of stouts (for me the reference beer in the stout category is a Guinness, and I'm not really fond about that kind of beer), but we were curious about the Black Albert's taste and we couldn't resist buying one and sharing it. It poors into the glass as thin black oil, not producing a lot of foam, allthough it eventually gets a thick brownish head.
To be quite honest, at that point I actually drank already too much, so I don't even remember the smell. I do remember that I was actually surprised by the taste. I still can't describe it, but it sure wasn't bad (or at least not as bad as I expected a stout would be). One thing I will remember for sure is it's strong after-taste ... the taste really lasts very long, and I do like that when drinking a beer. Definately a beer I'll drink again to examine the rich flavours it has.
Meanwhile my colleague was drinking a Floreffe Tripel, and I did take a sip of it. It has a stronger bitterness than the other Tripels we tried, and sure tasted good. But again, at that point I was getting wasted, so I'll have to taste it again to give a good opinion :).
The alcohol was really getting in my head and the ambiance was big fun :) ... so we decided to go upstairs to The Popcorn and have some fun on the dance floor ... no more beer for me, I started drinking Havana Especial 7 years old ... bad idea :) ... actually it was big fun, and we had a blast. But that much alcohol is a sure way to get a huge hangover the next day ... one I'm still struggling with right now :(.
Anyway, lessons learned: it was a fun night, but it's certainly not the right way to have a beer-tasting :) When you drink too much, you can't really make a objective opinion about a beer. And a beer-tasting should not lead to a hangover the next day :). I guess it's better to only taste half of each beer you want to taste and taste only 3 to 4 beers maximum. But I did get to know a couple of new ones I sure will drink again.
Enjoy the year-end, but do drink reasonably!
Greetingz,
Koen.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
My (beer) goal for the coming year 2011 ...
Hi beerlovers,
As this years end is very near now, this is the time to set up some goals and things I want to achieve in the coming year. One of the things I really feel important is to get a thorough knowledge of all the beers we sell in Bier Central.
Of course I already tasted a lot of the beers since Bier Central opened it's doors, but despite those efforts, I have to admit that the results so far are actually pretty useless and far from professional as they should be.
So, what is my goal (beerwise) for 2011?
Taste every beer we have listed in our "Bier Encyclopedie" (which is the actual beer-menu that is present on all of our tables in the pub).
But it doesn't stop there ... with "tasting" I mean: tasting and documenting every aspect of each beer, so all that information can be used in the future, mainly to help our customers choose a beer when they might be overwhelmed of all the choices they get. But also to share that information with my collegues and other beer-lovers.
As I already mentioned in one of my previous posts, I consider myself a beer-newbie, so before I will get started I will have to learn some basics before I can actually start the tastings, which I will of course share with you via my blog and other social media (Twitter, FourSquare, etc ...).
After the initial learning process, I'll have to do some planning (which beers first, how many beers to taste in a week, etc ...).
Only then I'll start the effective tastings ... it's gonna be a long, but fun voyage, and I hope you'll join me!
Please feel free to send comments/tips which can be usefull ... any advice is welcome. You can reach through this blog or via Twitter. Thanks in advance!
Greetingz,
Koen.
As this years end is very near now, this is the time to set up some goals and things I want to achieve in the coming year. One of the things I really feel important is to get a thorough knowledge of all the beers we sell in Bier Central.
Of course I already tasted a lot of the beers since Bier Central opened it's doors, but despite those efforts, I have to admit that the results so far are actually pretty useless and far from professional as they should be.
So, what is my goal (beerwise) for 2011?
Taste every beer we have listed in our "Bier Encyclopedie" (which is the actual beer-menu that is present on all of our tables in the pub).
The Beer Encyclopedie has 320 different beers listed (20 beers on tap, 300 bottled beers). Tasting them all is not as easy as you might expect ... for several reasons, you can't just say "I'll drink one beer a day, and in one year I have them all" ... so it will require some thinking and planning to succeed in this mission :).
But it doesn't stop there ... with "tasting" I mean: tasting and documenting every aspect of each beer, so all that information can be used in the future, mainly to help our customers choose a beer when they might be overwhelmed of all the choices they get. But also to share that information with my collegues and other beer-lovers.
As I already mentioned in one of my previous posts, I consider myself a beer-newbie, so before I will get started I will have to learn some basics before I can actually start the tastings, which I will of course share with you via my blog and other social media (Twitter, FourSquare, etc ...).
After the initial learning process, I'll have to do some planning (which beers first, how many beers to taste in a week, etc ...).
Only then I'll start the effective tastings ... it's gonna be a long, but fun voyage, and I hope you'll join me!
Please feel free to send comments/tips which can be usefull ... any advice is welcome. You can reach through this blog or via Twitter. Thanks in advance!
Greetingz,
Koen.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
A good alternative for WestVleteren 12??
Hey beergeeks,
I've got a question ...
Anyone who loves beer, knows that the WestVleteren 12 trappist is widely recognized as one of the best beers in the world. The only problem is, it's very hard to get.
To be honest, I never drank one before! And if you know me, that's actually quite a shame. I grew up in the West-Vleteren area, and more so, when I was young I went to the tavern accross the monestary each two weeks with my parents. My father loved to drink a "pater" (that's how we called the trappists back then), but I was still too young, and I only remember the sandwiches with ham, I used to eat over there.
Now I found out some time ago that the St. Bernardus Abbey in Watou, used to have a license to brew the West-Vleteren beer from somewhere in the 30's or 40's. And that license ended in 1992.
So, the brewers of St. Bernardus are the only people who actually know how to brew the West-Vleteren trappists, and have actually done it.
My question now is ... is it true that the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is almost the same beer as the West-Vleteren 12??? I've heard people telling this, but I'd like to hear it from people who actually tasted both beers?
Let me know, I'm curious, cause the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is only a fridge away :)
Greetingz,
Koen.
I've got a question ...
Anyone who loves beer, knows that the WestVleteren 12 trappist is widely recognized as one of the best beers in the world. The only problem is, it's very hard to get.
To be honest, I never drank one before! And if you know me, that's actually quite a shame. I grew up in the West-Vleteren area, and more so, when I was young I went to the tavern accross the monestary each two weeks with my parents. My father loved to drink a "pater" (that's how we called the trappists back then), but I was still too young, and I only remember the sandwiches with ham, I used to eat over there.
Now I found out some time ago that the St. Bernardus Abbey in Watou, used to have a license to brew the West-Vleteren beer from somewhere in the 30's or 40's. And that license ended in 1992.
So, the brewers of St. Bernardus are the only people who actually know how to brew the West-Vleteren trappists, and have actually done it.
My question now is ... is it true that the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is almost the same beer as the West-Vleteren 12??? I've heard people telling this, but I'd like to hear it from people who actually tasted both beers?
Let me know, I'm curious, cause the St. Bernardus Abt 12 is only a fridge away :)
Greetingz,
Koen.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Bush de Nuits ... a truly special beer one has to taste!
Hey beerlovers,
Since I started this blog, I actually haven't blogged about a specific beer I tasted. One of the reasons I'm a bit hesitant to do this, is because I don't consider myself as a beer-expert (yet). Allthough I drank quite a few different beers in my life, and even more in the last few months that I work in Bier Central, writing about beer tastings is an art of it's own.
As a waiter/bartender in a beer cafe with over 300 kinds of beer, I do live in a sort of luxury to have "easy" access to some of the best beers Belgium has to offer.
The Dubuisson "Bush de Nuits" is truly one of those specialty beers that stands out of the crowd. Everything about it is in some way special: the bottle, the color, the taste, the brewing process, ...
So where should I start? Let's start at the brewery ...
Bush de Nuits is brewed by brewery Dubuisson. Dubuisson brews the whole range of the "Bush" beers, and also Cuvee des Trolls. Bush beers are well known in Belgium for their high alcohol-percentage (ranging from 8,5 to 13%). Cuvee des Trolls is a lighter and unfiltered (and thus a naturally cloudy) blond beer with fruity aromas.
The Bush de Nuits is a relatively new creation of the Dubuisson brewery and was launched in 2008. Bush de Nuits starts out as a Bush de Noel and is then put in wooden vats that once contained the renowned Bourgogne de Nuits St Georges wine. In those vats the beer matures for 6 to 9 months.
After this "maturing" process, they bottle the beer in 75cl-bottles and place them in a hot room for a third refermentation which takes around 3 weeks. During the bottling process a small amount of sugar and yeast are added. These additions (necessary for the 3rd refermentation) give the beer, besides carbonation and conditioning, a natural cloudiness.
Now the tasting ...
When opening the bottle, the first thing that impressed me, was the carbonation ... if you don't hold on to the cork, it would pop out like a champagne-bottle cork.
Pouring the beer into a glass is in my opinion not as easy as with other bottles, due to it's shape. I prefer to pour beer into a glass without "splashing".
The beer itself has a amber/brownish color, with kind of a dirty foam-head. The smell already reveals some of the flavours in the beer and is pretty complex. I'm not good in describing all those smells and flavours, so I prefer to compare them to other beers I know.
And here I get into trouble, because, truly, I really don't know to which beer I should compare it to. Tasting the Bush de Nuits reminded me more to tasting a single malt whisky than tasting a beer. There are so much aromas, so much flavours in it!
Some aromas and flavours are however pretty strong ... you definately taste the wood and wine of the vats used to mature the beer. Mouthfeel has a lot of carbonation. The strong aftertaste lasts long, and I like that. And as mentioned before, 13% alcohol makes it a strong beer, so drink it with care!
A great beer, ideal for special occassions. If you ever have the chance to taste it, even with a higher price-tag than most beers, go for it. It's worth it!!!
Cheers!
Greetingz,
Koen.
Since I started this blog, I actually haven't blogged about a specific beer I tasted. One of the reasons I'm a bit hesitant to do this, is because I don't consider myself as a beer-expert (yet). Allthough I drank quite a few different beers in my life, and even more in the last few months that I work in Bier Central, writing about beer tastings is an art of it's own.
As a waiter/bartender in a beer cafe with over 300 kinds of beer, I do live in a sort of luxury to have "easy" access to some of the best beers Belgium has to offer.
So where should I start? Let's start at the brewery ...
Bush de Nuits is brewed by brewery Dubuisson. Dubuisson brews the whole range of the "Bush" beers, and also Cuvee des Trolls. Bush beers are well known in Belgium for their high alcohol-percentage (ranging from 8,5 to 13%). Cuvee des Trolls is a lighter and unfiltered (and thus a naturally cloudy) blond beer with fruity aromas.
The Bush de Nuits is a relatively new creation of the Dubuisson brewery and was launched in 2008. Bush de Nuits starts out as a Bush de Noel and is then put in wooden vats that once contained the renowned Bourgogne de Nuits St Georges wine. In those vats the beer matures for 6 to 9 months.
After this "maturing" process, they bottle the beer in 75cl-bottles and place them in a hot room for a third refermentation which takes around 3 weeks. During the bottling process a small amount of sugar and yeast are added. These additions (necessary for the 3rd refermentation) give the beer, besides carbonation and conditioning, a natural cloudiness.
Now the tasting ...
When opening the bottle, the first thing that impressed me, was the carbonation ... if you don't hold on to the cork, it would pop out like a champagne-bottle cork.
Pouring the beer into a glass is in my opinion not as easy as with other bottles, due to it's shape. I prefer to pour beer into a glass without "splashing".
The beer itself has a amber/brownish color, with kind of a dirty foam-head. The smell already reveals some of the flavours in the beer and is pretty complex. I'm not good in describing all those smells and flavours, so I prefer to compare them to other beers I know.
And here I get into trouble, because, truly, I really don't know to which beer I should compare it to. Tasting the Bush de Nuits reminded me more to tasting a single malt whisky than tasting a beer. There are so much aromas, so much flavours in it!
Some aromas and flavours are however pretty strong ... you definately taste the wood and wine of the vats used to mature the beer. Mouthfeel has a lot of carbonation. The strong aftertaste lasts long, and I like that. And as mentioned before, 13% alcohol makes it a strong beer, so drink it with care!
A great beer, ideal for special occassions. If you ever have the chance to taste it, even with a higher price-tag than most beers, go for it. It's worth it!!!
Cheers!
Greetingz,
Koen.
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